Tarzana : Iwo Jima Photograph Helps Recall History

Anthony Cusimano, 72, had a good view of history.

He was in a foxhole just a few hundred yards away when the U.S. Marines raised the flag at Iwo Jima. The photo of that scene became one of the most memorable snapshots of World War II.

These days, Anthony Cusimano wants to make sure history isn’t forgotten.

He has taken a poster-size copy of the photo to different businesses in town. This week, the poster, which contains signatures of Iwo Jima veterans who gathered at a 50th reunion earlier this year, is hanging on a wall at Longs Drug Store in Tarzana.

“If the kids don’t know what the flag was raised for, then why did we go fight?” he asked.

It was Feb. 19, 1945, when Cusimano and thousands of other Marines arrived at Iwo Jima. They thought they’d be able to capture the eight-square-mile island in a few days.

They were wrong.

“The first mile took us 11 days,” said the retired carpenter.

After four days at Iwo Jima, though, the Marines managed to raise the flag. It also raised the spirits.

“The most beautiful thing was to see that flag being raised,” he said. “You see Old Glory and it makes you feel all different inside. When that went up, everybody cheered.”

Eventually, it took just over a month for the Marines to take the island. It was significant because it had been used by Japanese fighter planes to attack U.S. bombers.

Iwo Jima fields were also used as emergency landing places for bombers returning from raids on Japan. About 6,000 Marines died at Iwo Jima.

“The only man who brought me back,” Cusimano said, “was the man upstairs.”

Cusimano said he hopes the poster will be displayed at local schools.

“I gave up four of the best years of my life for my country,” he said. “The average age of survivors is 70 or better. How long can we live?”