Raising the Colors
Taking the main highway from Arlington into the Nation's capital, one may pass by the statue daily with barely a notice. Yet it may be worth noticing today, inasmuch as it commemorates the event that took place exactly sixty-one years ago:
"During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Division take the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island's highest peak and most strategic position, and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. American soldiers fighting for control of Suribachi's slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a motion-picture cameraman. Later that year, Rosenthal won The Pulitzer Prize for this historic photograph."
God bless America.
1 comment:
I remember reading in an account of the battle of Midway (island) that some of our servicemen had been captured by the Japanese navy & were questioned about the location of the American fleet.
Refusing to divulge its whereabouts, they were tied to 55 gallon drums of gasoline & unceremoniously pushed over the sides of the ships.
Bravery? You bet your right to complain about the condition of this country they were the very epitome of this character trait.
God bless America.
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