70 Years Ago The U.S. Flag Was Raised At Iwo Jima

Stars and Stripes: The Battle of Iwo Jima: 70 years later

At Iwo Jima’s southern tip stands its tallest point, Mount Suribachi, peaking at 554 feet. The morning of Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal’s arrival, amid fierce fighting across the island, a Marine platoon climbed to the summit. As a handful of its members lifted a 20-foot-long water pipe topped with a small American flag, Forrestal, watching from the beach below with Gen. Holland Smith, spoke the line that enshrined him in military mythology.

WNU Editor: Stars and Stripes is doing a special on remembering Iwo Jima. The link is here.