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Outstanding vintage 10 x 8 photo of three of the men credited with the raising of an American flag atop Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi, shown examining the tattered flag, signed in fountain pen by all three: "Ira H. Hayes, Pfc., U.S.M.C.," "John H. Bradley, Ph. M. 2/c," and "Pfc. R. A. Gagnon." A contemporary notation on reverse reads: "The three survivors of the flag raising on Iwo Jima with the original flag. Boston, Mass. May 14, 1945." In very good to fine condition, with scattered creasing and rippling and a small stain to the upper right corner.
The iconic moment caught in AP photographer Joe Rosenthal's photograph was not appreciated until his film was processed on Guam several days later. When the dramatic importance of the flag-raising photograph was understood, the Marines set out to find the servicemen depicted. Hayes, Bradley, and Gagnon were identified as the three survivors and given a domestic reassignment to help raise funds for the Seventh War Loan drive. The trio toured the nation for two months with the flag and raised over $26 billion, twice the original goal.
We now know that Hayes is the only one of the three actually seen in Rosenthal's photograph. Bradley had participated in an earlier flag-raising on Mount Suribachi and was long believed to appear in the image until later research showed that figure to be Marine Harold Schultz. Gagnon participated in the second flag-raising, delivering a larger replacement flag to the summit, but is not seen in Rosenthal's famous photograph, initially mistaken for Harold Keller. These identities were not conclusively established until the 21st century. Nevertheless, this triple-signed photograph presents a phenomenal union of three unlikely heroes who, along with their fallen comrades, became the collective ‘face’ of World War II in the United States.
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