Im not talking about the ones who got the glory and all the after-fame--im talking about the first of the Iwo Jima, Mount Suribachi flag-raisers. I forget the gentlemans name and will post tomorrow if someone else does not. But anyway, may he Rest in Peace. The famous ones are gone--the photographer is goen, and now the lesser famed ones are all gone--May they all Rest in Peace.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070625...t_070625194309

CHICAGO, United States (AFP) - The last of the Iwo Jima flag raisers has died.

Charles W. Lindberg, who was among six marines who raised the first US flag on the Japanese island, died Sunday in Minnesota at the age of 86.
He spent much of his life arguing over one of the most reproduced photos in US history.
AP photographer Joe Rosenthal won a Pulitzer prize for his picture of six men raising the second flag on top of the volcano.
Plastered on posters, postage stamps and the covers of newspapers and magazines, it became a symbol of bravery and victory.
But Lindberg - no relation to the aviator - was among the picture's many critics and fought to counter the mythology which arose around the photo.
Lindberg wanted people to know that the battle was far from over when the flag was raised. He was seriously injured a week later and the battle did not end for nearly a month at the cost of nearly 7,000 American and 20,000 Japanese soldiers.
But he also struggled to win recognition for his fight up the side of Mount Suribachi.
Lindenberg carried five gallons of gasoline on his back and shot fire into the tunnels where the Japanese were hiding as his patrol crawled up the mountain with the first flag.
"Two of our men found a great big long pole up there, about 20-feet long," he told Minnesota Public Radio in an interview two years ago.
"We tied the flag to it, carried it to the highest spot we could find, and raised it. Boy, then the island came alive down below. The troops started to cheer, the ships' whistles went off, it was quite a proud moment."
Four hours later, a larger flag was raised and the marines captured in the photograph became national heros. Lindberg did not hear about it until he arrived home, nursing a shattered arm.
"So I went on home, and started talking about this, I was called a liar and everything else. It was terrible," he told the radio station.
Lindberg kept telling his story and eventual gained the recognition he had longed for, meeting first President Richard Nixon and later President Bill Clinton.
He was also invited to the dedication of the Iwo Jima monument outside of Washington, even though it was modeled on the image of the second flag-raising.
Japan recently renamed the island Iwo To.

Attached Images

20070528_lindberg_2.jpg (12.5 KB, 3 views)

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"Don't be a fool and die for your country. Let the other sonofabitch die for his." George S. Patton

How frustrating it must have been for the first group that raised the flag ! I remember reading about it years ago. Someone thought the first flag too small so a second flag was brought up, with photographer, and the rest is incorrect history.

It reminds me about the P-38 pilot who claimed to have shot down Yamamoto's Betty bomber he was riding in. I think his name was Lynch. He got back to base first and claimed the victory before the other pilots could say anything even though he did not shoot the bomber down.

Just goes to show if you do anything, you need good press to make you famous.

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Work Harder ! Millions on welfare are depending on you.

Zippo, that is him. Thanks for posting his name and story.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Hank Hansen (without helmet), Boots Thomas (seated), John Bradley (behind Thomas) Phil Ward (hand visible grasping pole), Jim Michaels (with carbine) and Chuck Lindberg (behind Michaels).

Rest in peace Mr. Lindberg.

Thanks for this photo. One thing I had not known, was that I never knew Bradley was part of both flag-raisings. Learning something new every day ;-))

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

You know there is actually some controversy whether or not Bradley took part in the first flag raising as well as the second. There was an article about this in the March 2007 issue of World War II Magazine. The evidence is the set of photographs taken by Marine photographer Louis Lowery, the same man that took the photo of the flag raising above. Some of the signs in the photographs that identify Bradley are his medical bracelet and his unit 3 medical pouch. Chuck Lindberg denied that Bradley took part in the first flag raising.

On a related note, Lindberg may not have been the last survivor. Radioman Raymond Jacobs is believed to have taken part in the first flag raising and has been trying to prove it for years.

interesting point. I have heard this as well. But I also feel that as the generations go on, they seem to look to disprove the generations before. In other words, does it really matter what their names were? I am from geman/norwiegien descent and one of the maxims was "your name is not as important as your action if it protects the homeland."
Is it just me or does it seem that "legends" are a thing of the past? Everything seems to be media oriented and if you can't prove it via a web site or link then ppl minimize your claim. This is just a hypothesis, as I belong to several boards. I think there is a certian stigmata to the whole flag raising event that was certianly media/propaganda oriented but to try and flush it out at this point in the game is a moot point.

Just an opinion of course ...a couple of the schnapps did it...

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"Don't be a fool and die for your country. Let the other sonofabitch die for his." George S. Patton

Well they say: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."

Great quote by the way that comes from a great John Wayne movie: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" to be exact. ;-))

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.