Michael Strank

Michael Strank (born Mykhal Strenk; November 10, 1919 – March 1, 1945) was a United States Marine Corps sergeant who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He was one of the Marines who raised the second U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, as shown in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima by photographer Joe Rosenthal. Of the six Marines depicted in the photo, Strank and Ira Hayes were the only ones to be correctly identified from the beginning; the others were either assigned the wrong locations (Franklin Sousley), or were given the names of Marines who were not in the photo. The first flag raised over Mount Suribachi at the south end of Iwo Jima was deemed too small. Later that day, Strank, a rifle company squad leader in the 5th Marine Division, was ordered up the mountain with three Marines to raise a larger flag. The photograph of the second flag-raising became famous and was widely reproduced. The second flag raising was also filmed in color. Before Iwo Jima, Strank served with the Marine Raiders in the Battle of Bougainville. The Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, was modeled after Rosenthal's photograph of six Marines raising the second flag on Iwo Jima.