Editing Michael Strank (section)

=== World War II ===
[[File:Marine-raiders.jpg|thumb|Members of the 3rd Marine Raiders in front of a captured Japanese dugout on [[Cape Torokina]] at [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]].]]
On January 26, 1942, Cpl. Strank was promoted to [[Sergeant#United States|sergeant]].<ref name="auto"/> On March 21, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines was detached from the 1st Marine Division and attached to the newly created [[3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade|3rd Marine Brigade]]. In early April, he was sent with the battalion to [[San Diego, California]] and deployed on April 12 (sailed April 13) to [[Samoa]] arriving in [[American Samoa]] on April 28;<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web | url=https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20the%207th%20Marines%20%20PCN%2019000308200_1.pdf | title=A brief history of the 7th marines | website=www.marines.mil}}</ref> the 7th Marines were ordered to Samoa. On May 31, his battalion was transferred to [[Wallis (island)|Wallis (Urea) Island]].<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto1"/> In August, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines was detached from the 3rd Marine Brigade and reassigned to the 1st Marine Division; also during August, the [[22nd Marine Regiment (United States)|22nd Marine Regiment]] relieved the 7th Marines which were ordered to reinforce Marine units fighting on Guadalcanal; a battalion of the 22nd Marines relieved the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines on Urea.<ref name="auto1"/> In September, after a short time with the 22nd Marines, Sgt. Strank was transferred to the newly organized [[Marine Raiders|3rd Marine Raider Battalion]] under the command of Lieutenant Colonel [[Harry B. Liversedge]]; D Company, 3rd Raider Battalion was organized on Urea and joined the rest of the 3rd Raider Battalion at [[Pago Pago]], [[American Samoa]] on December 21. In January and February 1943, the 3rd Raiders were sent to [[Espiritu Santo]] ([[Frank Rennie|Camp Rennie]]), [[New Hebrides|New Hebrides, Islands]] and [[Guadalcanal]], [[British Solomon Islands]].

As a member of the 3rd Raiders using 10-man rubber boats in their first offensive action,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/extcontent/usmc/pcn-190-003130-00/sec11.htm|title=From Makin to Bougainville: Marine Raiders in the Pacific War (New Georgia)|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref> Sgt. Strank (D Company) participated in the unopposed landing operations and occupation of [[Pavuvu]] ([[Operation Cleanslate]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://codenames.info/operation/cleanslate/|title=Cleanslate &#124; Operations & Codenames of WWII|website=codenames.info}}</ref> in the [[Russell Islands]] from February 21 to March 18, 1943. On March 19, the battalion left the island and returned to Guadalcanal and Espiritu Santo (Camp Rennie) on March 20. On May 1, D Company was designated as M Company, 3rd Raider Battalion, 1st Marine Raider Regiment, [[I Marine Amphibious Corps|1st Marine Amphibious Corps]].

On November 1, 1943, the 2nd and 3rd Raider Battalions spearheaded the initial invasion of [[Bougainville campaign|Bougainville]] by the [[3rd Marine Division]]. Sgt. Strank, M Company, 3rd Raiders, landed on Green Beach #2 at [[Cape Torokina]] and participated in the seizure and occupation of [[Battle of Empress Augusta Bay|Empress Augusta Bay]] ([[Landings at Cape Torokina|Operation Cherryblossom]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://codenames.info/operation/cherryblossom/|title=Cherryblossom &#124; Operations & Codenames of WWII|website=codenames.info}}</ref> On January 12, the 3rd Raiders were removed from the combat zone and returned to Guadalcanal, arriving on January 14. On February 1, the 1st Marine Raider Regiment was redesignated the [[4th Marine Regiment]]. The 3rd Raider Battalion was disbanded and designated the [[3rd Battalion, 4th Marines|3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment]]. On February 14, Sgt. Strank was sent to San Diego and allowed a leave to visit his family.

