How many men does it take to raise one American flag? A quick look of the picture told me four, a closer look told me five, and research told me six. Apparently, it takes six strong soldiers trained in combat to erect that flag. A piece of colored cloth attached to a wooden pole could not have been heavy for those guys at all. Or even if that pole was made of steel, I really could not identify what material that pole was made of by looking at the picture alone, but even so, it could not have weighted so much so as to require six men to put it up.
I think even just Harlon Block and John Bradley, the two soldiers on the right most side of the photo, alone could have easily done that that task. The four other g
...uys (Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, Michael Strank, and Rene Gagnon) were there not to actually lend a hand; they just wanted to be in on the deed. Notice how Ira Hayes and Franklin Sousley, the soldiers on the left most side of the picture, seems to be reaching out just to touch a portion of the pole.
From their positions, they could not have really contributed much to help in raising that pole. I am not very sure with what Michael Strank and Rene Gagnon, the two guys at the back, are really doing since they are not very visible in the picture. Stank’s arms, the most visible part of him, are also raised up holding on to the pole much like those of Sousley. Gagnon on the other hand is the soldier whose presence
in the picture I would have not known about had I not read about it.
The only visible part of his body is a part of his leg. This makes it hard for me to conclude regarding what he is doing. I would have to conclude that like Hayes and Sousley, they seem to be just trying to be a part of the activity because as I had mentioned earlier, even just Block and Bradley alone could have accomplished that task. Now why would six soldiers all want to get in on doing such a simple task; because it is a simple, but glorious task.
That’s the American flag they were raising there; the symbol of their country, the symbol of what they’ve been fighting for. They must have gone through a great struggle to get that flag up there to want to be a part of putting up that flag. Even just to touch a part of the flag while it is being erected is enough fulfillment for them. Being there on that historic moment actually did them good. Fighting on WWII already made them a part of history. Being there at that moment immortalized them in that picture.
They were not just one of the soldiers who fought in the war; they became the soldiers that comprised the most iconic image of the war. People knew their names now. I mentioned that those soldiers must have gone through a great struggle to get up that mountain to raise that flag. With that I can conclude from the photo that during WWII, the Japanese must have given the Americans a really hard time. The Americans and their
allies as well fought long and hard to win that war.
That event in the picture must have been a momentous accomplishment for the Americans. The photo was taken on February 23, 1945. Had I not known that fact, I would think that it was the moment of the declaration of the victory of the Americans for that war because of its very triumphant vibe. Given that, that moment was probably one of a series of victories of the Americans over the Japanese that would eventually lead the former to surrender. Or it could have been an important turning point in the war for the American’s eventual victory.
