Iwo Jima was invaded on Feb. 21, 1945. The going was tough, but two days later the volcano Mount Suribachi was conquered. Although the fighting continued for weeks, the taking of the mountain was symbolic of eventual victory. Recognizing this, First Lieutenant Harold Schrier was ordered to lead a 40-man patrol to the top and plant a flag. Schrier was given a 54×28” flag. They had little trouble reaching the top. They found an iron pole and attached the flag. At 10:30 A.M., Shrier and others raised the flag and the moment was snapped by Marine photographer Staff Sergeant Louis Lowery for Leatherneck magazine. The flag-raising was cheered by every American on the island, but you had to squint to see it, so a bigger flag was needed. PFC Rene Gagnon was sent to find a bigger one and bring it to the top. This flag was 96×56”. Cpl. Harlon Block, PFC Franklin Sousley, and PFC Ira Hayes were sent to the top to replace the original flag with Gagnon’s. When this moment occurred, photographer Joe Rosenthal just barely managed to snap his shot. (The raising was also filmed by Sgt. Bill Genaust.) Rosenthal also asked Easy Company to pose with the flag. Rosenthal’s shot was immediately recognized as a masterpiece and ran in most newspapers. Rosenthal was awarded with the Pultizer Prize for photography. But controversy arose as Rosenthal (thinking he was being asked about the Easy Company photo) said the photo was staged. This became a myth.
The photo was tragically miscaptioned with long-term results. Originally the flag-raisers were identified as Ira Hayes, corpsman John Bradley, Michael Strank, Franklin Sousley, Rene Gagnon, and Henry Hansen. The identifications were made by Gagnon. Gagnon, Hayes, and Bradley were sent on a bond tour. Strank (friendly fire from a destroyer), Hansen (killed in action), and Sousley (killed by a sniper a few days after the battle was officially over) died on the island. The first problem with the caption came when a Belle Block insisted her son Harlon was planting the flag, not Hansen. Her proof? “I changed so many diapers on that boy’s butt, I know it’s my boy.” Everyone thought she was daft until Ira Hayes hitchhiked to Texas to confirm her son was in the picture. (The Marine Corps had told him to keep his mouth shut.) Mrs. Block eventually got the Marines to admit this. So that was it, right? Well, no. In 2014, amateur historians Eric Krelle and Stephen Foley proved that John Bradley was actually Harold Schultz (who survived the battle but never claimed he was in the photo – ha ha, screw you fame!). And then unbelievably, five years later Foley and two others proved that Rene Gagnon was actually Harold Keller! Why did Gagnon identify himself in the photo and why did Bradley not tell anyone he was not in the photo? We’ll never know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima
https://www.military.com/history/story-behind-two-flag-raisings-battle-of-iwo-jima.html
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a20738/whos-really-in-that-iconic-photo-of-iwo-jima/
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