==== Battle of Iwo Jima ====
Sgt. Strank returned to duty in San Diego and was assigned to Second Platoon, Company E, [[2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment]], [[5th Marine Division (United States)|5th Marine Division]] at [[Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton]], as a squad leader. He was sent to [[Hawaii]] with his unit after extensive training, and began more training and preparation for the invasion of [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]].

==== First flag-raising ====
[[File:Iwo Jima Suribachi DN-SD-03-11845.JPEG|thumb|right|Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima]]
Sgt. Strank took part in the Second Battalion, [[28th Marine Regiment (United States)|28th Marines]], amphibious assault landing on Green Beach at the southern part of Iwo Jima near Mount Suribachi on February 19, 1945. The mission of the 28th Marines that day was to isolate Mount Suribachi, which it accomplished. The next day, the regiment secured the southern end of the island. Their mission afterwards, was to capture Mount Suribachi. After heavy opposition, the 28th Marines surrounded the mountain by the evening of February 22. On the morning of February 23, Lieutenant Colonel [[Chandler W. Johnson]], commander of the Second Battalion, 28th Marines, ordered E Company's executive officer, First Lieutenant [[Harold G. Schrier|Harold Schrier]], to take a platoon-sized patrol up 556-foot high Mount Suribachi to seize and occupy the crest, and if possible, raise the battalion's American flag to signal the summit was secure. E Company's commander, Captain [[Dave Severance]], assembled a 40-man patrol for the mission from the remainder of his Third Platoon and other members from the battalion.

The patrol left the base of Mount Suribachi at about 8:30&nbsp;a.m. Once Lt. Schrier was on top with his men after some occasional sniper fire and a brief firefight at the rim of the crater, he and his men secured the top. After a Japanese steel pipe was found, Lt. Schrier and two other Marines attached the flag to it. The flagstaff was then taken to the highest position on top and raised by Lt. Schrier, Platoon Sgt. [[Ernest Ivy Thomas|Ernest Thomas]], Sergeant [[Henry Oliver Hansen|Henry Hansen]],<ref>[http://ruralfloridaliving.blogspot.com/2012/07/famous-floridian-friday-ernest-ivy.html Rural Florida Living. CBS Radio interview by Dan Pryor with flag raiser Ernest "Boots" Thomas on February 25, 1945 aboard the] [[USS Eldorado (AGC-11)|USS ''Eldorado'']]: "''Three of us actually raised the flag''"</ref> and Corporal [[Charles W. Lindberg|Charles Lindberg]] at about 10:30&nbsp;a.m.<ref name="auto2">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXAmygEACAAJ&q=iwo+jima+monuments|title=Iwo Jima Monuments, The Untold Story |last=Brown|first=Rodney |year=2019|publisher=War Museum|accessdate=16 March 2020|isbn=978-1-7334294-3-6}}</ref> Seeing the raising of the [[National colours|national colors]] immediately caused loud cheers from the Marines, sailors, and Coast Guardsmen on the beaches at the southern end of Iwo Jima and from the men on the ships near the beaches. The men at, around, and holding the flagstaff were photographed several times by Marine Staff Sergeant [[Louis R. Lowery]], a photographer with [[Leatherneck magazine|''Leatherneck'' magazine]] who accompanied the patrol up the mountain. Platoon Sgt. Thomas was killed in action on Iwo Jima on March 3 and Sgt. Hansen was killed on March 1.

