Patriot A Hero's Silent Departure
June 26th, 2007 by Patriot
It was February 19, 1945. US Marines were the main element of Operation Detachment, the push to take the airfields of Iwo Jima. For four days, artillery and Naval gunfire hammered the shores, airfields and entrenchments of the island. Two patrols of Marines reconnoitered Mount Suribachi. Contrary to popular belief, the trek up the hill the first time uneventful but for a few Japanese defenders that were quickly dispatched to Buddha. Marines returned with news that the Japanese had left the mount largely undefended as they had retreated to underground tunnels and bunkers. Colonel Chandler Johnson sent the Marines back up with a flag to raise over the island. Once the flag was raised, the first time a foreign flag had been flown over Japanese territories for centuries, Johnson decided he wanted the flag as a souvenir and sent Sergeant Mike Strank up the hill with a second flag. Strank would take the famous photo of the SECOND flag being hoisted up on Mount Suribachi by 5 Marines and a Navy Corpsman.
One of those men was Silver Star recipient Corporal Charles W. Lindberg. It went largely unreported that Corporal Lindberg died this past Sunday at the age of 86.
No one, he said, believed him when he said he raised the first flag at Iwo Jima. "I was called a liar," he said. In 1954, Lindberg was invited to Washington for the dedication of the Marine memorial. It carried the names of the second group of flag-raisers, but not the first.
He spent his final years trying to raise awareness of the first flag-raising, speaking to veterans groups and at schools. He sold autographed copies of Lowery's photos through catalogs.
A back room in his neat house was filled with souvenirs of the battle, including a huge mural based on one of Lowery's photos. Prints of the photos were kept handy for visitors, and Lindberg's Silver Star and Purple Heart were in little boxes on a side table.
May we never forget the sacrifices of our nation's defenders, wherever our government sends us.
"May we never forget the sacrifices of our nation's defenders, wherever our government sends us."-Last statement from Post
I think Some people forget too easily.
That pic. will represent us now and in the future boys"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."
–Nathan Hale
I love that photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!