Title from caption on object: "Marine Who Made Movie of Famous Iwo Jima Flag Raising Dies in Action"

February 23, 1945

William H. Genaust

Associated Names
William H. Genaust

Artist, American, 1906 - 1945

ACME Newspictures

Publisher

This is a photograph depicting a group of soldiers raising a flag. The image shows the soldiers working together to hoist a large flag on a rocky landscape. The flag is partially unfurled and visible in the wind, displaying stars and stripes. The composition emphasizes unity and triumph, with the pole balancing between the earth and sky. The monochrome quality of the photograph gives it a historic and timeless feel, highlighting the emotions associated with raising the flag.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon

  • Dimensions

    image: 16.3 × 20.7 cm (6 7/16 × 8 1/8 in.)
    sheet: 17.8 × 23.4 cm (7 × 9 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2018.177.355


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, Henry Yee, Ebay.com); Mary and Dan Solomon, Monarch Beach, CA; gift to NGA, 2018.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

on verso, center printed in purple ink on applied paper inverted: MARINE WHO MADE MOVIE OF FAMOUS / IWO JIMA FLAG-RAISING DIES IN ACTION / THE COMBAT MARINE PHOTOGRAPHER WHOSE / MOVIE CAMERA RECORDED THE FAMOUS FLAG- / RAISING ATOP MOUNT SURIBACHI WAS KILLED / IN ACTION ON IWO JIMA ON MARCH 4, MARINE / CORPS HEADQUARTERS HAS ANNOUNCED. HE IS / SGT. WILLIAM H. GENAUST, OF MINNEAPOLIS, / MINN. CLIPS FROM THIS FIGHTING CAMERAMAN'S / MOVIE, ABOVE, SHOW THE SEQUENCE OF ACTION / LEADING UP TO THE THRUSTING OF THE FLAG / STAFF INTO THE ROCKY EARTH AS DEPICTED / IN THE STILL PICTURE WHICH ASSOCIATED PRESS / PHOTOGRAPHER JOE ROSENTHAL MADE WHILE / STANDING BESIDE GENAUST DURING THE EPIC / CEREMONY. GENAUST HAD BEEN WOUNDED ON / SAIPAN LAST JULY. WHILE RETURNING FROM A / PHOTOGRAPHIC MISSION, HE AND TWO OTHER / MARINES KILLED 10 JAPANESE AND LATER HELD / OUT AGAINST POWERFUL ENEMY FIRE FROM A / CLIFFSIDE. GENAUST WAS AWARDED THE BRONZE / STAR FOR HIS "OUTSTANDING COURAGE AND / COOLNESS." / 760292 -- PHOTO NO. 2 SHOWS THE STAFF / SLOWLY BEGINNING TO RISE AS THE MEN PUSH / THE BASE FARTHER INTO THE EARTH. SEE / PHOTOS NO. 760292 (1), (3), AND (4). / CREDIT (ACME) 5/21/45


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