==== Second flag-raising ====
[[File:Moments after the second flag raising, February 1945.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Marine Corps photo of the two flags on [[Mount Suribachi]]]]
[[File:Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, larger - edit1.jpg|thumb|Second flag-raising photograph]]
[[File:Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (color).ogg|thumb|Marine Sergeant [[Bill Genaust]]'s color film of the second flag raising<ref name="youtube.com"/> ]]
[[File:USMC-00932.jpg|thumb|Strank is fifth from left in [[Joe Rosenthal]]'s "Gung Ho" photo.<ref name="Investigating Iwo">{{cite book |editor-last=Robertson |editor-first=Breanne |date=2019 |title=Investigating Iwo: The Flag Raisings in Myth, Memory, and Esprit de Corps |url=https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Investigating%20Iwo_WEB3.pdf |location=Quantico, Virginia |publisher=Marine Corps History Division |pages=243, 312 |isbn=978-0-16-095331-6 }}</ref>]]
In order for the American flag to be seen more by the thousands of Marines fighting on the other side of Mount Suribachi where most of the Japanese soldiers were located, it was decided that a larger flag should replace the battalion's flag on Mount Suribachi. Captain Severance ordered Sgt. Strank to ascend Mount Suribachi with three Marines from his rifle squad in Second Platoon and raise the replacement flag. Sgt. Strank then ordered Corporal [[Harlon Block]], Private First Class [[Ira Hayes]], and Private First Class [[Franklin Sousley]] to go with him up Mount Suribachi with communication wire (or supplies). Private First Class [[Rene Gagnon]], the Second Battalion's runner (messenger) for E Company, was ordered to take the replacement flag up the mountain and return with the first flag.

Once Sgt. Strank's team was on top, Pfc. Hayes and Pfc. Sousley found a Japanese steel pipe to attach the flag to. After the two Marines took the pipe to Sgt. Strank and Cpl. Block near the first flag, the flag was attached to the pipe. As the four Marines got into position to raise the flagstaff, Sgt. Strank and Cpl. Block called out to two nearby Marines to help them raise the heavy flagstaff. Then, under Lt. Schrier's orders, the second flag was raised at approximately 1 p.m. by Sgt. Strank, Cpl. Block, Pfc. Hayes, Pfc. Sousley, Pfc. [[Harold Schultz]], and Pfc. [[Harold Keller]],<ref name="marines.mil">[http://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/810457/usmc-statement-on-iwo-jima-flagraisers/ USMC Statement on Marine Corps Flag Raisers], Office of U.S. Marine Corps Communication, 23 June 2016</ref><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/warrior-iconic-iwo-jima-flag-raising-photo-was-misidentified-marines-n1064766|title=Marines correct 74-year-old Iwo Jima error|website=NBC News|date=16 October 2019 }}</ref> as the original flag came down. Pfc. Schultz and Pfc. Keller were members of Lt. Schrier's patrol. In order to keep the second flagstaff in a vertical position in the high winds on the summit, rocks were immediately added to the base of the flagstaff by Pfc. Schultz and Pfc. Keller, and another Marine. Three [[Guy-wire|guy-ropes]] were then tied to the flagstaff to stabilize it. The six Marine flag-raisers were photographed in action by [[Associated Press]] photographer [[Joe Rosenthal]] and by Marine motion picture cameraman Sergeant [[Bill Genaust|William (Bill) Genaust]] (later killed in action) in color. After the second flag-raising, Rosenthal photographed sixteen Marines including Sgt. Strank and two Navy corpsmen around the base of the flagstaff. Rosenthal's black-and-white flag-raising picture, which appeared in newspapers on February 25, 1945, was later titled ''[[Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima]]''. It became the most copied photograph in Marine Corps history.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pulitzer/rosenthal.html|title=Fifty Years Later, Iwo Jima Photographer Fights His Own Battle|first=Mitchell|last=Landsberg|year=1995|agency=Associated Press|accessdate=September 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905115709/http://www.ap.org/pages/about/pulitzer/rosenthal.html|archive-date=September 5, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy}}</ref>

On March 14, another American flag was officially raised up a flagpole by two Marines under the orders of Lt. Gen. Holland Smith during a ceremony at the [[V Amphibious Corps]] command post on the other side of Mount Suribachi where the [[3rd Marine Division (United States)|3rd Marine Division]] troops were located. The flag flying on the summit of Mount Suribachi since February 23 was taken down. On March 26, 1945, the island was considered secure and the battle of Iwo Jima was officially ended. The 28th Marines left Iwo Jima on March 27 and returned to Hawaii to the 5th Marine Division training camp. Lt. Col. Johnson was killed in action on March 2, Sgt. Genaust was killed on March 4, Sgt. Strank and Cpl. Block were killed on March 1, and Pfc. Sousley was killed on March 21.

