February 23rd, 1945 - the Day of the Great WWII photograph

[johnastovall]

The First Raising the Flag Over Iwo Jima, 1945




Picture of the second.

[C!LLY]

there is a statue of that on the side of the freeway in Cali. we were visitng my in laws a couple years ago and my father in law was driving and next thing I knew he shot his head back and was like "did I just see the Iwo Jima flag?". So we turned around and went back to look. Wish I had a camera then.

[east_tx]

I hope the sight of these pictures never stop giving me a choking lump in my throat. Thanks for posting this John.

[JPalmer]

Every year in Wichita Falls, the Iwo Jima survivors reunion takes place the closest weekend to the 23rd. One of the highlights is the reenactment of both photos to the crowd that gets smaller and smaller every year.

It is one of the most spine-tingling you can possibly imagine and I love covering it for the paper.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by C!LLY

there is a statue of that on the side of the freeway in Cali. we were visitng my in laws a couple years ago and my father in law was driving and next thing I knew he shot his head back and was like "did I just see the Iwo Jima flag?". So we turned around and went back to look. Wish I had a camera then.

This is the definative statue, the one in Washington D.C.. I first saw it with a Marine friend right at sunset and it will bring a tear to the eye. It's worth looking up when one is in D.C..

[CaptainTom]

Technically the statue is in Arlington, Virginia. Just across the Potomac River from D.C.
I used to drive by it every week. It is always impressive.