Raising the Flags of Iwo Jima and the Rest of the Story

By John Sprague

My dad, Cpl Norman P Sprague, fought at Iwo Jima so I did an in depth look at everything that happened there. One thing that I discovered was that the iconic photograph that was taken by Joe Rosenthal was of the second flag that was hoisted on Mount Suribachi. My second discovery was that only two years before that time, the correct names of those raising that flag became known for the first time. It has been many years since the battle of Iwo Jima during WW II yet the facts had not been known exactly.

One thing I have done in my examination has been to identify the men who had raised the first flag and I have later discovered that there was at least a third flag also. I have the picture but not the identities of flag number three. Those who were first to erect the Flag number one are the following: Lt Harold G. Schrier, Sgt. Ernest Thomas and Sgt Oliver Hanson. Then wind came up so they needed help and they were then aided by Cpl Charles Lindberg, Pfc James Michels, Pfc Raymond Jacobs and Navy Corpsman John Bradley. "Flags of our Fathers" had been written by his son James Bradley. I read his book and saw the movie too. That flag was 54" x 28" on the first one and it had been taken from the USS Missoula, a transport ship. The photographer was Louis Lowery for that picture.

As for flag number two, the one that gets all the glory, the men are: Sgt Michael Strank, Cpl Hanlon H Block, Pfc Franklin R Sousley, Pfc Ira H Hayes, Pfc Rene A Gagnan and Harold Schultz.The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Rosenthal for his perfect photo of the larger flag and men. The flag was 96" x 56" in size and came from The LST-779 which was a tank transport ship. For many years Sgt Henry Hanson was thought to have been one of the flag raisers but was not one. Sadly, he also never had gotten to leave Iwo Jima alive as he had been killed by a sniper's bullet there.

Lt Harold G Schrier was the first man to reach the top of Suribachi and he was awarded the Navy Cross for his efforts and heroism. He led the first marines from the 28th regiment of the 5th marine division to reach the top of that mountain and not knowing what he would face when he got there.

The Japanese were led by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi who had his men well hidden underground. There were 21,000 men hiding in 13,000 yards of tunnel with a thousand cave entrances. They were well prepared for the coming onslaught of our fighting marines. My dad was with the 3rd Marine Div. that had responsibility for the middle of the island. His division were a reserve unit since they had come from a fresh battle at Guam. Dad as part of a scout party, still went out early so he got to see more action. Luckily, he made it out alive. The marine casualties were high. Marine command said there were 17, 372 wounded and 5,931 killed on Iwo Jima. The 4th Marine Div. Fought along the beaches and the quarry area while the 5th Marines concentrated on Mt Suribachi and the opposite beaches nearby. The 3rd Division went toward the airfields and their portion of wounded was 4438 and 1131 killed. The whole island was dangerous and there were many heros.

The Japanese lost 19,977 men and there were 216 navy and 867 army members taken prisoner. One other discovery was that the Japanese had used Korean slaves to help fight to the finish. Kuribayashi had asked his men to make the ultimate sacrifices for the Emperor and the Japanese people.

After that battle, the next fight was at Okinawa and then there were bombing raids on the Japanese mainland. The Japanese formerly surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri ship after the atomic bomb droppings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had taken place.

John utilizes his 30 years working in a diverse selection of jobs from Electronics, Inventory Control, Computer Operations, Manufacturing, Restaurant & Bar ownership to a more recent nine years of overseas military and embassy contract work. Presently newly retired and writing, reading and working on websites and spending time with family.