Aug 22 2006
Iwo Jima Photographer Joe Rosenthal Dies
Joe Rosenthal, who took the famous flag raising photo from Iwo Jima, died on Sunday at age 94. His photo has become an icon and was even made into the monument at Arlington National Cemetery. At the time, Rosenthal didn’t have any idea just what kind of shot he had:
“Out of the corner of my eye, I had seen the men start the flag up. I swung my camera and shot the scene,” he said a decade afterward. “That is how the picture was taken, and when you take a picture like that, you don’t come away saying you got a great shot. You don’t know.”
The photo quickly became the subject of posters, war-bond drives and a U.S. postage stamp. It kept Rosenthal busy for years as he fielded requests for reprints. He said he was flattered by the attention, but added, “I’d rather just lie down and listen to a ball game.”
Rosenthal’s picture captured a small moment in time from a key battle in World War II, but most people do not know the entire story of that battle. For example, the flag raised in his photo was not the first one to go up but was a replacement flag. Also, the battle was still nearly a month from ending when this flag was raised.
I’ve just finished reading Flags of Our Fathers; an amazing book written by the son of one of the flag raisers immortalized by Rosenthal’s shot. I’m a student of history and still didn’t know the real story of Iwo Jima and the tremendous sacrifices made by our Marines. If you are looking for an incredible story, I highly recommend Flags of Our Fathers.
For more on Rosenthal, check out the Houston Chronicle’s article His simple click captured a legacy of courage.
