Photos from the battle of Iwo Jima

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_Our_Fathers_(film)

Early in the battle, on the fifth day, the American forces captured Mount Suribachi. A contingent of Marines erected an American flag on the summit, and a photo was taken of the flag raising. Shortly afterward, Navy Secretary James Forrestal requested that the flag be sent to Washington as a souvenir. When this flag was taken down, a new one had to be put up. Strank, Block, Sousley, Hayes, Gagnon and "Doc" were the men assigned to raise this second flag. While they did, photographer Joe Rosenthal took a snapshot. A few days later, Rosenthal's snapshot was published in newspapers all over the United States. Most Americans who saw the photo believed it commemorated a great American victory, but victory was still weeks away. The bloody battle raged on at Iwo Jima, and three of the flag raisers- Strank, Block and Sousley- were killed in action without being aware of the photo's widespread fame.

The photo gained symbolic status in America, and the War Department realized that the photo and the flag raisers could have great propaganda value. It took a little while to identify and locate the flag raisers,but once Hayes, Gagnon and Doc had been identified, they were brought back to the U.S.A. and sent on a tour to promote the war.