The famous photo depicting the raising of the American flag over Iwo Jima has become an iconic image of World War II, but veteran Leonard Becker said he knows the truth of where the flag came from.
While the question of who appeared in the iconic Iwo Jima flag raising photo seems to have been solved, there’s still a dispute as to where the flag came from. The Marine Corps asserts the flag came from LST-779, while the Coast Guard has documented conflicting claims that the flag came from another ship, LST-758.
Becker, a World War II veteran now living in Sheboygan, said he was aboard a ship grounded on a beach at the base of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, when he saw a marine barreling full-speed down the mountain toward his vessel, LST-758.
“A bunch of us were out there, some were unloading things, when all the sudden we saw a guy running down Suribachi,” Becker said. “The marine asked if we had a flag, and we had one right next to the galley near where we ate.”
The ship’s crew was hesitant to hand over the flag, fearing they would never get it back, but ultimately handed it over — and the marine turned and ran back up the mountain.
“The petty officer asked ‘if we give you our flag, will we get another one?’ and the marine said ‘I don’t think so,’” Becker laughed.
Two different flags were raised on Mt. Suribachi on February 23, 1945. The first was raised just before 10:30 a.m. after marines first secured the summit. Thinking the first flag too small, marines later in the day raised a second, larger flag — a flag which Becker claimed came from his boat.
The raising of the second flag was captured by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal and has become one of the most iconic images from the war.
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Source: Sheboygan Press
