Volume 96 · 1320
Public Law 97–299
To require the Secretary of the Interior to place a plaque at the United States Marine Corps War Memorial honoring Joseph Rosenthal, photographer of the scene depicted by the memorial.
Approved October 12, 1982
Statutory text
Joint Resolution
To require the Secretary of the Interior to place a plaque at the United States Marine Corps War Memorial honoring Joseph Rosenthal, photographer of the scene depicted by the memorial.
Whereas the photograph of the raising of the American flag by Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harland H. Block, Privates First Class Franklin R. Sousley, Rene A. Gagnon, and Ira Hayes, and Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class John H. Bradley, during the battle for control of Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on February 23, 1945, has long been recognized as a most distinguished depiction of the courage and spirit of the United States armed services during the Second World War;
Whereas such photograph served as the model for the United States Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Statue, in Arlington, Virginia; and
Whereas Joseph Rosenthal, the man who took such photograph, has represented the finest tradition of photographic journalism for the past fifty years: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be inscribed upon the United States Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Statue, in Arlington, Virginia, the name of Joseph Rosenthal of San Francisco, California, photographer of the raising of the American flag during the battle for control of Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on February 23, 1945, whose photograph served as the model for the memorial, and the date of such photograph. The location and design of
Location and design.
such inscription shall be approved by the Secretary of the Interior and by the Commission of Fine Arts, in consultation with appropriate representatives of the original donors of the memorial. The
Donated funds.
Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept donated funds for carrying out the purposes of this Act, and the United States shall be put to no expense in the placement of such inscription.
Approved October 12, 1982.