History with his own eyes

To paraphrase an old newspaper standard, “journalism consists largely in saying ‘Joe Rosenthal is dead’ to people who never knew Joe Rosenthal was alive.’’

Maybe some people recognized the name Joe Rosenthal when it came over the obituary wire on Monday. But, chances are, 10 out of 10 folks down on Cherry Street never heard of the guy.

But they were familiar with his work. He was The Associated Press photographer who captured one of World War II’ s most iconic images on Feb. 23, 1945. He snapped the image of six servicemen raising the flag on Mount Suribachi after the Battle of Iwo Jima.

It became the most reproduced image in the history of photography. Since 1954, it has served as the model for the Marine Corps War Memorial and was used as the theme of war-bond drives and a U.S. postage stamp.

Leon Howard, 82, of Macon has seen the photograph a million times. He took one just like it with his own eyes. It was one of the most unforgettable days of his life.

He grew up in Lakeview, a farming community between Byron and Fort Valley. His father was a cotton farmer who ran a country grocery store. At a towering 6-foot-5, he played basketball for the Byron High School "Flashes" and dreamed of becoming a coach.

In November 1943, some friends from Fort Valley convinced him to enlist in the Marines. He had never been away from home in his life. He couldn't swim -- one of the military requirements -- and they nearly drowned him during basic training.

He was soon on his way with the Fifth Division to Iwo Jima, a south Pacific island crucial to the U.S. strategy in the final campaign of the war against Japan. Howard found himself positioned near Mount Suribachi, a volcano at the southern tip of the island.

At the end of the battle, he glanced up to see the stirring image of five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag at the top of the 550-foot mountain.

Actually, there were two flags raised on Mount Suribachi that day. The first went up at 10:37 a.m. About two hours later, Marine commanders ordered it replaced with a larger flag. That flag-raising, was the one captured by photographer Rosenthal.

Part of Howard’s left ear was shot off by a Japanese sniper, earning him a Purple Heart. Still, he was lucky. It was the costliest battle in the history of the Marine Corps. Of the 6,821 Americans killed in 35 days of fighting, 5,931 were Marines, accounting for nearly one-third of the Marine losses in WWII. About 21,000 Japanese soldiers were killed in the five-week battle for the island.

Remember Joe Rosenthal?

Leon Howard does.