My father-in-law just visited, and I asked him about the flag raising. This
is what he told me: ( He was in the first wave of Marines to go ashore and
stayed in the front lines for 25 days. His company took 92 asualties)
The battle was not quite over, but the flag raising was not to demoralize the
Japanese. At this point (the flag raising) the island was ours. What remained
was 10 days of clearing the caves on the island of the Japanese.
After the first flag raising, a commanding officer on the beach told someone
up on the mountain to get a bigger one because the first flag couldn't be
seen from down below. They got the second, bigger flag from a U.S. Navy ship
off-shore. The bigger flag was more visible *to U.S. troops* which was the
main reason for raising a flag at all. The U.S. troops were complete nervous
wrecks after fighting for so long and suffering so many losses. The flag was
a big morale booster.
Both flags remain with a Marine Corps association and were on display in the
hotel in Washington D.C. ( In a free-standing glass case) at the Iwo Jima
Marines' recent 50th reunion.
Regards,
George S.
chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
<< | He says he wanted to photograph the flag raising but that it had
| already happened. However, the marines' commander saw the flag they
| had raised and said "get a *bigger* one up there". The idea was to
| demoralize the Japanese resistance.
| >>
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