The iconic image of six Marines raising an American flag over Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945, helped win World War II. The photograph boosted morale at a critical moment. It was also used to generate record fundraising for war relief at home. Captured by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, the picture garnered a Pulitzer Prize that same year.
The war holds a place in history books worldwide. The battle at Iwo Jima and the photograph are memorialized in museums and a statue. But who remembers the man who snapped the image? After 72 years, some worry that Rosenthal may fade from American memory. A group of veterans and photographers launched a petition to the U.S. Navy. It requests naming a warship for Joe Rosenthal.
Rosenthal was rejected for military service for poor eyesight. But he wanted to serve. He requested the dangerous assignment of wartime photojournalist to cover the Pacific.
“He was a 33-year-old man basically volunteering for combat and not carrying a weapon,” says historian Tom Graves. “He was exposed to great danger and in fact, was nearly killed several times.” Veteran soldiers remember Rosenthal as involved and on-the-ground. He was not content to take photos from afar.
After coming ashore in Iwo Jima, Rosenthal learned an American flag had made it to Mount Suribachi. The volcanic cone on the island was a key site for the Marines. Raising the flag meant victory was secured there. But another photographer had already captured an image of that flag-raising.
“I wanted a flag going up on Iwo, and I wanted it badly,” Rosenthal later recalled.
Then he learned that a second, larger flag was on its way to the site. The determined documentarian built a platform of stones and sandbags to stand on and adjusted his camera. The sun was directly overhead and a strong wind blew. He waited, ready, until the men gathered, as one man, to lift the heavy flag pole.
AP photo editor Jack Bodkin was the first to see Rosenthal’s picture of those six Marines raising the American flag. “Here’s one for all time,” he declared as he forwarded the image.
On October 9, 2017—which would have been Rosenthal’s 106th birthday—Graves’ group submitted its petition to the Navy, requesting a ship be named for Joe Rosenthal. Graves knows the request is a longshot. But a previous Navy secretary did open the door to naming ships for non-military people. Though Rosenthal was deemed not fit for service, Graves believes his contribution fit the bill precisely and should be memorialized.
