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

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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: 8 Feb 1940 Germans establish the first large Jewish ghetto in Poland in the city of Lodz. More ↓

8 Feb 1941 US House of Representatives passes the Lend-Lease Act [265 to 165].
8 Feb 1942 Battle of Sarimbun Beach begins, the first stage of the Japanese assault on Singapore.
8 Feb 1942 Japanese Offensive in Burma begins [8 Feb-2 May].
8 Feb 1945 Battle of the Reichswald: British and Canadian forces under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery begin Operation Veritable [8 Feb-11 Mar].
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.