Hang Tough

picturesofwar:

This day in history:

Six American soldiers (five Marines and one U.S. Navy corpsman) raise an American flag atop Mount Suribachi, signalling its capture four days into the Battle of Iwo Jima.  

The moment itself was immortalized on film by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal, who later wrote of the event:

Out of the corner of my eye, I had seen the men start the flag up. I swung my camera and shot the scene. 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 triumphant image became one of the most famous images of the entire war, as well as one of the most reproduced photos of all time.

Three of the six flag raisers were killed in combat while on Iwo Jima.

February 23, 1945 - 67 years ago today.

(via almostmedieval)