Yesterday marked the sixty-second anniversary of the epic raising of the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. That morning, the 28th Marine Regiment bravely fought their way to the summit and raised first one American flag, and later, a larger one that is depicted in the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal.
In the age of cell phone cameras, almost every public action becomes a potential photo-op. But there were no cell phone cameras and no reasonable expectation that there would even be a photographer with any sort of camera on the scene when those soldiers raised the American flag on Iwo Jima. Their brave act was utterly selfless in nature and embodied a willingness to sacrifice for love of country that so many Americans today can’t fathom.
As Congress bickers over whether to continue funding our troops, it’s encouraging to consider that that noble and humble love of country forever enshrined in Rosenthal’s photograph is alive and well in thousands of U.S. soldiers serving today on foreign soil.