Honoring Grand Forks native who helped raise first flag at Iwo Jima

Photo by Staff Sergeant Louis R. Lowery, U.S. Marines By Pamela Knudson Today at 7:00 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? GRAND FORKS — Drew Dodds is on a mission to honor the Grand Forks native who was among the first group of Marines who raised the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima during WWII. Cpl. Charles Willard Lindberg is remembered for his role as a member of the Marine Corps patrol that captured the top of Mount Suribachi, but the feat of Lindberg and the others was overshadowed on that day 81 years ago. ADVERTISEMENT Jackie Lorentz / Grand Forks Herald After Lindberg's group raised the first flag, a second flag was raised on the same spot and captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. “Chuck and his group never got credit” for the initial flag-raising during the fierce battle at Iwo Jima, Dodds said. It’s taken time for the record to be corrected and the story to gain public acceptance. Dodds, of Winnipeg, has written two books that he plans to sell to raise funds for a monument to honor Lindberg; neither deals with WWII and distribution details are not finalized. He hopes the memorial can be installed in Veterans Memorial Park; he met with Mayor Brandon Bochenski recently to discuss the project. In the 36-day Battle of Iwo Jima, the first U.S. flag was raised at about 10:30 a.m. Feb. 23, 1945, Dodds said. Seeing the national colors flying elicited loud cheering from the Marines, sailors and Coast Guardsmen on the beach below and from the men on the ships near and docked at the beach. Although there are photos taken of the first flag flying on Mount Suribachi — some of which included Lindberg — there is no photograph of the Marines raising the first flag. That first photo was taken by Staff Sergeant Louis R. Lowery, a Marine combat photographer who accompanied a 40-man combat patrol to the top of the mountain. ADVERTISEMENT According to U.S. Marine Corps records, four men actively raised the first flag atop Mount Suribachi: First Lt. Harold G. Schrier, Platoon Sgt. Ernest I. Thomas, Jr., Sgt. Henry O. “Oliver” Hansen and Lindberg. During the battle, a section of a Japanese steel pipe was found on the mountain and the battalion’s flag that Shrier carried was tied to it by Shrier, Hansen and Lindberg. Lt. Col. Chandler Johnson, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, regarded the first flag flown over the southern end of Iwo Jima as being too small to be visible to the thousands of Marines fighting on the other side of the mountain where the Japanese airfields and most of their troops were located — and he felt the thousands of Marines fighting there need the inspiration of seeing the flag. So he ordered a larger flag, replacing the first one, be raised the same day. That occurred at about 1:30 p.m., Dodds said. The photo of the second group of Marines hoisting the larger flag became famous, Dodds said. That photo of six Marines, taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, became well-known after copies of the photo appeared in Sunday newspapers two days later, as the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi. The second flag-raisers received tremendous national recognition. The Marine Corps War Memorial in Washington, D.C., is modeled after the second flag-raising on Iwo Jima. Three of the Marines in that photo would later die in action on the island. ADVERTISEMENT In 36 days of fighting on the island, approximately 7,000 U.S. Marines were killed, according to The National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Another 20,000 were wounded. Lindberg was wounded in action six days after the first flag-raising, according to Marine Corps records. Lindberg spent decades trying to bring awareness of the first flag-raising and his participation in it. In the Marines, he fought in three island campaigns in the South Pacific theater — the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Bougainville and the Battle of Iwo Jima — and earned the Silver Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal and Combat Action Ribbon. The last survivor of the first flag-raising on Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi, Lindberg died June 24, 2007, two days before his 87th birthday. He is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. Strong commitment Dodds, who is committed to telling Lindberg’s story, enlisted in the Marine Corps in Fargo in 1968. His deep connection to the Marines and to North Dakota has fueled his interest in placing a memorial to Lindberg in Grand Forks. Bobbie Beauchamp, a member of the steering committee that raised funds to develop Veterans Memorial Park, said that it’s important to recognize Lindberg with a memorial, because “he’s a Grand Forks guy.” He foresees the memorial could be a statue of Lindberg as a lone, standing figure. ADVERTISEMENT The cost of the memorial, when the idea was first being considered years ago, was about $60,000, Beauchamp said. The cost now “is probably around $100,000.” Lindberg has been memorialized elsewhere. His bronze bust is the center piece of The Honoring All Veterans Memorial in Veterans Park in Richfield, Minnesota. Mayor Bochenski met with Dodds and his wife recently and discussed creating the memorial to honor Lindberg, who went by “Chuck Lindberg” to differentiate him from the famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, the mayor said. “(Dodds) had a great story,” Bochenski said. “He has been involved with helping vets for some time.” The mayor plans to have a second meeting to iron out more details, he said, and then will “bring in folks like George Hellyer (executive director, Grand Forks Park District) and probably council members and others, depending on what the scope is going to be of the actual memorial.” Years ago, Dodds met Lindberg in a Minneapolis hospital room, he recalled. He promised Lindberg’s wife that he “would carry the torch and make something happen” to bring public attention to her husband’s actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima. The recognition the first flag-raisers deserved “never happened,” Dodds said. “I’m a historian. I didn’t like that (they were slighted)” for the past 80 years. ADVERTISEMENT “I’m turning back history,” he said, to shed light on how “it should be.” Read more Viewpoint: Congress should keep promise to wounded veterans 42m ago Briggs: The last WW I veteran 1h ago James Wold Papers at UND offer an opportunity to help find POWs, MIAs 1h ago Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags WORLD WAR II VETERANS MILITARY GRAND FORKS By Pamela Knudson Pamela Knudson is a features and arts/entertainment writer for the Grand Forks Herald. She has worked for the Herald since 2011 and has covered a wide variety of topics, including the latest performances in the region and health topics. Pamela can be reached at [email protected] or (701) 780-1107. 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