No picture is more tied to Iwo Jima than the flag raising on Mount Suribachi. On February 23, 1945, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the moment when six Marines raised the Stars and Stripes over the rocky summit. It has been sculpted in bronze, carved into memory, and etched into the collective image of the Marine Corps.

For many, Suribachi is Iwo Jima.

The photo was only one moment. The 550-foot volcanic cone at the island’s south tip, towered over the beaches. Japanese mortars, artillery, and machine guns fired from its slopes onto the landing zones of the 5th Marine Division. 

Mount Suribachi was the job of the 28th Marines. They fought from the opening landings, driving around its base until the volcano was cut off. For four days, they clawed through dug-in defenses. On February 23, they climbed to the summit.

In this episode, we tell Suribachi’s full story: its importance, the defenses hidden inside it, the assault that sealed it off, the climb to the top, and what the flag raising meant then and now.

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