From Military.com:
“Marine Corps Announces It Was
Wrong -- Again -- on Iwo Jima Flag-Raising Photo”
Historians have uncovered
evidence that another Marine long-believed to be in a famous photo from atop
Mount Suribachi during World War II was misidentified. Pfc. Rene A. Gagnon
posed for the Marine Corps War Memorial, a bronze statue that sits just outside
Washington, D.C., and features 32-foot figures and a 60-foot flagpole. He was
thought to be one of the six Marines captured in the famous photo snapped by
Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal in February 1945 during the Battle
of Iwo Jima. But now Marine Corps officials say Gagnon, visible only by his
helmet, wasn't in that famous photo. It was actually Cpl. Harold P. Keller. The
discovery was made by historians who approached Marine officials after a 2016
change to the historic record of Rosenthal's photo. Following an investigation
into evidence from another set of historians, the Marine Corps then determined
that a Navy corpsman, John Bradley, believed to be in the photo was not. Another
man, Pfc. Harold Schultz -- who'd never been publicly linked to the image --
was there instead. The historians who approached the Marine Corps about Keller
"provided a significant amount of new evidence for consideration, mostly
in the form of dozens of previously private photographs," Marine officials
said in a Thursday news release about the change. The switch was first reported
Wednesday by NBC News. The Marine Corps formed a board to consider the new
evidence, and even sought help from the FBI as it assessed the new photographs.
Keller is in the backside of the photo, behind other Marines whose backs are
turned as they raise the flag. "As a result of the board's evaluation of
the information provided, the Marine Corps accepted the change in the
identification of the Marines pictured in the photograph as necessary in the
historical documentation of Rosenthal's photograph," the statement reads.
"The names associated with pictured individuals is the only change
resulting from this board." Among the evidence that proved it was Keller
in the photo, according to NBC News, were distinct creases on his helmet, the
positioning of his shirt collar, and the way he carried ammunition. Dustin
Spence, one of the historians who spent years studying the photos and
accompanying evidence, told NBC it's important to get history right. "It's
important for the legacy of not only them but their families," Spence told
the outlet. The new identification doesn't mean Gagnon didn't play an important
role in Marine Corps history though, the service stressed. He was directly
responsible for getting a larger second flag to the top of Mount Suribachi and
returning the first flag for safe keeping. "Without those efforts,"
the Marine Corps statement reads, "this historical event might not have
been captured, let alone even occurred." "Regardless of who was in
the photograph, each and every Marine who set foot on Iwo Jima, or supported
the effort from the sea and air around the island is, and always will be, a
part of our Corps' cherished history," the statement adds. "In the
words of General David H. Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps, 'They are all
heroes.'" Marine officials said they are grateful for the historians'
effort, which allows them to preserve their legacy. Kay Maurer, Keller's
daughter, told NBC she was surprised to learn her dad was in the photograph,
adding that she gets emotional just thinking about it. "It gives you an
amazing feeling that I just can't even describe," she said, "to look
up and just think, 'Whoa. That's my dad.'"
^ This is a very iconic photo and
everyone that was there (whether they raised the American flag or not) deserves
to be remembered for everything they did on Iwo Jima to help end World War 2
and bring Democracy back to the world. ^
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