St. Paul, Minn. — Sixty years ago -- February 19, 1945 -- U.S. soldiers invaded a small island in the Pacific called Iwo Jima. You've probably seen the famous photograph from the island; six men hoisting a flag on top of a mountain. The picture was taken by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal. It won a Pulitzer Prize, and became a symbol of bravery and victory in the United States.
But we now know that the flag in that picture wasn't the first one raised on the mountain that day. And it didn't signal the end of the battle, but just the beginning.
Cpl. Charles W. Lindberg
Minnesotan Charles Lindberg, who's not related to the famous aviator, was one of six Marines who reached the top of Mount Suribachi and raised the first flag that day. We visited him at his home in Richfield. He says Iwo Jima was bombed for 72 days before the Marines arrived, and he thought the battle would be a cinch.
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