Famous photo taken 62 years ago today

[TUSooner]

With a salute to Homey...
One of the most famous photographs in American history, and maybe the world, was taken on February 23, 1945, as five men from E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, along with a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman raised the American flag atop Mt. Surabachi on the island of Iwo Jima. The entire island was taken from the Japanese after another month of especially vicious fighting, during which three of the six flag raisers were killed.

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/2345/iwojima2pv7.gif
But this famous photo was not the first flag raising on Mt. Surabachi .

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9017/iwojima1bg1.gif
Here's the first.
After the first flag went up, a Marine Colonel had it taken down and replaced with a bigger flag (reportedly to keep the first flag away from the Secretary of the Navy who was on the island and who wanted the flag); the second flag raising became the famous photo.

[Howzit]

I thought this was going to be your birthday thread...

[TUSooner]

I thought this was going to be your birthday thread...

:twinkies:

[Sooner in Tampa]

Semper Fi

[skycat]

The man who made that image died last year.

Fantastic photograph.

[landrun]

We lost 6000 men in that battle in less than two weeks.
Great Americans sacrificing their lives for our freedom.

If anyone ever asks you who paid for your freedom, you can point to this photo. Literally.

On a side note, honesty demands that we recognize losing only 3000 deaths in Iraq in 4 years is actually a great accomplishment. They're every bit as much the American hero as the men in this photo too.

[jacru]

We lost 6000 men in that battle in less than two weeks.
Great Americans sacrificing their lives for our freedom.

If anyone ever asks you who paid for your freedom, you can point to this photo. Literally.

On a side note, honesty demands that we recognize losing only 3000 deaths in Iraq in 4 years is actually a great accomplishment. They're every bit as much the American hero as the men in this photo too.
This needs to be said over and over and over and.....

[Sooner_Bob]

Flags of Our Fathers was an awesome movie . . . and brought the importance of that photo even more to the forefront.

[Harry Beanbag]

Flags of Our Fathers was an awesome movie . . . and brought the importance of that photo even more to the forefront.


As always, it wasn't as good as the book. After reading it, I had been looking forward to the movie for over a year, only to be a little disappointed. It wasn't bad though, compared to Pearl Harbor it was Citizen Kane.

[usmc-sooner]

if the Army and Navy ever look on Heaven's scenes
they will find her streets are guarded by United States Marines.


Here's to my Marines and Corpsman who went before me and to the one's who follow after me. Semper Fi................brothers

[StoopTroup]

Last night a friend showed me a Japanese Flag that was recovered from Iwo Jima. It had what looked like about a 50 cal. bullethole through it. I've seen others before but this one looked like something that had flown for while in parts unknown.


Spek to to all Marines.