U.S. Marines Raise Flag on Mount Suribachi

Context

By early 1945, American forces in the Pacific had advanced through the Mariana Islands, securing bases for long-range B-29 bombers targeting Japan. Iwo Jima, a small volcanic island about 750 miles south of Tokyo, lay along the flight path and functioned as a Japanese radar outpost and airfield complex. Its capture would silence early-warning stations and provide emergency landing strips for damaged aircraft returning from missions over the home islands.

Japanese defenders had spent months fortifying the island with tunnels, pillboxes, and artillery positions integrated into the rugged volcanic terrain. Mount Suribachi, a 546-foot dormant cone at the southern tip, offered commanding views of the landing beaches and surrounding approaches. American planners viewed its early seizure as essential to isolating Japanese resistance elsewhere on the island.

The broader campaign reflected the U.S. island-hopping strategy of bypassing heavily defended positions while seizing key points needed for the final advance toward Japan. Iwo Jima represented the first Japanese home-island territory targeted for occupation, raising the stakes for both sides.

What Happened

U.S. Marines from the 4th and 5th Divisions landed on Iwo Jima’s southeastern beaches on February 19 under intense fire. Fighting continued for several days as units pushed inland against entrenched positions. On the morning of February 23, a 40-man patrol from the 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Division, under Lieutenant Harold G. Schrier, ascended the slopes of Mount Suribachi after the summit area had been cleared.

Around 10:30 a.m., the patrol raised a small American flag on a length of pipe, an action visible from the beaches below. Later that afternoon, a second, larger flag was carried to the summit to replace the first. Six Marines—Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, Private First Class Franklin Sousley, Private First Class Ira Hayes, Private First Class Harold Schultz, and Private First Class Harold Keller—worked together to secure the new flagpole in the rocky ground.

Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, accompanying the Marines, positioned himself to record the second raising. He captured the image as the men strained upward, the flag unfurling against the sky. The moment occurred roughly four days after the initial landings and marked the effective neutralization of Suribachi as an observation post.

Aftermath

Rosenthal’s negative was flown to Guam and transmitted to the United States, appearing in Sunday newspapers on February 25. The photograph circulated widely in war-bond promotions and newsreels, providing an immediate lift to public morale amid reports of heavy fighting. The Battle of Iwo Jima itself continued until March 26, when the island was declared secure after more than a month of combat.

The image quickly became one of the most reproduced photographs of the war, distributed by the Associated Press to thousands of outlets. It also prompted official Marine Corps recognition of the participants and contributed to the planning of commemorative efforts even before the war ended.

Legacy

Rosenthal received the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Photography for the image, which has since been recognized as one of the defining visual records of World War II. In 1954, sculptor Felix de Weldon used the photograph as the model for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, dedicated to all Marines who died in service since 1775. Three of the six flag raisers—Strank, Block, and Sousley—were killed in action on Iwo Jima in the days that followed.

Historians have noted the photograph’s role in shaping popular memory of the Pacific campaign, emphasizing collective effort and sacrifice over individual heroics. Subsequent research corrected earlier misidentifications of some participants, reflecting ongoing efforts to document the precise record of the event.