Lone Marine with U.S. Flag, Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945

This photo was taken 23 February 1945 on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, by a U.S. Coast Guard photographer shortly after the flag raising that was captured in the Pulitzer prize-winning photo by news photographer Joe Rosenthal. A lone Marine stands under the flag looking down on the beaches where the fighting still rages, his M1 Garand rifle with fixed bayonet in his right hand. Landing ships are lined up along the shoreline in the distance.

The original caption from the National Archives states: "From the crest of Mount Suribachi, the Stars and Stripes wave in triumph over Iwo Jima after U.S. Marines had fought their way inch by inch up its steep lava-encrusted slopes."

Today in WW II: 17 Sep 1939 Soviet troops invade Poland from the east. More ↓

17 Sep 1944 Thousands of Allied planes begin airborne assault on Holland, Operation Market Garden.
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