Florida Humanities Council

Members of 40 man patrol planting first American flag at Iwo Jima

Members of 40 man patrol planting first American flag at Iwo Jima

Description: Louis R. Lowery's photo of members of the 40 man patrol that planted the first American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, on Iwo Jima. Feb. 23, 1945 10:20 AM. Ernest ['Boots'] Thomas, center (of Monticello), was killed a week later while calling in fire support for his men. The raising of a larger flag 4 hours later was immortalized by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal. His photo was used for the creation of the Iwo Jima [Marine Corp War Memorial] sculpture near Arlington Cemetery in VA.

  • Citation: Courtesy of the Florida State Archives
  • Date Taken: 2/23/1945