I do not know if you caught this in the news headlines, but the photographer who took one of the most famous war photos ever – the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima – recently passed away at the age of 94. Joe Rosenthal won a Pulitzer Prize for this photo and eventually, an Iwo Jima memorial modeled on the photo was built in Virginia.
There was actually an earlier raising of the flag that February day in 1945. But because they felt the flag was too small, the second was raised and that was the image that is transmitted all across America. Rosenthal almost did not go take that historic photo after he learned the flag had already been raised once. Fortunately, he went and found the Marines putting up the second flag. The scene showed the victorious Marines after a very intense battle in which many lives were lost fighting for Mount Suribachi, a very small piece of land needed to help support our bombers.
Rosenthal worked for the San Francisco Chronicle for thirty-five years as a photographer after taking the photo that catapulted him to fame. The famous photo kept him busy with request for prints decades after World War II ended.
Facts about the Famous Photo:
Did you know Rosenthal wasn’t the only one to capture this historic image on film? Marine Sergeant Bill Genaust filmed the flag raising at the same time Rosenthal was taking pictures of it. Unfortunately, Genaust was killed in combat just days later.
The famous photo was the inspiration for a similar photo of firefighters raising a flag at the ruins of the World Trade Center. It too was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
The photo has also been used in posters, during the war bond drive, and on a U.S. stamp.
A survey taken by New York University found this photo was listed at #68 as one of the 100 best examples of journalism.