The image is one of the most famous photographs in American history — the flag rising over Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in 1945.

But what most Americans do not know is this:

There were two flag raisings that day.

In this powerful conversation, bestselling author James Bradley reveals the hidden story behind the photograph that defined the Pacific War. His father, John “Doc” Bradley, was present at the first flag raising — but not the second, more famous one captured by photographer Joe Rosenthal.

When military officials realized the power of the second image, they needed surviving Marines to return home to raise desperately needed war bonds. Bradley’s father — a quiet Navy corpsman who rarely spoke about the war — was pulled into a national campaign built around a single photograph.

But behind the symbol was a brutal battle.

The fight for Iwo Jima was not a clean moment of triumph. It was weeks of cave-to-cave combat, unimaginable casualties, and young men who carried the trauma long after the cameras stopped rolling.

In this episode of Pacific Front Untold, we explore:

The difference between the first and second flag raisings

How wartime propaganda shaped the image

Why the men in the photo struggled with sudden fame

And how memory, myth, and politics transformed a battlefield moment into a national legend

This is not about diminishing heroism.

It is about understanding it fully.

If you care about the untold stories of the Pacific War — the human stories behind the headlines — subscribe to Pacific Front Untold and join us as we revisit history beyond the textbook version.

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