February 23, 1945 US Marines Raise Flag on Iwo Jima

On February 23, 1945, you're witnessing one of history's most defining moments as U.S. Marines raise the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima. After brutal close-quarters fighting through caves and tunnels, Easy Company seizes the summit and Lt. Harold Schrier's patrol attaches a flag to a Japanese iron pipe around 10:30 a.m. Joe Rosenthal's photograph of a second, larger flag raising becomes an instant symbol of American sacrifice — and there's far more to this story than most people know.

Key Takeaways

• On February 23, 1945, U.S. Marines raised a flag atop Mount Suribachi after Easy Company seized the volcanic island's highest summit.
• Lieutenant Colonel Chandler W. Johnson ordered the raising, with 1st Lt. Harold G. Schrier leading the patrol up Suribachi.
• A second, larger flag replaced the first, and Joe Rosenthal photographed that iconic moment at approximately 10:30 a.m.
• Rosenthal's photograph, published February 25, 1945, won the Pulitzer Prize and inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
• Three of the six flag raisers—Sgt. Michael Strank, Cpl. Harlon Block, and Pfc. Franklin Sousley—died before the battle ended.

Why the US Fought So Hard for a Tiny Island in the Pacific

Iwo Jima sits roughly 750 miles from Japan's mainland, making it one of the most strategically vital islands in the Pacific Theater. You can think of it as a stepping stone — controlling it meant controlling access to Japan itself.

The island's strategic airfields gave American forces a closer base for bomber missions, cutting flight distances and increasing strike efficiency. Without it, long-range attacks on Japan remained costly and dangerous.

Beyond air power, Iwo Jima served as a logistical staging point for the anticipated invasion of the Japanese mainland. Securing it allowed US forces to rescue damaged aircraft, refuel bombers, and establish a forward position.

That's why American commanders accepted devastating casualties to take it. Similarly, the value of forward positioning was demonstrated years later during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when Canadian forces conducting anti-submarine warfare operations in the Atlantic enabled US naval assets to redeploy further south to enforce the Cuban quarantine line.

What Made the Fight for Mount Suribachi So Brutal

Holding those airfields meant nothing if American forces couldn't first take the high ground — and nothing dominated Iwo Jima's landscape quite like Mount Suribachi.

The volcanic terrain worked entirely against you. Loose black sand swallowed your boots, slowed every advance, and collapsed trench walls before you could reinforce them. Japanese defenders used the mountain's tunnels and caves to appear, fire, and vanish before you could respond, forcing close quarters combat with little warning.

Supply constraints meant ammunition, water, and medical gear moved slowly across unstable ground. Medevac challenges compounded every casualty — wounded Marines often waited hours for extraction while fighting raged around them.

The mountain wasn't just a geographic obstacle. It was a fortress designed specifically to make capturing it cost you everything you had.

The First Iwo Jima Flag Raising the Famous Photo Didn't Capture

Before Joe Rosenthal's camera captured what the world came to know, a smaller flag had already gone up over Suribachi. Lieutenant Colonel Chandler W. Johnson ordered the first raising after Easy Company seized the summit around 10:30 a.m. on February 23, 1945.

1st Lt. Harold G. Schrier led the patrol, attaching the flag to a Japanese iron water pipe. Platoon Sgt. Ernest I. Thomas Jr., Sgt. Henry O. Hansen, Cpl. Charles W. Lindberg, Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class John H. Bradley, and Pvt. Philip L. Ward were also there.

Personal accounts from those present confirm the moment sparked immediate cheering across the island. Because the flag was too small to see clearly from a distance, commanders called for a larger replacement — the one Rosenthal photographed. Just as John Daniels photographed the Wright Brothers' 1903 flights at Kitty Hawk, a single photograph taken under extraordinary circumstances became the defining image of a historic moment.

How Joe Rosenthal's Iwo Jima Photo Stopped a Nation

When Joe Rosenthal's photograph hit newsstands on February 25, 1945, it stopped Americans cold. You'd have seen it everywhere—newspapers, posters, storefronts—an image that captured something beyond a single moment. Its media impact was immediate and overwhelming. The photo didn't just show six Marines raising a flag; it showed a nation's collective identity made visible in one raw, powerful frame.

President Roosevelt ordered the three surviving flag raisers home to lead war bond drives. Those campaigns raised billions, fueling the final push toward victory. Rosenthal's shot won the Pulitzer Prize, and its image was later cast in bronze at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Decades later, you still recognize it instantly—proof of how deeply it branded itself into American memory. Much like how the yellow and red cards transcended sport to become universal symbols embedded in everyday language, Rosenthal's image transcended war photography to become a permanent fixture of cultural identity.

Who Were the Six Marines in the Iwo Jima Photo?

Behind that photograph—the one that stopped a nation—were six specific men whose names deserve the same recognition as the image itself. They came from the 28th Regiment, 5th Marine Division, and together they lifted that flag into history.

Three didn't make it home. Sgt. Michael Strank, Cpl. Harlon Block, and Pfc. Franklin Sousley all died later in the battle. The survivors were Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon, and Harold Schultz.

Getting those names right took decades. Cpl. Harlon Block was one of the misidentified servicemen, wrongly named as Sgt. Hank Hansen until January 1947. More recently, photographic forensics removed John Bradley from the photo entirely, replacing him with Schultz. You're looking at six men—and every name matters.

Why This One Photograph Still Defines the Marine Corps

Some photographs inform. This one commands. When you look at Joe Rosenthal's image, you're not seeing one hero — you're seeing symbolic leadership distributed across six men straining toward a single purpose. That's precisely why it still defines the Marine Corps today.

The image captures unit cohesion better than any training manual ever could. Nobody's stepping forward alone. Nobody's hanging back. Every Marine is driving that pole skyward together, and that collective effort mirrors exactly what the Corps demands of its members in combat.

You can reproduce this photograph on memorials, stamps, and posters for eighty years, and it never loses its force. It doesn't just represent a battle won on a Pacific island. It represents an identity — one the Marine Corps has carried forward ever since.