Joe Rosenthal: A Veteran Photographer

Joe Rosenthal was born in Washington D.C on October 9, 1911. Parents were desencents of Russia. Recieved a degree in photography from the University of San Francisco. Followed the U.S Marine Corps throughout the Pacific Operation as a "embedded journalist."



This photo, "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" is one of the most well known photos of the war. He was climbing to the top and he saw a small American flag on a long pole. He then noticed that a group of marines were getting ready to raise a secong flag. The commander wanted a bigger flag, so all the troops on the island could see it. Another man was shooting with a film camera and documenting the event. "Here they go" he said. Joe swung his camera around and shot the picture with a 1/400th of a second shutter speed. He had one chance to take this photo. The picture above has become one of the most favorable photos of the war.