75 years ago today...on the island of Iwo Jima...the most iconic photo of WWII was taken

Mt. Suribachi had fallen to the 3rd Marine Division around 10:30 in the morning on February 23, 1945. U.S. Army and Marines had been fighting on and around the mountain since the battle began back on February 19. When Mt. Suribachi was declared secured by the marines at the summit, an American flag was raised on the mountain's highest point.



When the marines on island and sailors off-shore caught sight of the red, white, and blue rising above Mt. Suribachi, a loud cheer echoed throughout the battlefield as tens of thousands of men celebrated the capture of the island's highest point. Among those celebrating was Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, who had just arrived on the island to witness the final phase of the Mt. Suribachi operation. He immediately announced that he wanted the American flag that now waved over the island for his personal collection.

The flag was shortly thereafter taken down for the SECNAV while another was put up in its place. This second flag raising, though unnoticed by just about everyone else on the island, was witnessed by combat photographer Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press. This photograph has now passed on into legend:



The battle, however, was far from over. Within weeks of the taking of this photograph, half the men in it would be dead from wounds received from combat. Every man in the photograph would receive the Medal of Honor, with the surviving flag raisers given a furlough to the United States to help sell war bonds.