Legacy Matters

Sacrifice at Iwo Jima

Joe Rosenthal's great legacy was a photograph he took that became the most reproduced photograph of all time.

The editors of US Camera said, "In that moment, Rosenthal's camera recorded the soul of a nation."
Here, you can read more about how it was taken.

Of the six in the photo, only three survived the battle of Iwo Jima.  What astounds me and makes me forever grateful is the sacrifice of the young Marines.  Nearly  7000 killed and nearly 20,000 wounded to take the island so that it could be used as an emergency landing base for  B-29s bombing Japan.  John Hinderaker at Powerline has more.

I was reminded of this quote from Ronald Reagan

Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.