Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
A small ceremony is planned this week to mark the 78th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, to which event the public is invited.
The Boots Thomas Memorial Park Foundation is sponsoring the ceremony, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Sgt. Ernest “Boots” Thomas Memorial on West Washington Street.
Thomas, a U.S. Marine platoon sergeant, was a member of the small patrol that raised the first U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
Later on the same day, however, a second group of Marines replaced the original flag with a larger one that was meant to be visible and inspirational to the Marines still fighting on the other side of the island.
As fate would have it, Associated Press combat photographer Joe Rosenthal accompanied the second group of Marines to the mountaintop and photographed the second flag raising. Rosenthal’s photo, in today’s terminology, went viral at the time, appearing in countless newspapers and magazines across the country, making it the most iconic image of World War II. It has since been duplicated innumerable times and served as the model for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, VA.
Boots, meanwhile, was killed in action several days after the flag raising, mere days before his 21st birthday. And likely, his memory and legacy would have gone largely forgotten even locally, if not for the tireless efforts of his Monticello boyhood friend, Dr. Jim Sledge.
After years of trying, Dr. Sledge finally got the community to buy into the idea of a Boots Thomas’ Memorial, which for years he solely maintained.
The first flag raising on Mount Suribachi and those who participated in it was in general long eclipsed by the better-known and iconic second flag raising. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Sledge and others like him across the country, however, the first flag raising eventually received its due recognition and not long ago was featured in a bestseller book and popular film.
Troy Avera, who with Sledge represents the foundation, said Thursday’s ceremony would be brief, with only a few speakers scheduled. The goal, he said, was simply to keep Boots’ memory and the heroics of the battle alive.
He noted that a big celebration, like the one held on the 75th anniversary of the battle, is being planned for the 80th anniversary in another two years.