Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (February 1945) is a photograph of six United States soldiers raising the U.S. flag on top of Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima.  It is one of the most significant and recognizable images of World War II.

On February 19, 1945, the United States invaded Iwo Jima as part of its island-hopping strategy to defeat Japan.

Iwo Jima is located halfway between Japan and the Mariana Islands, where American long-range bombers were based, and was used by the Japanese as an early warning station, radioing warnings of incoming American bombers to the Japanese homeland.

The Americans, after capturing the island, weakened the Japanese early warning system, and used it as an emergency landing strip for damaged bombers.^[5]