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warrrreagl · 02-23-2005, 07:33 AM

Normally, I don't do this, but I'd like to post a recap of an interview I heard on Imus this morning concerning the famous photo taken on Mount Suribachi. The interview was with James Bradley, who is the son of one of the famous flag-raisers that day, and he has written a book about the incident (http://www.iwojima.com/).

I have always heard that this very famous photograph was posed, but Mr. Bradley tells a different story.

According to him, the guy who shot the photo (Joe Rosenthal) was looking in the other direction when this flag was being raised. One of the other photographers with a movie camera called out, "There it goes," or something like that. Rosenthal was looking down and simply swung his camera up and snapped without looking, figuring he'd missed the whole thing anyway. Then, he gathered 18 Marines together for a posed photo of them cheering around the flag. Those were the only two photos he snapped on Mount Suribachi that day, and he figured the posed one was the only one that would be worth viewing.

In accordance with military protocol, he turned his film over to the War Department, and an AP correspondent looking through thousands of photos found the first photo of the flag-raising and was quoted as saying "Oh my God!" when he first saw it. That photo was circulated immediately, and it became instantly famous before Joe Rosenthal had ever even seen the damn thing developed. Therefore, weeks later, a correspondent from Life Magazine asked Rosenthal if his photo from Mount Suribachi had been posed, and he answered, "Of course," assuming he was talking about the second photo.

The Life Magazine reporter sent out a wire claiming that Rosenthal had admitted the famous photo was posed, and it would take years to finally get the story straight.

On the website I linked above, you can view the film taken by the other photographer which proves the famous photo was not posed.

My hat is off and my hand is over my heart in tribute to all the brave men who fought for Mount Suribachi and Iwo Jima that day. God bless you.

02-23-2005, 07:33 AM	#1 (permalink)
warrrreagl pinche vato Location: backwater, Third World, land of cotton	Iwo Jima: Anniversary and famous photo Normally, I don't do this, but I'd like to post a recap of an interview I heard on Imus this morning concerning the famous photo taken on Mount Suribachi. The interview was with James Bradley, who is the son of one of the famous flag-raisers that day, and he has written a book about the incident (http://www.iwojima.com/). I have always heard that this very famous photograph was posed, but Mr. Bradley tells a different story. According to him, the guy who shot the photo (Joe Rosenthal) was looking in the other direction when this flag was being raised. One of the other photographers with a movie camera called out, "There it goes," or something like that. Rosenthal was looking down and simply swung his camera up and snapped without looking, figuring he'd missed the whole thing anyway. Then, he gathered 18 Marines together for a posed photo of them cheering around the flag. Those were the only two photos he snapped on Mount Suribachi that day, and he figured the posed one was the only one that would be worth viewing. In accordance with military protocol, he turned his film over to the War Department, and an AP correspondent looking through thousands of photos found the first photo of the flag-raising and was quoted as saying "Oh my God!" when he first saw it. That photo was circulated immediately, and it became instantly famous before Joe Rosenthal had ever even seen the damn thing developed. Therefore, weeks later, a correspondent from Life Magazine asked Rosenthal if his photo from Mount Suribachi had been posed, and he answered, "Of course," assuming he was talking about the second photo. The Life Magazine reporter sent out a wire claiming that Rosenthal had admitted the famous photo was posed, and it would take years to finally get the story straight. On the website I linked above, you can view the film taken by the other photographer which proves the famous photo was not posed. My hat is off and my hand is over my heart in tribute to all the brave men who fought for Mount Suribachi and Iwo Jima that day. God bless you. __________________ Living is easy with eyes closed.