Iwo Jima: Anniversary and famous photo
 

Normally, I don't do this, but I'd like to post a recap of an interview I heard on Imus this morning concerning the famous photo taken on Mount Suribachi. The interview was with James Bradley, who is the son of one of the famous flag-raisers that day, and he has written a book about the incident (http://www.iwojima.com/).

I have always heard that this very famous photograph was posed, but Mr. Bradley tells a different story.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...wojimaflag.gif

According to him, the guy who shot the photo (Joe Rosenthal) was looking in the other direction when this flag was being raised. One of the other photographers with a movie camera called out, "There it goes," or something like that. Rosenthal was looking down and simply swung his camera up and snapped without looking, figuring he'd missed the whole thing anyway. Then, he gathered 18 Marines together for a posed photo of them cheering around the flag. Those were the only two photos he snapped on Mount Suribachi that day, and he figured the posed one was the only one that would be worth viewing.

In accordance with military protocol, he turned his film over to the War Department, and an AP correspondent looking through thousands of photos found the first photo of the flag-raising and was quoted as saying "Oh my God!" when he first saw it. That photo was circulated immediately, and it became instantly famous before Joe Rosenthal had ever even seen the damn thing developed. Therefore, weeks later, a correspondent from Life Magazine asked Rosenthal if his photo from Mount Suribachi had been posed, and he answered, "Of course," assuming he was talking about the second photo.

The Life Magazine reporter sent out a wire claiming that Rosenthal had admitted the famous photo was posed, and it would take years to finally get the story straight.

On the website I linked above, you can view the film taken by the other photographer which proves the famous photo was not posed.


My hat is off and my hand is over my heart in tribute to all the brave men who fought for Mount Suribachi and Iwo Jima that day. God bless you.

this is one of my favorite monuments in Washington... er.. well the DC area.

thanks for the read...

Very interesting reading and further interesting links from that one you gave us. Thanks for the education. ;)

Thank you for the post and the information/story behind the photo. Hubby was a Marine for five years and when I visited this monument in DC, it brought tears to my eyes.

The truly sobering thing about that pic is learning how many of those guys went on to get KIA or wounded. Most people just look at that picture as it's something unfeeling and symbolic. But when you learn the history behind the guys that did that lifting it really smacks you back to reality and the sacrifice of the people behind such a stiring symbol.

My uncle was there then and during the entire Pacific Campaign.
It affected his personality for the rest of his life.

Until the day he died his emotional aspect was unavailable to even his family. He was the most tightly wound and emotionally unavailable person I've ever known. The entire family knew why yet we never spoke of it - except to let each other know for the first time that we knew it and that we knew why. Unimaginable Horror is something that does occur on this earth.

My uncle was a Marine in the Pacific Campaign as well. He was captured and spent 9 months in a Japanese prison compound where he was tortured repeatedly on one of the islands. He was never the same and spent a great deal of the time he got back sitting at the kitchen table drinking beer and staring at the wall. He died in his late 40's. I remember as a boy I bumped into his shin once and he almost doubled over in pain. They apparently used to beat them there over and over to try to get them to talk.

My father took me aside and explained the situation and told me never to ask my uncle about it.

My great-uncle fought in the Pacific as well, and he was never as outgoing or amiable as his brothers (one of whom was my grandfather). I've been told that he had been a very bright and cheerful person before the War, but remained withdrawn afterwards until he died. He always used to look at me like he just didn't "get" me. He also contracted malaria while there and lived with its effects for the rest of his life. He never talked about any of it.

If I remember correctly, Mr. Bradley stated that 14 out of the 18 Marines he posed for the second picture died before leaving Iwo Jima. He also stated that when the Marines and photographers climbed to the top of Suribachi to raise the flag, they encountered many Japanese who were still alive and unharmed, but were "woozy" and unable to fight. They were, of course, all shot dead on sight, but it always bugged his dad as to why those Japanese soldiers just sat there and watched. Years later, he learned that the napalm attacks more than likely sucked all the oxygen away from the summit, and the surviving Japanese were simply dizzy.

That picture is actually the 2nd flag raising on Iwo Jima that day. Here is the first:
http://www.grunt.com/images-bs/1st%2...%20Raising.jpg

here is the story as told by an Iwo Jima survivor:http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2...top/news01.txt

Here are the stories of the flag raisers: http://www.iwojima.com/raising/raisingc.htm
Ira Hayes had a song about him that was recorded by Johnny Cash.

The flags came from the USS Missoula, APA 211 and the Marines were transported by the Missoula. My dad was on the Missoula as a Sailor after the battle of Iwo Jima.

On Feb. 25-28 they are dedicating a monument to the Missoula in Missoula Montana.

No matter the story behind, it's still a marvelous picture. And as they said in a documentary I saw about the picture; you cant arrange that kind of picture, it's just too good.