The facts behind the flag raising do not support the allegation of fraud. The flag was raised a second time on Mount Suribachi because the Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, demanded the first one be brought to him as a souvenir.
Others say the photo was posed. This too is false according to witnesses. The photo was in fact a snapshot, a one-in-a-million chance at photographic immortality, and Joe Rosenthal got lucky. It's as simple as that.
What do you think? Pure luck or stroke of PR genius?
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Dave,
ReplyDeleteThe Rosenthal photo was pure luck. He almost missed taking it. He saw the flag being raised and swung his camera around a took the shot...from the hip. Sergeant Bill Genaust was standing beside Rosenthal filming the flag raising with a motion picture camera. Comparison of Genaust's film with Rosenthal's photo proves that the flag raising wasn't staged. By the way, both the first and second flags that were raised on Suribachi are displayed at the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico. They are not displayed together, but are rotated periodically. S/F, Dirck