Charles W . Lindberg Charles W . " Chuck " Lindberg ( June 26 , 1920 - June 24 , 2007 ) was a United States Marine who was part of the first raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II . He was one of the last surviving members of the two flag - raisings on Mount Suribachi . Lindberg was a native of Grand Forks , North Dakota when he enlisted in the Marine Corps shortly after the Japanese Navy attack on Pearl Harbor . Shortly after joining the Marine Corps , he volunteered for the Marine Raiders , a special Marine Corps unit . While a member of the 2nd Raider Battalion ( " Carlson ' s Raiders " ) , he first saw combat during the " Long Patrol " on Guadalcanal . Lindberg and the " 2nd Raiders " , also saw combat during the Bougainville Campaign . In February 1944 , the Marine raiders units disbanded and he returned to the States and was assigned to the newly activated 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton , CA He was assigned as a flamethrower operator , with 3rd Platoon , Company E , 2nd Battalion , 28th Marine Regiment , 5th Marine Division which landed with the fifth assault wave on the beaches of Iwo Jima on February 19 , 1945 . On February 23 , Lindberg was part of the 40 - man combat patrol led by First Lieutenant Harold Schrier to climb up and capture the top of Mount Suribachi , and put up the American flag . On March 1 , he was wounded in the arm by an enemy sniper and was evacuated off the island . Lindberg was awarded the Silver Star Medal for his actions on Iwo Jima from February 19 to March 1 , 1945 . The famous flag - raising photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal on 556 ' Mount Suribachi was actually the second flag - raising event on February 23 , 1945 . The first U . S . flag was raised and planted on top of Mount Suribachi from 10 : 20 to 10 : 37 a . m . ; the second flag raising about 1 p . m . Captain Dave E . Severance , the commander of " Easy " Company , 2nd Battalion , 28th Marines , ordered Lt . Schrier to take a patrol to raise an American flag at the summit to signal to others that it had fallen . After a fire - fight , a 54 - by - 28 inch ( 137 - by - 71 cm ) flag was raised , and photographed by Marine Staff Sergeant Louis R . Lowery , a photographer with " Leatherneck " magazine . Other patrol members present at the first flag - raising besides Lindberg and Schrier inlcude : Marine Platoon Sergeant Ernest I . Thomas Jr . , Sergeant Henry O . " Hank " Hansen , Private First Class James Michels , Private First Class Raymond Jacobs , and Navy PhM2c John Bradley . However , the flag was too small to be seen easily from the nearby landing beaches , and a larger replacement American flag was sent up the mountain and raised with a longer flag pole simultaneous with the lowering of the first flag pole with flag . It was the photograph of the second flag - raising by five Marines and the same Navy corpsman that was seen around the world . Lindberg also stated that Lt . Colonel Johnson ordered the first flag replaced and safeguarded because he did not want it to be taken as a personal souvenir . Lindberg was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 1946 . He returned home to Grand Forks , North Dakota , married , moved to Richfield , Minnesota , raised two daughters and three sons , and worked as an electrician for 39 years . U . S . Marine Corps . He dedicated himself for years to the telling of the story of the first American flag raising on Mount Suribachi , only to have his account called into question , until the facts of it became known to the general public . He often spoke at schools , sharing his memories of his wartime service with the children . In 1995 , he returned to Iwo Jima for the 50th anniversary of the battle . In a tribute to Lindberg , KARE TV ran the following report : Portrayal in films . In the 2006 film " Flags of Our Fathers " , Lindberg was played by Alessandro Mastrobuono . Lindberg is the only character to appear in both " Flags " and its companion film , " Letters from Iwo Jima " , although in " Letters " he is uncredited and simply seen in the same shot of both films , rushing towards a bunker with a flamethrower .