80 years ago Marines raised flag over Iwo Jima in iconic moment

On Feb. 23, 1945, six Marines teamed up for what would go 1 of the astir iconic photos successful American history.

Marines warring connected Iwo Jima scaled Mount Suribachi and worked unneurotic to propulsion up an American flag, a infinitesimal that was captured by subject photographers and aboriginal became an enduring awesome of the Allied triumph implicit Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan successful World War II.

Marines initially invaded Iwo Jima connected Feb. 19, 1945, arsenic portion of the U.S. island-hopping run successful the Pacific, and it took 4 days to summation the acme of Suribachi, according to a Department of Defense report. 

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"The taking of the 554-foot elevation was significant, successful that it suppressed the occurrence from Japanese who were dug successful and who had premier vantage of overmuch of the island," the DOD study reads.

Fighting continued connected the land until March 26, resulting successful the wounded oregon decease of astir 27,000 Marines and sailors.

The brutal warring besides led to the deaths of 21,000 Japanese soldiers, who defended the land done a bid of caves, tunnels and pillboxes.

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Yet the photograph from 4 days into the conflict remains its enduring image, spreading rapidly passim the satellite and becoming a almighty recruiting and morale instrumentality for the U.S. government.

"The photograph was the centerpiece of a war-bond poster that helped rise $26 cardinal successful 1945," the Pulitzer Prize Board wrote successful its online relationship of the image.

While the individuality of the men successful the photograph has been the taxable of decades of debate, the astir caller probe suggests the men are, from left, Pfc. Ira Hayes, Pfc. Harold Schultz, Sgt. Michael Strank, Pfc. Franklin Sousley, Pfc. Harold Keller and Cpl. Harlon Block.

Block, Sousley and Strank were aboriginal killed during the fighting connected Iwo Jima.

But the representation has endured the trial of time, being duplicated connected everything from postage stamps to a memorial conscionable northbound of Arlington National Cemetery successful Arlington, Va.