This is e-mail I received from Mr. D. F. Rogers. It is posted here by permission.
The last of the Iwo Jima flag raisers has died. He was in the 1st group, of course, not the 2nd more famous group. He lived long enough to have his story told and to receive some credit for his participation. But that’s it, every day another wave washes away another group of WW II vets. [Link]
Charles W. Lindbergh (no relation to the Nazi sympathizer) is the guy standing behind the Marine in the foreground with the carbine. The guy in the cap, holding up the flag, is Hank Hansen, from Massachusetts. He was originally thought to have been in the famous Rosenthal pic and his mother was included in the activities back home during the bond tours, as shown in Flags Of Our Fathers. [Link]
They are also looking for the remains of the Marine who filmed the famous flag raising, standing right next to Joe Rosenthal. He was killed several days later and his remains were left in a cave that was sealed up by explosives. [Link]
There’s a signed lithograph available. [Link] The most poignant thing about this page is the photo of the men at the new WW II monument in Washington DC.
Over 60 years later, and the long shadows of WW II still remain, even as the people who lived and fought in that era fade away.
