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: 9 Jul 1940 Battle of Calabria [Battle of Punta Stilo, the toe of Italy] fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British/Australian Royal Navies, 30 miles [48km] east of Punta Stilo. More ?

9 Jul 1943 US-British invasion of Sicily begins [night of 9-10 Jul].
9 Jul 1944 British and Canadian forces capture Caen from the Germans, a critical post-D-Day objective in Normandy, France.
9 Jul 1944 US forces reach the northern end of Saipan, finding thousands of Japanese civilian men, women, and children who commit suicide by leaping off the cliffs rather than be captured.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.