The Few, the Proud Iwo Jima
On February 23, 1945, six Marines, with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Division, raised our American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The flag on the 546-foot dormant volcanic cone at the southern tip of the island, could be seen for a great distance, and was an inspiration for our Marines and Sailors. Three of the six Marines pictured, Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, and Private First Class Franklin Sousley, were killed in action before the battle concluded on 26 March.
There were 6,871 Americans killed and 19,217 wounded on Iwo Jima. The Medal of Honor was awarded to 22 Marines and five Sailors, 14 of them posthumously (13 Marines, one Sailor). Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander of Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, noted of the Americans on Iwo, "uncommon valor was a common virtue."
Joe Rosenthal's iconic image was of the second flag raised that day, a 96-by-56inch flag to replace the 54-by-28-inch flag, and that image was the inspiration for the Marine Corps War Memorial outside the Ord-Weitzel Gate to Arlington National Cemetery. Both flags can now be seen in the National Museum of the Marine Corps near Marine Corp Base, Quantico.

ADJr, LTC USAF, A Bat '06, is a sqdn commander at Kadena in Okinawa and toured Iwo Jima last year. Climbed to the site of the iconic flag-raising and sent me a bottle of Iwo sand.

It's still interesting that in the past 10 years two men have been added to the flag raisers and two removed. The men who raised that flag had no idea how significant it would become, just another random task by their higher ups, and how the flag raising was still only the beginning of another months and a half nightmare of death and slaughter on that island.

Also proud my grandfather fought on Iwo Jima as an Army infantryman with E Co. 2/147 Infantry and earned his combat Infantryman's Badge there.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a2/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima_%28color%29.ogv/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima_%28color%29.ogv.480p.webm?_=1

Thank you for the reminder, 12B.

I am a graduate of Weslaco HS, as is Harlon Block. Knew a lady who was a family/church friend - she just passed away this past year. Did reinforce Bradley's research in his book .

It was quite an experience when I was able to visit Iwo Jima during my time island hopping in the Air Force back in the 80s. I do have my small sample of sand from there, too. Blessings to all those that did their part to defend America.