Posted on Feb 23, 2016
Feb. 23, 1945: U.S. flag raised on Iwo Jima
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On February 23rd, 1945, five days into the battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines raised the American flag over Mount Suribachi.
Legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite reported on the flag raising during a special report covering the battle. "On the fifth day, the Marines take Mount Suribachi," he said, as military footage of the historic moment played on screen.
Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal was there to take what became one of the most iconic war photos in American history.
The first raising is actually not the one depicted in the now-famous picture. The first flag was taken down, and Rosenthal took a picture as a second flag was raised.
Regardless, the photo has become a symbol of victory of WWII. But the flag raising wasn't always seen in that light.
"None of us doing the fighting thought that was the end by a long shot," Lawrence Snowden, then a 23-year-old captain, told CBS News' David Martin on the 70th anniversary in 2015.
"We knew we were just getting started," Snowden continued.
The battle for Iowa Jima was one of the bloodiest of WWII. U.S. forces began the fight for the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on February 19th, which lasted for over a month. By the time the battle came to an end on March 26th, almost 7,000 American lives had been lost and 20,000 more were injured.
Legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite reported on the flag raising during a special report covering the battle. "On the fifth day, the Marines take Mount Suribachi," he said, as military footage of the historic moment played on screen.
Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal was there to take what became one of the most iconic war photos in American history.
The first raising is actually not the one depicted in the now-famous picture. The first flag was taken down, and Rosenthal took a picture as a second flag was raised.
Regardless, the photo has become a symbol of victory of WWII. But the flag raising wasn't always seen in that light.
"None of us doing the fighting thought that was the end by a long shot," Lawrence Snowden, then a 23-year-old captain, told CBS News' David Martin on the 70th anniversary in 2015.
"We knew we were just getting started," Snowden continued.
The battle for Iowa Jima was one of the bloodiest of WWII. U.S. forces began the fight for the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on February 19th, which lasted for over a month. By the time the battle came to an end on March 26th, almost 7,000 American lives had been lost and 20,000 more were injured.
Feb. 23, 1945: U.S. flag raised on Iwo Jima
Posted from cbsnews.comPosted in these groups: 
WWII World War Two
WWII World War Two
Posted >1 y ago
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The first photographer took pictures of both raisings. Joe Rosenthol kind of fumbled into the event late, but took the picture that became world famous. So much for fairness in life.
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Thanks for reminding us of the iconic event which may well be the most remembered picture of WWII SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL . Three Marines depicted in the photograph, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, and Michael Strank, were killed in action over the next few days. The three surviving flag-raisers were Marines Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and Navy hospital corpsman John Bradley. The latter three became celebrities after their identifications in the photograph.
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Thanks for reminding us of the iconic event which may well be the most remembered picture of WWII SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL. Three Marines depicted in the photograph, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, and Michael Strank, were killed in action over the next few days. The three surviving flag-raisers were Marines Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and Navy hospital corpsman John Bradley. The latter three became celebrities after their identifications in the photograph.
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