JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — The elderly gentleman stood falteringly with camera in hand trying to capture a last minute picture of the barn at Eddie Adams’ farm, site of the Sixteenth Annual Eddie Adams Workshop. After a hectic weekend of photography, editing and discussion that had brought a hundred aspiring photographers to town, Eddie Adams and a few remaining guests at the farm were hurrying to leave, but the 91-year-old gentleman stood unfazed, determined to take his picture. Age had altered neither his resolve nor his focus.

More than 58 years ago, the then 33-year-old Joseph Rosenthal, an Associated Press (AP) photographer, had braved enemy fire and trekked through havoc and chaos to accompany a detachment of marines to the top of Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. Rosenthal had gotten wind that a small group of Marines were deployed to raise a flag atop the extinct volcano and he had to be there. A combination of unflappable resolve and luck resulted in his taking a photo that would become world famous, earn him a Pulitzer Prize and come to stand as a symbol of the bravery and sacrifice rendered by our soldiers in all conflicts. 

Senators were so moved by Rosenthal’s photo that they urged the commissioning of a bronze memorial sculpted by Felix DeWeldon, which stands in our nation’s capital. The statue, dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, has an inscription that reads: “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue.”

Rosenthal’s photo is a story unto itself. He was on hand for the invasion of Iwo Jima, which began on February 19, 1945. The 36 days of fighting resulted in nearly 7,000 Americans and 20,000 Japanese being killed including 36 of the 40-man platoon that had climbed Mt. Suribachi and raised the American flag. It was the first of the Japanese-held territories to be recaptured, and the victory was key in the eventual defeat of Japan.

A photographer tells his story…

“My technique was to try and get in with the assault boats running ashore and to land within an hour of the beginning of the battle. The battle was expected to last about a week but it lasted 36 days. The Japanese resistance was fierce. I was there for the first 12 days and was shuttling back and forth from the island to the command ship with my film, which was then packaged and sent to a navy lab on New Guinea to an AP editor for processing.

“On the fifth day, [February 23], I heard that Marine Corps General Holland M. Smith and the Secretary of the Navy were on a smaller ship in the fleet offshore. I wanted to get a picture of them as they were observing the ongoing battle. I went with a correspondent from Newsweek. I thought I might get a photo with Mt. Suribachi in the background. 

“We heard over the radio that a patrol was going up [Mt. Suribachi], which could signify the capture of the highest point on the island. I went up with a patrol and there was still a lot of action. The Japanese had tunnels and there were numerous explosions, bodies and debris. As I came over the brow of a ridge I saw a flag already there, fluttering on a long pole. The flag was about two and a half by four feet. I saw three marines kneeling. They had a pole and one held a folded flag under his arm. ‘What’s doing fella?’ I asked. ‘We’re gonna put this larger flag up so the rest of the guys can see it,’ they said. As they raised the flag, I took the photo.”