10 Things About The Famous Flag-Raising Photo That You Didn't Learn In School

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10 Things About The Famous Flag-Raising Photo That You Didn't Learn In School

Every history textbook in America features this iconic photograph of Marines raising the U.S. flag, but how much do you actually know about it?

See how many of these 10 facts you already knew about the Pulitzer Prize-winning picture:

1. Where was it taken?

The photo shows 6 U.S. Marines raising the flag on the peak of Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima. The tiny island was the first Japanese territory that American troops landed on, and it was home to some fierce fighting.

Mount Suribachi is a dormant volcano and the tallest point on the island, and after American troops fought for it they raised a flag to show troops below that they had control of the mountain. Thankfully, photographer Joe Rosenthal was nearby to take a snapshot of the historic moment.

2. It was actually a redo

American troops took control of the volcano in the early hours of February 23, 1945 and raised a flag to show they were holding it. But the first flag they raised was too small, and couldn't be seen from below.

The first flag.

Another photographer had snapped shots of the first flag-raising, and told Rosenthal he missed his chance. But he went to the top of the mountain anyways, and arrived just in time to catch the second flag-raising, this time with a much bigger flag.

3. What happened to the men?

Sadly, 3 of the marines in the photo - Michael Strank, Franklin Sousley and Harlon Block - died less than a week after the photo was taken.

Two of the surviving men, Ira Hayes and Rene Gagnon, were ordered back to America, where they traveled the country on a 33-city publicity tour to help the war effort, raising a flag at every stop along the way. A Navy sailor named John Bradley, who raised the first flag, also tagged along for the tour.

4. It was captured on video

Seargeant Bill Genaust, a Marine photographer who died shortly after the flag-raising, managed to capture the moment on film just a few feet away from Rosenthal, meaning his footage has the same dramatic angle as the photograph.

So why did this picture become so famous?

5. The picture made a lot of money for the government

To keep money flowing in to support America's war effort, the government sold "war bonds" that let average citizens invest in the country while keeping their soldiers supplied. Posters featuring the flag-raising were a big help to the fundraising efforts.

More than 3.5 million posters were printed showing Marines raising the flag with the now-famous slogan "all together now." The 6-week drive made over $26.3 billion, almost twice the government's goal.

6. It took years to prove the photo was real

Rosenthal's photo started appearing in American newspapers less than a day after he snapped the shot, and he was barraged with mail asking for details about the photo and how it was taken, including questions about whether it was posed.

Rosenthal had sent a number of photos, including one he called the "Gung-Ho" photo, which had been posed. He assumed papers were asking about the "Gung-Ho" photo, and confirmed soldiers were posing in it. He spent the rest of his life trying to correct his mistake.

The "Gung-Ho" photo.

"I don't think it is in me to do much more of this sort of thing," he said 50 years after his photo was taken, "I don't know how to get across to anybody what 50 years of constant repetition means."

7. There was a huge case of missing identity

John Bradley, the Navy sailor who helped raised the first flag, was given credit for appearing in the second photo for decades. Bradley seemed happy to play along with the mistake until his death in 1994.

John Bradley.

It wasn't until 2016 that researchers were finally able to set the record straight, confirming it was actually Harold Schultz in the photograph and not Bradley. Schultz died in 1995, and was just as happy as Bradley not to correct the record. He even kept his part in history a secret from his family until he was 70 years old.

Harold Schultz.

8. It inspired a national monument

The U.S. Marine Corps Memorial outside of Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia is based on Rosenthal's iconic photograph, and the faces of the Marines in the statue are based on their real-life counterparts.

The statue lead to a number of complaints from men who raised the first flag that they weren't recognized and honored the same way the men in Rosenthal's photo were, even though the statue is a tribute to all Marines.

9. So far 3 movies have been made about the photo

Just a few years after the picture was taken, the survivors in Rosenthal's photo made a cameo appearance in The Sands of Iwo Jima, a Hollywood movie about the battle that recreated the flag-raising.

John Wayne poses with Ira Hayes, John Bradley and Rene Gagnon in "The Sands of Iwo Jima."

More recently, Clint Eastwood directed Flags of our Fathers, which followed the survivors in the photo after the war ended. The Outsider, about the trouble life of flag-raiser Ira Hayes, was also made in 1961.

"Flags of our Fathers."

10. Both of the flags are now in a museum

You can visit the flag from Roesthal's photo and the original flag from Mount Suribachi at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia.

Along with the flags, there have been a number of official government posters and stamps made to mark the event.

Share this list if you remember this historic photograph!

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