Puzzle Description:

The Iwo Jima Monument commemorating the second U.S. flag raising on mount Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima.

#1: theo van emmen (theo) on Jan 4, 2005

very good picture and good puzzle too

Great picture. Very iconic. And I like the way the puzzle solved from the bottom up.

It's interesting you should say the "second U.S. flag raising". I've heard that, too. The photographer apparently missed the first opportunity to snap the photo and told the soldiers to raise the flag again so that he could get the shot...so I've heard. I haven't researched it, so I don't know if it's true. Great puzzle, by the way.

No, the story is more complex than that. Nothing was staged by the photographer. The first flag raising was photographed too. The picture just isn't as cool.

It seems the Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, was arriving on the island just as the first flag going up, and seeing the dot of red, white and blue going up atop the island as he landed on the beach made him so happy that he said he wanted to get the flag as a souvenier.

The Marine Commander, Chandler Johnson, however, thought that the flag that had cost so many lives ought to belong to the battalion, so he ordered that it be taken down and replaced so that the original could be kept out of Forrestal's hands. The original flag was rather small, so he ordered them to replace it with a bigger one while they were at it.

The photographer, Joe Rosenthal, happened to be around when the second flag was going up. It happened before he was quite ready, so he grabbed his camera off the ground and took a quick shot without even looking through the view finder. The fabulous composition of the photo is pure accident.

Later, Rosenthal took another posed picture of the flag raisers. When people asked him later if he has posed the shot, he said, "yeah, sure" thinking they were referring to the second shot, thus starting years of rumors that the famous picture was staged. It wasn't though. Another man standing next to Rosenthal took a movie of the second flag raising, and it is perfectly clear that nothing was staged by the photographer or anyone else.

Awesome picture, thanks so much!

Jan, This is truly an awesome puzzle. Thank you for thinking of this image to compose. I'm so glad I happened to find it in the "Best Puzzles", where it belongs!!!

Great puzzle, so glad I found it. Do you mind if I try to crochet it? It looks like it might work.

Do what you like with it.

Thanks, Jan

A wonderful image that I'm sure was difficult to render. Thanks for the effort.

this is very well done!

really cool pic, Jan ...my uncle was there at the rising

ditto!!!!!!!!!!!

It's enjoyable to solve.

Love the story. :)

Wow! Cool picture....cool solve... and very educational story. Thanks for sharing the story and the puzzle.

Very, very nice. Very clear image in a restricted space.

Great puzzle, and details about that story I'd never heard.

An interesting article about the picture and photographer: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/JOE-ROSENTHAL-1911-2006-Photo-was-his-fame-2490706.php

Thanks, Joe. I learned a little more about history today.

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