 |
| A slightly different view of the flag raising on Iwo Jima |
Some photos tell a story. This one became the story.
On
February 23, 1945, a group of U.S. Marines dragged a larger American flag to
the top of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. The battle was still raging below them.
Smoke filled the air. Men were still fighting and dying across the island.
Then
they raised the flag.
Associated
Press photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped a picture almost without thinking.
Years
later he admitted, “When you take a picture like that, you don’t come away
thinking that you got a great shot.”
Turns
out he did.
The
image exploded across newspaper front pages. One editor said, “Here’s one for
all time.”
That
wasn’t an exaggeration.
The
picture showed up everywhere. Newspapers. Posters. War bond campaigns. Eventually,
it inspired the giant Marine Corps Memorial near Arlington Cemetery.
What’s
easy to forget is that the battle wasn’t over.
Not
even close.
The
photo was taken less than a week into one of the bloodiest battles of World War
II. Three of the six men who helped raise the flag would be dead before the
fighting ended.
Maybe
that’s part of what makes the image so powerful.
The
men aren’t posing. They’re working. Straining. Pushing. Pulling together.
Over
80 years later, people still recognize the photograph instantly.
A
lot of famous pictures fade with time.
This
one never has.
No comments:
Post a Comment