On the fifth morning of the battle, Colonel Chandler Johnson ordered two four man patrols to make their way up the northern face of Mount Suribachi.
The rest of the men from the Easy Company, are given a flag and are ordered to put it on the top of the hill. They are taking the walk very slowly, because hey could be attacked at anytime. When they reach the top without attracting enemy fire, they set about raising the American flag. Boots Thomas, Sergeant Hank Hansen, Doc Bradley, and a small group of others get the flag in place while Sergeant Lou Lowery takes a picture.
Soldiers all over the island are celebrating as they see the flag being raised. After its raised a little group of Japanese soldiers start a firefight. Nothing big happens with that.
The secretary of the navy, James Forrestal decides that he wants the flag that was raised has a souvenir. Chandler Johnson believed that they belong to the battalion that raised it. So he send his assisstant to get a bigger flag. He gives it ro Rene Gagnon (one of the main characters) to take to the top of the moutain. Rene climbs up the moutain with Mike, Harlon, Ira and Franklin.
These six men put up the flag with no problem. Joe Rosenthal takes a picture of this moment. But he doesnt know how the picture turned out, because he just held up the camera and took a picture
For the next four days the Marines believe that their battle is over. But they still stay alert for japanese intruders. Jack, Franklin, and Rene write letters to home. John Bodkin, the AP photo editor in Guam, sees the photograph that Joe Rosenthal took and radiophotos the image to the headquarters in new york right away. It it put into the papers the next morning and Americans are astonished. Joe Rosenthal becomes an instant hero. None of the soldiers are named, but Belle Block knows right away that her son is in the picture, but no one believes her.
The New York Times starts to publish things that aren't true. And it starts causing problems for everyone.
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