Michael Strank

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Michael Strank

Michael Strank ( Ukrainian Майкл Стренк , Slovak Michal Strenk ; born November 10, 1919 in Jarabina ( Czechoslovakia ), † March 1, 1945 in Iwojima ( Japan )) was an American soldier of Ukrainian - Lemk descent and a member of the US Marine Corps .

He is one of the six flagraisers who hoisted the US flag on a mountain on the island of Iwo Jima and who became famous for the photo he took of Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima .

Life

Strank was born in the small village of Jarabina to Vasil Strank and Martha Grofikova. When he was six years old, his parents emigrated with him to the United States, where his father found work in a steel mill in Franklin near Johnstown , Pennsylvania . He graduated from high school in 1937. He then joined the Civilian Conservation Corps , where he stayed for 18 months.

Military career

On October 6, 1939, he enlisted in the Marine Corps for four years. The basic training took place at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , where he remained afterwards, with the exception of stays at Guantanamo Bay and Marine Corps Air Station New River . He was subordinate to the 1st Marine Division .

April 1942 he was shipped from San Diego to Uvea . He then took part in the landing operation on Pavuvu ( Russell Islands ) from February to March 1943 . From November 1943 to January 1944 he took part in the landing in Empress Augusta Bay near Bougainville . He returned to the United States in February.

Iwo Jima

Position of Michael Strank in the famous photo by Joe Rosenthal

After his home leave he was assigned to the 5th Marine Division and completed further combat training on Camp Pendleton and Hawaii . He then took part in the landing on Iwojima on February 19, 1945 during the Battle of Iwojima .

Four days after landing, he was the leader of a small squad of soldiers who had the task of replacing the US flag that had just been raised on Mount Suribachi for a larger and more easily seen flag. During this exchange, the troop was photographed by war photographer Joe Rosenthal . This photo, known as Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima , became one of the most famous war photographs and is possibly the most widely reproduced image ever. The photo received the Pulitzer Prize in 1945 and served a. a. as a template for the US Navy Memorial near Washington .

Even though the mountain was captured, the fighting continued with great fierceness. Michael Strank died of friendly fire on March 1, 1945 after he was hit by shrapnel from an American warship while he was sketching a plan for a new combat operation in the sand. He was the first of the six soldiers in the photo to be killed. Two more flagraisers died after him .

Michael Strank's remains were transferred to the United States in 1949 and found their final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery in Grave 7179, Compartment 12.

Awards

Michael Strank received the following awards:

citizenship

In 2008, Gunnery Sergeant Matt Blais, who was assigned to the security service of the American Embassy in Slovakia , discovered that Strank was not a born American, but had obtained citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935, but had never received a certificate. Blais therefore turned to the immigration service with a request to do this. On July 29, 2008, Strank's youngest sister, Mary Pero, was presented with the certificate in a ceremony in front of the United States Marine Corps War Memorial , which she proudly accepted.

Representation in the film

The film Flags of our Fathers by Clint Eastwood depicts the story of the raising of the flag. The person Michael Strank is portrayed in it by Barry Pepper .

Web links

Commons : Michael Strank  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ingert Kuzych: On Iwo Jima Ukrainian Connection. Retrieved October 31, 2017 (UK English).
  2. ↑ a b Bryan G. Carfrey: Iwo Jima flag raiser posthumously receives citizenship certificate. United States Marine Corps , July 30, 2008, archived from the original on August 13, 2008 ; Retrieved June 6, 2015 . (English)
  3. ↑ Joe Bush: Citizenship granted to Iwo Jima flag raiser. (No longer available online.) Marine Corps Times, July 31, 2008, archived from the original April 24, 2014 ; Retrieved June 6, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.marinecorpstimes.com
personal data
SURNAME Strank, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Strenk, Mykhal; Strenk, Michal
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American soldier
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Jarabina , Czechoslovakia
DATE OF DEATH March 1, 1945
Place of death Iwojima , Japan