Word War II vet who provided flag at Iwo Jima dead at 90
Source: NBC
A veteran of World War II credited with providing the flag in the famous flag-raising on Iwo Jima has died at his Los Angeles County home. Alan Wood died of natural causes April 18 at the age of 90, his son Steven Wood announced Saturday.
Wood was a 22-year-old Navy officer in charge of communications on a landing ship on Iwo Jima's shores on Feb. 23, 1945 when a Marine asked him for the biggest flag he could find.
After five days of intense fighting to capture the Japanese-held island, U.S. forces had managed to scale Mount Suribachi to hoist an American flag. Woods happened to have a 37-square-foot flag that he had found months before in a Pearl Harbor Navy depot.
Five Marines and a Navy Corpsman raised the flag in a stirring moment captured by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. Steven Wood said his father was always humbled by his small role in the historic moment.
Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/28/17957227-word-war-ii-vet-who-provided-flag-at-iwo-jima-dead-at-90?lite
liberal N proud
(60,300 posts)RIP Mr Wood and thank you for your service.