Free Republic

In a September 17, 1947 letter, U.S. Marine Corp. Sgt. Lou Lowery wrote, “You fellows did all the dirty work and the ones who were on Rosenthal’s picture got all the credit.” The letter’s recipient, Pfc. Raymond Jacobs, was among the Marines who raised the first flag atop Iwo Jimo, which Lou Lowery photographed. However, it was a second flag raising that occurred moments later, caught on film by Joe Rosenthal, that would capture the world’s imagination. His Pulitzer Prize winning photograph would become one of the most iconic symbols of the American determination in World War II and immortalize...