On March 20, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] ordered all the men in Rosenthal's photograph be sent to Washington, D.C. after the battle was over. Pfc. Gagnon arrived alone on April 7 and was questioned at Marine Headquarters by a public information officer about the identities of the six flag raisers. Pfc. Gagnon identified Navy [[Hospital corpsman|corpsman]] [[John Bradley (United States Navy)|John Bradley]] and Pfc. Ira Hayes as flag raisers in the photograph and they were sent for and arrived on April 19 and, they were separately questioned that day (Sgt. Strank, Cpl. Block, and Pfc. Sousley were killed on Iwo Jima). All three said they were in the photograph and raised the flag; on April 8, they had been named publicly by the Marine Corps as the surviving flag raisers. Over time it was discovered that all of the second flag-raisers were Marines and that three of the six Marines in Rosenthal's photograph were not correctly identified: Cpl. Block was not recognized until January 1947, Pfc. Schultz was not recognized until June 2016,<ref name="marines.mil"/> and Pfc. Keller was not recognized until October 2019.<ref name="auto3"/> Cpl. Block was incorrectly identified in the photograph as Henry Hansen. Pfc. Schultz was identified as Pfc. Sousley in the photograph. In turn, Pfc. Sousley was identified as PhM2c. Bradley in the photograph. Pfc. Keller was incorrectly identified as Pfc. Gagnon in the photograph. Rosenthal did not take the names of any of the flag raisers in his photograph. Pfc. Schultz and Pfc. Keller did not ever claim publicly to be in Rosenthal's photograph or that they were flag-raisers.

==== Death and burial ====
On February 28, Sgt. Strank and E Company moved northward. Fighting was heavy, and both the Japanese and the American forces were taking heavy casualties. On March 1, Sgt. Strank's rifle squad came under heavy fire and took cover. While forming a plan of attack, he was killed by [[Friendly fire|friendly artillery fire]]. The shell that killed him was almost certainly fired from offshore by an American ship. Cpl. Harlon Block, Sgt. Strank's assistant squad leader, took command of the squad. Cpl. Block was killed later on the same day by a Japanese mortar shell. However, former Marine Ralph Griffiths of Second Platoon, Easy Company, said that Sgt. Strank and Cpl. Block were on both sides of him on March 1 and were killed by the same shell which wounded him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://taishawalker.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/iwo-jima-survivor-recalls-the-bloody-war/|title=Iwo Jima survivor recalls the bloody war|date=November 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://listen.sdpb.org/post/marine-veterans-recall-iwo-jima|title=Marine Veterans Recall Iwo Jima|first=Jim|last=Kent|website=listen.sdpb.org|date=22 February 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vindy.com/news/2009/nov/14/veteran-of-easy-company-recalls-rigors-of-iwo-jima/?print |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817022002/http://www.vindy.com/news/2009/nov/14/veteran-of-easy-company-recalls-rigors-of-iwo-jima/?print |archive-date=2016-08-17 |title=Veteran of Easy Company recalls rigors of Iwo Jima}}</ref> Sgt. Strank and the other Marines killed in action of the 28th Regiment were buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on the island with the last rites of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Sgt. Strank (and possibly Cpl. Block) was the first person in Rosenthal's flag raising photograph to be killed. On January 13, 1949, his remains were reinterred in Grave 7179, Section 12, [[Arlington National Cemetery]].

Sgt. Strank's brother, Peter Strank, was serving aboard the aircraft carrier [[USS Franklin (CV-13)|''USS Franklin'']] in the [[South Pacific Area|South Pacific]] when Sgt. Strank was killed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33148-2005Feb17.html|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]|date= February 18, 2005|title= The Shadow of Suribachi|first=Timothy |last=Dwyer}}</ref>