Two Flags Over Iwo Jima II

Lead: The taking of Iwo Jima was a blood bath on both sides, but the US Marines were inspired to even greater sacrifice when, on the fourth day of fighting, the Stars and Stripes appeared, as if by a miracle, over Mt. Suribachi.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: It actually was two flags. At mid-morning February 23, 1945, 40 men from the 3^rd Platoon, E Company, 2^nd Battalon 28^th Marine Regiment finished their long climb to the top of Mt. Suribachi, the extinct volcano dominating the skyline of the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. They had negotiated cliffs, tunnels, mines, booby traps and ravines all occupied by an entrenched enemy. A small US flag was attached to a steel pole and hoisted, for the first time, over Japanese home territory. Ship’s whistles sounded, Marines all over the island cheered and some shed tears in the midst of the enormous sacrifice required to take the island. Marine photographer Lou Lowery captured the event on film.