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Originally Posted by Jimbuna

1945 US Marines raise American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture.

A PHOTO SHOP JOB FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY'S BENEFIT; THIS IS THE REAL FLAG RAISING:...WHICH WAS THEN FURLED AS THE SECOND FLAG WENT UP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima

The Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, had decided the previous night that he wanted to go ashore and witness the final stage of the fight for the mountain. Now, under a stern commitment to take orders from Howlin' Mad Smith, the secretary was churning ashore in the company of the blunt, earthy general. Their boat touched the beach just after the flag went up, and the mood among the high command turned jubilant. Gazing upward, at the red, white, and blue speck, Forrestal remarked to Smith: "Holland, the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years".

Forrestal was so taken with fervor of the moment that he decided he wanted the Second Battalion's flag flying on Mt. Suribachi as a souvenir. The news of this wish did not sit well with 2nd Battalion Commander Chandler Johnson, whose temperament was every bit as fiery as Howlin Mad's. "To hell with that!" the colonel spat when the message reached him. The flag belonged to the battalion, as far as Johnson was concerned. He decided to secure it as soon as possible, and dispatched his assistant operations officer, Lieutenant Ted Tuttle, to the beach to obtain a replacement flag. As an afterthought, Johnson called after Tuttle: "And make it a bigger one."

ADMITTEDLY THOUGH THE SECOND PHOTO IS MORE....STATUESQUE! THE FIRST FLAG RAISING WAS THE BIG MORALE BOOSTER THOUGH:

The raising of the national colors immediately caused a loud cheering reaction from the Marines, sailors, and coast guardsmen on the beach below and from the men on the ships near the beach. The loud noise made by the servicemen and blasts of the ship horns alerted the Japanese, who up to this point had stayed in their cave bunkers. Schrier and his men near the flagstaff then came under fire from Japanese troops, but the Marines quickly eliminated the threat.

POOR LITTLE NIPPERS....HAD TO KNOW THE JIG WAS UP WHEN THE INVASION FLEET HORNS WENT OFF!