--- title: Raising the Flag at Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima: History of the Photo description: The iconic photograph was taken on Feb. 23, 1945 canonical: https://time.com/3709182/iwo-jima-flag-history/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-23T11:45:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:54.113Z article:section: History og:title: Raising the Flag at Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima: History of the Photo og:description: The iconic photograph was taken on Feb. 23, 1945 og:url: https://time.com/3709182/iwo-jima-flag-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e66ab724f3b3529/69877f3c5f570f1c12b15462/iwo.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: IWO JIMA FLAG RAISING og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Raising the Flag at Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima: History of the Photo twitter:description: The iconic photograph was taken on Feb. 23, 1945 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e66ab724f3b3529/69877f3c5f570f1c12b15462/iwo.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 04:56 video:published: 2009-06-05 section: history topics: World War II, D-Day, Omaha Beach, war photography, Robert Capa, Allied invasion of Normandy, lost film, iconic photographs genre: documentary, historical tones: reflective, somber, respectful, informative emotions: admiration (medium), tension (medium), sadness (low) sentiment: neutral audience: history enthusiasts, photography fans, WWII students, general news viewers people: Robert Capa, Houston Riley organizations: LIFE magazine, Allied Forces content_suitability: war [00:00-04:56]; violence [01:53-02:31]; death [02:06-02:31]; tragedy [03:22-04:02] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # The Story Behind World War II's Most Famous Photograph > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=94ef05cf-7691-4f00-a77b-b1c1aa60eeb8&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=94ef05cf-7691-4f00-a77b-b1c1aa60eeb8&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Iconic Photo of D-Day [Watch (HLS stream): The Iconic Photo of D-Day](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PohPLQUq.m3u8) (4:56)  _Published 2009-06-05. Robert Capa's LIFE photos of the invasion of Normandy -- and a lone soldier near the beach -- are icons of WWII, and were almost destroyed_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video examines Robert Capa's photographs of the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach, focusing on his most iconic image of a soldier pulled onto the beach. It covers the chaotic conditions of the landing, the identification of the soldier as Houston Riley, and how most of Capa's film was lost or damaged. Contributors describe why the photograph captures the human side of the invasion. ## Key points - Robert Capa was described as probably the most famous war photographer in the 20th century. (00:47) - Capa was believed to be part of the second group of the first wave going onto Omaha Beach. (01:07) - The landing was chaotic, with strong winds, mass confusion, and waves pushing soldiers in different directions. (01:30) - Capa was reportedly terrified and dodged bullets like the other soldiers as they reached the beach. (01:53) - The most iconic photo shows a wounded soldier being pulled up onto the beach by another soldier. (02:06) - The soldier in the iconic photo has been identified as Houston Riley, who now lives near Portland, Oregon. (02:31) - A soldier assigned to collect film from the beach was lost along with the pack, and the heat in a drying rack melted the emulsion off much of the film. (03:28) - Only 11 images of the invasion moment survived from the damaged film. (04:02) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:36] The soldier as emblem of the military. Opening remarks frame the soldier in the famous photograph as a symbol of the American military. - [00:36 to 01:07] Capa and the importance of D-Day. Speakers describe Robert Capa's reputation and the role of D-Day in turning the tide of World War II. - [01:07 to 02:06] Chaos on Omaha Beach. Capa's position in the landing and the chaotic conditions he photographed amid confusion and fear. - [02:06 to 03:22] The iconic rescue photograph. The wounded soldier's rescue is described and the photo is discussed as capturing the human side of the story. - [03:22 to 04:56] The loss and survival of the film. The lost film pack and heat damage explain why only 11 images from the landing remain. ## Key quotes - [01:30] interviewer: "It was a very chaotic day. The winds were terrible. There was mass confusion." - [02:31] interviewer: "He said he looked up, and he saw one soldier and a man with a press insignia, and he said to himself, " What is that man doing on the beach ?" - [03:53] interviewer: "the heat went up in the drying rack and the emulsion literally melted off the plastic film." - [04:02] interviewer: "So, what was left were these 11 images of just the invasion moment, the soldiers climbing up on the beach." ## Questions this video answers - Who was the soldier in Robert Capa's famous D-Day photograph? [02:31] - Why is the iconic D-Day photograph considered so significant? [02:06] - What was the landing at Omaha Beach like for the soldiers? [01:30] - Why were most of Robert Capa's D-Day photographs lost or damaged? [03:22] ## Content suitability - war [00:00-04:56]: The video covers the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II. - violence [01:53-02:31]: Descriptions of soldiers dodging bullets and a wounded soldier being pulled onto the beach. - death [02:06-02:31]: A wounded soldier is rescued during the landing; the video references the bravery of the men. - tragedy [03:22-04:02]: Loss of film and destruction of most of Capa's photographs during the invasion.  