--- description: How photographer Joe Rosenthal captured one of the most famous photographs from WWII of marines hoisting a flag in Iwo Jima. title: VIDEO: VIDEO: The Making of the Iconic Iwo Jima Photograph image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6319100fdfdee0c3/698686cbe53abadbb74d1a24/ap4502230115.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # VIDEO: The Story Behind the Iconic Iwo Jima Photograph by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 22, 2014 8:21 PM CUT  U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945. U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945.Joe Rosenthal—AP by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 22, 2014 8:21 PM CUT When AP photographer Joe Rosenthal watched marines hoisting the flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, he wasn’t sure he got the shot. It turned out to be one of the most famous photographs from WWII. In the video above, Hal Buell, former photo editor of the Associated Press, narrates the history and significance of what Rosenthal captured in the image. The battle ended 69 years ago this week. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/34526/video-the-making-of-the-iconic-iwo-jima-photograph/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/34526/video-the-making-of-the-iconic-iwo-jima-photograph/"},"headline":"VIDEO: The Story Behind the Iconic Iwo Jima Photograph","datePublished":"2014-03-22T20:21:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:54:43.171Z","description":"The photo depicts the raising of the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima, which drew to a close 69 years ago this week","url":"https://time.com/34526/video-the-making-of-the-iconic-iwo-jima-photograph/","keywords":["History","Japan","World War II","Photo","anniversary"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6319100fdfdee0c3/698686cbe53abadbb74d1a24/ap4502230115.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6319100fdfdee0c3/698686cbe53abadbb74d1a24/ap4502230115.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"IWO JIMA FLAG RAISING","caption":"IWO JIMA FLAG RAISING","creditText":"Joe Rosenthal—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/34526/video-the-making-of-the-iconic-iwo-jima-photograph/","name":"VIDEO: The Story Behind the Iconic Iwo Jima Photograph"}}]}] ```