Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue

"Among the Americans who served on the Iwo island, uncommon valor was a common virtue." -Admiral Chester Nimitz"Surviving that beach was like walking in the rain without getting wet. As I ducked from shell hole to shell hole, I spotted bodies and body parts. The sand was discolored in so many places to a deep red by the blood of those who preceded me.The onslaught was hell's horror. Pillboxes emerged like magic from the terrain and poured a hail of fire on the beach. Artillery from the other side of the island opened up. Landing craft were hit in the water, the Marines on board slain before they fired a shot. Mortars and shells came in, wounding again those already wounded.I finally hitched a ride and made it to the command vessel in time to get my photos on the plane to Guam. I wondered whether I could return and face that beach yet again..." —Joe Rosenthal, from Uncommon Valor, Uncommon VirtueIt remains the U.S. Marine Corps. bloodiest battle. In thirty-six days of horrific fighting, Iwo Jima—a virtually unknown but critically strategic Japanese island—became a place no one would forget. Fifty years later, it is the iconic photo of Marines raising the American flag on the battle's fifth day that keeps the memory of Iwo Jima alive.On February 23, 1945, as the battle raged below, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's camera captured five Marines and a Navy Corpsman raising the Stars-and-Stripes on Mt. Suribachi. This photograph would eventually mean much more than just a brief image from a faraway island—it would come to symbolize the valor and eventual victory of the Marines, and the nation's determination to win World War II.This is the full story of the ten days Rosenthal spent on Iwo Jima as Marines fought on bloody, black volcanic sands against a murderous onslaught—and how his Pulitzer-winning picture came to be. A full account of the battle, this unique photohistory contains over 120 combat photographs—including revealing shots of the famous flag-raising by other photographers—as well as quotes from survivors, newspapers and magazines, battle reports and Medal of Honor citations.Generously illustrated, Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue is a grunt's-eye view of the Marines' savage struggle against a masterful Japanese army prepared to fight to the end. It recounts the enduring legacy of "the photograph" in films and popular culture, the fates of the flag-raisers themselves, and the historic picture of three firemen raising the American flag at the site of the World Trade Center disaster that recalls Joe Rosenthal's timeless photograph—and its portrait of steely resolve in the face of tyranny.

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