In Memoriam: Joe Rosenthal

Joe Rosenthal, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this picture of the flag raising atop Mt. Suribachi, passed away on August 20th in California. He was 94.

In the front are Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block. In the back are Michael Strank and Rene Gagnon

Believe it or not, some people actually think the fighting ended when the flag was raised, but it continued for another 22 days and claimed over 10,000 American casualties. Not long after Rosenthal snapped this photo, three of the flag raisers — Strank, Block, and Sousley — were killed by the Japanese.

Believe it or not, some people actually think this photograph was staged. Film shot by a combat cameraman on Iwo Jima proves otherwise, yet this image still generates controversy. Rosenthal had this to say about it:

This picture…it has a meaning to me. I see all that blood running down the sand. I see those awful, impossible positions to take in a frontal attack on such an island, where the batteries opposing you are not only staggered up in front of you, but also standing around at the sides as you're coming on shore. The awesome situation, before they ever reach that peak. Now, that photograph can serve to remind us of the contribution of those boys—that was what made it important, not who took it.