Today, February 23, 2006 is the anniversary of a great moment in the history of the United States.

It was on this date that US Marines raised a flag, symbolizing conquest, over Mt Suribachi on Iwo Jima. Although the battle raged on for days afterwards, this visible sign of success was a magic moment. The moment was captured on film by a Marine cameraman, Sgt Louis R Lowery.

There were two flag raisings, the first a small flag carried in a Marine's backpack, later replaced by a larger flag which could be seen from much of the island. It is this second photograph, by a civilian photographer Joe Rosenthal, which is memorialized in history: the Marine Corps War Memorial.

From Wikipedia:

The Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, had decided the previous night that he wanted to go ashore and witness the final stage of the fight for the mountain. Now, under a stern commitment to take order from Howlin' Mad Smith, the secretary was churning ashore in the company of the blunt, earthy general. Their boat touched the beach just after the flag went up, and the mood among the high command turned jubilant. Gazing upward, at the red, white, and blue speck, Forrestal remarked to Smith: 'Holland, the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years'.

The battle for this strategically important island cost the lives of more than 26,000 Americans. The assault involved the 4th and 5th Merine divisions. The 28th Marines were ordered to assault and capture Mt Suribachi. Of the 3,400 Marines in the 28th Regiment, only 600 were still standing and available for duty after the battle was concluded.

All honor to the leathernecks of Iwo Jima, living and dead. And to their brothers all over the world.