I just joined the forum and found this thread, reading with interest some of the posters' comments about alleged fakery involved in the second flag-raising on Mount Suribachi. As I served as a rifleman in Iwo Jima's flag-raising company, E-2-28 Fifth Marine Divsion, I am able to state quite conclusively that there was nothing phoney about the famous photo. Nothing! Moreover, both first and second flags were raised under combat conditions.
Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal was not on the volcano when the first flag went up, but he made the climb in time to cover the second raising. He had nothing to do with the act itself. He just happened to be lucky enough to snap a picture of it at exactly the right moment. The main battle for Iwo Jima was only beginning, and while the second big flag flew over Suribachi it served as inspiration to the American forces determined to take the island, at whatever the cost.
After recovering from wounds suffered in the battle at the base of Mount Suribachi, I became an author, writing many books about war, including the American Revolution and Civil War. However, most important to me are those encompassing battles in the Pacific in World War II, including The Bloody Battle For Suribachi wherein the story of my company and platoon-mates in the fight leading up to and capture of Mount Suribachi, together with the triumphant flag-raisings, is told.