Brief Write-Up On Scott 929 Marines At Iwo Jima

I really like the design and thought I'd share this brief write up. -MV


Photo belongs to wikipedia; Source #2

The obverse is based on a photograph taken of the second flag raising on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. There were six men who were part of this historic moment on February 23, 1945. The five Marines were Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Michael Strank, Rene Gagnon and Ira Hayes. The sixth was a Navy corpsman named John Bradley.

The image was used to raise money for the war bond drive starting in May of 1945. The US Postal Service also issued a commemorative stamp on July 11, 1945. 137,321,000 3-cent stamps were issued raising over $4 million dollars for the Post Office.

What happened to the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima? Marines Strank, Block and Sousley were killed in the fight to secure the island. Ira Hayes suffered from depression and died in 1955. Gagnon suffered a heart attack and passed in 1979. John Bradley preferred to not discuss Iwo Jima or his role in the raising of the flag; he passed away in 1994.

The photograph inspired Felix de Weldon to create a scale model in 1945. A smaller concrete version was made and placed in DC around 1947. Work on the memorial began in 1951. De Weldon used the three survivors' faces as models; he used photographs to model the three men who were deceased. Work was completed by 1954 and President Eisenhower dedicated it in November of that year. The flag flies 24 hours a day at the memorial as a result of a proclamation by President Kennedy.

Sources:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine...War_Memorial
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raisin..._on_Iwo_Jima

A feature article on this very subject appears in the February 2015 issue of the American Philatelist at the link below:

http://stamps.org/userfiles/file/AP...re_02_15.pdf

That was an interesting read. I enjoyed seeing the way these were shipped out and the various covers.


-MV

Thanks for posting. Very nice write up. Fact Mr. Bradley never wished to discuss is a testament that behind that beautiful image depicted on the stamp, and what it meant, that perhaps the loss of life and horrors of war were a part of this and that is also what should be remembered. Sacrifice for freedom. That is what I took from this.