This historic photograph was taken on 23rd February by Joe Rosenthal. This photograph shows United States Marines raising a United States flag on top of Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima during World War II. This flag was raised as the second flag on the same spot after another flag that had been raised just some hours earlier. The reason for the second flag was due to the fact that the first flag was too small and could not be seen from the base of the mountain. Lieutenant Colonel Chandler Johnson who was the commander of the battalion, sent a platoon under the lead of Lt. Harold G. Schrier to capture the summit of Mount Suribachi. Johnson directed Schrier to put the flag up after they get to the top of the mountain.
I chose this photograph due to its extreme popularity and
...the fact that it has been reprinted in many publications. This photograph earned Joe the photographer Pulitzer Prize and it became the only photograph to win the Prize in the same year as its publication (Wikipedia). In the United States, this photograph came to be regarded as one of the most recognizable and iconic images of the World War II and possibly one of the most reproduced image of all time. Despite the much publicity, the photograph was not without controversy where it was alleged that Joe had stage the patriotic scene. Three of the Marines in the photograph were later killed in the next few days while in action. The three others that survived became celebrities after they were recognized and identified from the photograph. As a dedication for all the marines tha
died for their country, Felix de Walton used the image to sculpt the Marine Corps War Memorial in 1954. It is located just outside Washington D.C. next to Arlington National Cemetery.
The photograph is a combination of a few subject, most of them are human and it is one of that signifies utter simplicity. However, despite the fact that all we can see are solders and a flag, to the world during World War II it represented hope and faith that the war would end and liberation would be obtained. The Japanese forces had long subjected the surrounding countries to strife and bloodshed and with this image, America was letting the world know that forces were working against the Japanese and they would be crushed because peace and serenity was just a few steps away.
Apart from the amazing artistic display in the image, the reason it has long remained a symbol is what it stood for during the war. In the history of the photography, the photographer, Joe Rosenthal, was filled with emotion just before he took the image and what he seemed to marinate was how many lives had been lost to recapture the mountain from the Japanese and plant that flag there.
According to interviews held by CNN on the photograph, had Joe been a second earlier then the flag would have been too low and had he had been a little bit late, then the flag would have been too high. He got the shot at the perfect time in an age where digital cameras that could take multiple shots had not yet been discovered making him a legendary artist.
The photography might carry some
good memories to modern Americans and the countries liberated from the Japanese yoke but the one who took it, he spent his whole life defending this image on the allegations that it was staged and in 2006 when Joe Rosenthal passed away at the age of 94, he could not conceal his disappointment to the world and his ark-rival Lowery, for making it his life’s task to defend a good intended work of art. If this photograph proves anything, it is that a picture is indeed worth a thousand worlds. With Joe Rosenthal’s image, the picture represented heroism, liberty, achievements but also deceit, anger and greed.
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