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Feb 23, 2015 11:45 AM UTC  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 Photo  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Feb 23, 2015 11:45 AM UTC One day in late February of 1945, TIME correspondent Robert Sherrod cabled his editors a report about what had occurred on the island of Iwo Jima during the previous day. The island’s Mount Suribachi had been captured that morning, Feb. 23, and an American flag had been raised there. “A lot of the boys cried when they saw the flag raised on top of the mountain,” Sherrod reported, in parentheses, having heard so from a marine officer. “When the U.S. flag was raised over this highest point on the island,” the magazine duly informed readers [in the next issue](http://time.com/vault/issue/1945-03-05/page/27/), “some marines wept openly.” _(Read more about Sherrod’s cables from the beginning of the battle_ [_here_](http://ti.me/1F3cMDT)_.)_ The sight that made those men weep led to one of the most enduring images of the war and perhaps the 20th century. The Joe Rosenthal Associated Press photograph of a flag-raising on Suribachi was [printed](http://time.com/vault/issue/1945-03-05/page/17/) in that very issue of TIME, with a caption noting that the moment would “rank with Valley Forge, Gettysburg and Tarawa.” And, within weeks, the picture had become, as TIME [reported](http://time.com/vault/issue/1945-03-26/page/62) then, “easily the most widely printed photograph of World War II.” But did the photograph actually capture the moment that made the marines cry? It’s hard to be certain. Rosenthal’s photo wasn’t of the first moment the mountain was captured and claimed, as TIME explained: --- > “” --- And, the article added, neither of those moments were _official._ Though the high point had been captured, it would take weeks for the marines to take the whole island. It wasn’t until March, when that mission had been accomplished, that the U.S.’s Admiral Chester Nimitz supervised the official raising of an American flag at Suribachi. _Read next:_ [_The True History Behind_ ](http://time.com/3718050/downton-abbey-julian-fellowes-jewish/?xid=time%5Freadnext)[Downton Abbey_’s Anti-Semitism Storyline_](http://time.com/3718050/downton-abbey-julian-fellowes-jewish/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ## Transcript [00:00] >>That [00:08] soldier [00:17] in that [00:30] picture I think really does start to stand out as an emblem [00:34] of the American Military. [00:36] >>The eye of world are pointed. The hopes and [00:42] prayers of liberty- loving people everywhere march with [00:45] you. [00:47] >>Robert Capa was probably the most famous war [00:51] photographer in the 20th century. D- Day [00:55] was the moment where the American soldiers turned the [00:58] tide of World War II. It was that moment when the Allied [01:01] Forces started to gain the upper hand against the [01:07] Germans. To Capa, on the very early morning of the 6th, [01:09] was part of, they believe, the second wave, second [01:13] group of the first wave going in onto Omaha beach. [01:18] >>The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's [01:23] souls will be shaken with the violences of war. [01:25] >>It was a very chaotic [01:30] day. The winds were terrible. There was mass confusion. [01:34] Soldiers were trying to meet each other on the beach. And [01:37] meet with commanders, missed each other because of [01:40] the-- of the winds and the waves were pushing people into [01:43] different directions. [01:48] So Capa was shooting with his camera through all of [01:49] these. In testimony from other [01:53] people and in letters, he was terrified, very scared, dodging [01:57] bullets like all the rest of the soldiers as they were getting [02:01] up on the beach. Another [02:06] soldier came up to help this soldier that was wounded, [02:10] and the two of them pulled the soldier right up on the [02:12] beach, and I think during that time or right before it, he took [02:16] several photographs, or at least one photograph, and that [02:19] one photograph is probably now the most iconic photograph [02:21] of the landing, as it epitomizes what we know of the bravery [02:26] of the men who were there. [02:31] >>He has now been identified as Houston Riley, who now [02:34] lives in Portland, Oregon, near Portland, and Houston [02:38] remembers being pulled up on the beach. He said he [02:41] looked up, and he saw one soldier and a man with a press [02:44] insignia, and he said to himself, " What is that man doing [02:46] on the beach ?" I think it's [02:51] a classic Capa photograph in the sense that it captures so [02:54] much in the environment in which he was photographing. [02:55] You see a bit of the water and the [02:59] waves coming up around the soldier. You see that soldier's [03:02] face, or just the barest glimpse of the outline of [03:07] his profile to just-- to get a sense of the human component [03:11] of the story, which is really what Capa did so tremendously [03:14] in so many of the situations he photographed. [03:22] Capa photographed about it, I wanna have, I believe on the [03:24] beach. There was a soldier [03:28] assigned to pick up all the film from the beach and put into [03:31] a pack and then transport it back to the ships. And that pack [03:34] was lost. So the only film that survived were actually the [03:39] films that weren't picked up by the personnel [03:43] who was assigned to that, including Capa's. In [03:48] the excitement to get the film prepared for exposure, [03:53] the heat went up in the drying rack and the emulsion [03:57] literally melted off the plastic film. [04:02] So, what was left were these 11 images of just the invasion [04:07] moment, the soldiers climbing up on the beach. [04:16] >>Almighty God, our sons, pride of our nation, this [04:20] day have set upon a mighty [04:24] endeavor. 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