Julian Miranda Visual Analysis Iwo Jima The Iwo Jima Flag raising touched many when the

people saw these soldiers risking their lives to keep the flag of our country up in the flames of war. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Three of the men in the picture (Franklin Sousley, Harlon Block, and Michael Strank) were killed during the battle; the three survivors (John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes) became celebrities upon their identification in the photo.

Soldiers today face many of the same threats in wars; but with much more advanced technology and new precise ways of killing, threats can come at a moments notice, and leave with ashes at its wake. War is a terrible in every way shape and form. You can see from the lower area of the picture that what was once a peaceful mountain is now filled with dead bodies, shrapnel and ashes. War is chaos at its most powerful state. No matter who the victor is in war, there will always be a wasteland. Raising the winning nations flag at a point where a territory has officially been taken is normal. It is a sign that this land no longer belongs to the original owners. Rising the flag is a serious motivational for the troops. It means that through the hardships and deaths they are facing, they are winning, and all of the sacrifices in battle werent lost in vein. The flag to a soldier is one of the most important things that they hold their honor to. The fog of war is very elusive; the fog has its good and bad to both sides. The fog hides the chaos. It hides all the bad that is going on, and all the possible good that is going on in a battle. Fog is the only neutral thing in the battlefield. It takes no sides, but it is used by both

sides. It shrouds your enemies and your friends. Everything fog can offer, it is taken by both sides, not just one. Of the six men pictured Michael Strank, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley, and Harlon Block only three (Hayes, Gagnon, and Bradley) survived the battle. Strank was killed six days after the flag-raising when a shell, fired from an offshore American destroyer, tore his heart out; Block was killed by a mortar a few hours after Strank; Sousley was shot and killed by a sniper on March 21, a few days before the island was declared secure. Ira became an alcoholic when he returned home. Ira tried to drown his Conflict of Honor with alcohol. Ira drank himself to death at the age of 32, January 24, 1955. Rene was modest about his achievement throughout his life. Rene is honored with a special room in New Hampshires Wright Museum. Rene the Flag Raiser is buried closest to the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. Of the surviving Flag Raisers, only Bradley was successful in putting his life back together after the war. John Bradley returned to his home town in the Midwest after the war, prospered as the owner of a family business, and gave generously of his time and money to local causes. He was married for 47 years and had eight children, and died at the age of 70, January 11, 1994. The struggles of a soldier are unparalleled; the simple task of raising a flag has a whole different meaning when youre being shot at. But war isnt fought alone; it is fought with a team that has equal goals. As you see in the picture, this group of American soldiers, although different in rank, and most likely different from the place they were born, are brought together here, to fight for what is right, to fight as a team and to risk their lives to ensure that good will prevail.