The photograph, taken by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press on February 23,was first published in Sunday newspapers two days later and reprinted in thousands of publications. It was the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as its publication, and was later used for the construction of the Marine Corps War Memorial inwhich was dedicated to honor all Marines who died in service since The photograph has come to be regarded in the United States as one of the most significant and recognizable images of World War II.
The flag raising occurred in the early afternoon, after the mountaintop was captured and a smaller flag was raised on top that morning. The Associated Press has relinquished its copyright to the photograph, placing it in the public domain.
Iwo Jima originally was not a target, but the relatively quick liberation of the Philippines left the Americans with a longer-than-expected lull prior to the planned invasion of Okinawa. Iwo Jima is located halfway between Japan and the Mariana Islandswhere American long-range bombers were based, and was used by the Japanese as an early warning stationradioing warnings of incoming American bombers to the Japanese homeland.
The Americans, after capturing the island, weakened the Japanese early warning system, and used it as an emergency landing strip for damaged bombers. Iwo Jima is a volcanic island, shaped like a trapezoid. From the air, it looks like a "lopsided, black porkchop".
Politically, the island is part of the prefecture of Tokyo. It would varför skapades iwo jima the first Japanese homeland soil to be captured by the Americans, and it was a matter of honor for the Japanese to prevent its capture. The island is dominated by Mount Suribachia foot m dormant volcanic cone at the southern tip of the island.
Tactically, the top of Suribachi was one of the most important locations on the island. From that vantage point, the Japanese defenders were able to spot artillery accurately onto the Americans—particularly the landing beaches. The Japanese fought most of the battle from underground bunkers and pillboxes.
It was common for Marines to disable a pillbox using grenades or flamethrowersonly to come under renewed fire from it a few minutes later, after replacement Japanese infantry arrived into the pillbox through a tunnel. The American effort concentrated on isolating and capturing Suribachi first, a goal that was achieved on February 23, four days after the battle began.
Despite capturing Suribachi, the battle continued to rage for many days, and the island would not be declared "secure" until 31 days later, on March 26, There were two American flags raised on top of Mount Suribachi, on February 23, The photograph Rosenthal took was actually of the second flag-raising, in which a larger replacement flag was raised by different Marines than those who raised the first flag.
Lieutenant Colonel Chandler W. Schrierexecutive officer of Easy Company, who had replaced the wounded Third Platoon commander, John Keith Wells[13] volunteered to lead a man combat patrol up the mountain. Wells, the battalion adjutant, whose job it was to carry the flag had taken the byinch cm × 71 cm flag from the battalion's transport ship, USS Missoulaand handed the flag to Schrier.
Despite the large numbers of Japanese troops in the vicinity, Schrier's patrol made it to the rim of the crater at about a. The loud noise made by the servicemen and blasts of the ship horns alerted the Japanese, who up to this point had stayed in their cave bunkers.