Marines Flag 71-Year-Old Case of Mistaken ID in Iwo Jima Photo-- Part 2

The Marines began the review after being contacted by researchers working for on a Smithsonian Channel documentary spurred by amateur historians Eric Krelle, of Omaha, Nebraska, and Stephen Foley, of Wexford, Ireland, whose questions about the photo were first reported by the Omaha World-Herald in 2014.

Krelle and Foley compared images shot of an earlier flag-raising and the raising of a second, larger flag captured by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal.  They found discrepancies between what the men were wearing, their weapons and gear, prompting Krelle and Foley to argue that some of the Marines in the picture had been misidentified.

The Marines agreed with them that Pfc Harold Schultz, who died in 1995 at age 70, helped raise the flag, along with Harlon Block, Rene Gagnom, Ira Hayes, Frank Soulsey and Michael Strank.

Harold Schultz moved to Los Angeles and worked for the post office after the war and apparently never mentioned his part in the flag-raising.

--GreGen