Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, 1945
Imagine, if you will, an eight-square-mile inferno, an island so fiercely contested that it seemed as though the very gates of hell had opened. Iwo Jima was not merely a battle; it was a grinding, relentless slog. The Marines knew the importance of this speck in the ocean—vital for airfields to support the bombing of Japan. But so did the Japanese, entrenched in a labyrinth of caves and tunnels, prepared to fight to the last man.
The 23rd of February 1945, marks a moment etched in the annals of military history. After days of brutal combat, marines of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines reached the summit of Mount Suribachi. The cost to get there was astronomical. Each step up that mountain was paid for with blood; the volcanic ash beneath their feet mixed with the stark red of American sacrifice. Machine gun fire, artillery, snipers—every conceivable weapon was used to halt their ascent.
Amidst this chaos, a small patrol led by First Lieutenant Harold Schrier made it to the summit. With a piece of pipe found among the debris, these weary men erected an American flag. The sight of the flag flying on Suribachi was more than a tactical achievement; it was a profound symbol of hope and resilience. Ships horns sounded; cheers erupted across the island. In that moment, amidst the horror, there was a palpable surge of morale—a feeling that maybe, just maybe, this nightmare had an end.
The first flag was soon replaced with a larger one, captured in the iconic photograph by Joe Rosenthal—a image that would resonate around the world.
Yet, this iconic moment was just that—a moment. The battle raged for over a month after the flag was raised.
By the time the island was declared secure on March 26, 1945, nearly 7,000 Marines had been killed and another 20,000 wounded. The Japanese losses were even more devastating – of the 21,000 defenders, only 216 were taken alive. It was a fight to the death in every sense of the word.
The flag atop Suribachi was not just a symbol of impending victory but a memorial to the immense price paid in achieving it. Every Marine who fought on that hellish island shared in the burden of that cost—a price paid in relentless combat that would mark their souls and history forever.
