Episode 72: Joe Rosenthal's Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (1945)
“While the men prepared to replace the first flag, I was able to position myself for a picture, the elements of which were composed by the men themselves, and the wind, weather, midday lighting, and the luck of timing.”
At the end of the war in Western Europe, with the war in the Pacific still going strong, America was a tired country that needed a patriotic jolt. You can only position yourself so well: good photographer, heroic moment of reprieve amidst the horrific fighting, camera crew tailing the soldiers, hoping to capture even the slightest sense of what the sons and brothers of the nation were fighting for. But all the preparedness in the world can’t bank on the beauty of luck.
This is the story of the luckiest snapshot ever taken.
Footage of the second flag raising:
Music used:
The Andrews Sisters, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen"
The Blue Dot Sessions, “Sunday Lights,” “Cherry Heath,” “Curious Kepler,” “Arlan Vale,” “Dreadnaut Files,” “Silent Ocean,” “Chromium Blush,” “Mencher and Polk,” “The Silver Hatch,” “10c Coffee”
Bob Dylan, “The Ballad of Ira Hayes”
