“The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years.”
James Forrestal – Secretary of the Navy – 23rd February 1945″

Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue.”
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz – 16th March 1945

Unfortunately, someone somewhere down the years spilled coffee (?) on this photo.  When Grandpa Les pulled out pictures to show us, invariably he would choose this as one of them.  He was proud of his service and this is one of the most famous scenes from the war.

Grandpa Les was understandably proud of the moment and cherished the unique momento of history.  After all, books have been written about this moment in history. This moment has been memorialized with the United State Marine Corps Memorial and the recent movie Flags of Our Fathers.