Remembering a flag raising: It’s time to say “Thank You”

Rebekah Sheats Contributor Seventy-nine years ago in February of 1945, off the coast of Iwo Jima, Platoon Sergeant Ernest I. “Boots” Thomas was interviewed by CBS war correspondent Don Pryor. Pryor asked Thomas about the momentous event of raising the American flag over Iwo Jima. The people of the United States—and all Allied countries—were heralding the event as the first time the Stars and Stripes had waved over Japanese territory. Boots, however, deflected Pryor’s praise and assured the newsman that he wasn’t responsible for raising the flag. He had played a part in it, but as he noted, “The honor belongs to every man in my platoon.” On Feb. 23, 2024, a crowd gathered