Just to set the record straight. Most of what David Romanowski said is correct, and thank you for dispelling this continued thread of mis-information. However the first Iwo Jima flag raising was photographed, by a Marine Corps photographer and that image has also been widely
published through the years, but is by no means as compelling as the photo by Joe Rosenthal, so it is often overlooked.  Which kind of goes to the heart of both of these list threads, the work on an artist, in this case photojournalist Joe Rosenthal, captured a moment that became
an inspiration to millions of people back home and while it was not the moment that inspired the men on Iwo Jima, his photograph did capture the emotion and feeling of that first event in a way millions could then share.

And to quickly address some of the thoughts expressed about an artist interpreting the photograph taken of firefighters in NY. Just consider the original photograph itself is the work of an artist (commonly called a photojournalist). From my point of view to change that vision when
converting it to a 3-D work is not a legitimate change unless the change is to facilite the new medium (ie changing the structure to support the weight of a bronze sculpture). FYI, this is from someone who spent 20 years working as a photojournalist and newspaper editor before
taking a position in the musuem/historical society world.
If an artist wants to create a multi-ethnic sculpture, it should not be a literal interpretation of the original photo, but rather use the original photo as inspiration for a unique piece.

Chris Taylor
Atchison County (KS) Historical Society
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David Romanowski wrote:

> The flag raising on Iwo Jima was not staged; this is a myth that won't seem
> to go away.  Read James Bradley's recent and moving book "Flags of Our
> Fathers," about the six (I think) men in that famous photo.  Bradley's
> father was one of them.  The book also explains the source of the myth.
> There were two flag raisings.  The first went unrecorded on film, although
> a couple of staged photos were taken of that flag after the fact.  The
> second flag raising occurred to replace the original flag with a larger
> one, so it could be better seen from a distance.  That flag raising was
> recorded by both a motion picture camera and a still camera.  The still
> photo that became famous was one of those amazingly lucky
> taken-at-just-the-right-second shots.  It was most definitely not staged.
> There was a native American in the group; he just happened to be among the
> group that was there at the time.  Half of the men who raised the flag
> never walked off the island.  The irony of the flag raisings was that the
> first flag raising raised cheers all over the island and on the ships
> offshore, while the second flag raising went virtually unnoticed until the
> photograph of it was published.
>
> David Romanowski
> Exhibits Writer-Editor
> National Air and Space Museum
>
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