Editing Michael Strank (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Raising-the-Flag.jpg|thumb|right|The six second flag-raisers:<br /> #1, Cpl. [[Harlon Block]] (KIA) <br /> #2, Pfc. [[Harold Keller]] <br /> #3, Pfc. [[Franklin Sousley]] (KIA) <br /> #4, Sgt. Michael Strank (KIA) <br /> #5, Pfc. [[Harold Schultz]] <br /> #6, Pfc. [[Ira Hayes]]]]
Strank was born on November 10, the Marine Corps birthday. The members of Strank's rifle squad idolized him (Cpl. Harlon Block for one followed his every instruction without question), and many men since who served with and alongside him have stated he had a way of setting them at ease, making them feel that ''he'' could help them survive the war. Of the men photographed raising the second flag on Mount Suribachi, Strank at age 25, was the oldest, and Harold Keller and him the most experienced in combat.

In interviews of former Marines conducted years later, many documented in the book ''[[Flags of Our Fathers]]'' written by [[James Bradley (American author)|James Bradley]] (son of corpsman John Bradley), he is described by men who served with him as "a Marine's Marine", a true warrior and leader, who led his men by example. Strank often told his men, "Follow me, and I'll try to bring you all safely home to your mothers." One former Marine who served with Strank stated, "He was the kind of Marine you read about, the kind they make movies about." Former Paramarine Lowell B. Holly, who served in Strank's squad on Iwo Jima and who was with Strank when he died, stated, "He was the best Marine I ever knew."