Making of ‘Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima’ (by Joe Rosenthal, 1945), 2015

The story behind the photograph…

The photograph of ‘Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima’ was taken on 23 February 1945, during the battle to capture the Japanese island. The photographer was Joe Rosenthal (1911–2006) of the Associated Press. The image, published in US newspapers on 25 February, is considered to be one of the most widely reproduced photographs of all time, and is, to date, the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as it was taken. Despite its fame and place at the heart of US history, the image in fact depicts the second flag-raising to take place that morning. The first, although it was photographed, occurred before Rosenthal had reached the location, at the summit of Mount Suribachi. Upon arrival, he saw one group of US Marines following orders to take the first flag down, while a second group of six prepared to raise a second, larger flag. Rosenthal had to think and act quickly: he took his legendary photograph without even looking through the viewfinder of his Speed Graphic camera. As a consequence of the two flag raisings, the image is not without controversy – some claim it is staged. Rosenthal, however, denied this throughout his lifetime. The photograph is an enduring icon of victory in battle. As Rosenthal himself said: ‘I took the picture; the Marines took Iwo Jima.’