René Gagnon | |
|---|---|
 Private René Gagnon, USMC in 1943 | |
| Born | March 7, 1925 Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Died | October 12, 1979 (aged 54) Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Buried | Originally on Mount Cavalry Cemetery Currently on Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion 28th Marines 5th Marine Division |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | World War II Victory Medal |
René Arthur Gagnon (March 7, 1925 – October 12, 1979) was a United States Marine Corps corporal who participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.
Gagnon was generally known as being one of the Marines who raised the second U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, as depicted in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima by photographer Joe Rosenthal. On October 16, 2019, the Marine Corps announced publicly (after an investigation) that Corporal Harold Keller, not Gagnon, was in Rosenthal's photo.[1] Gagnon was one of three men who were originally identified incorrectly as flag-raisers in the photograph (the others being Hank Hansen and John Bradley).[2]
The first flag that had been raised was deemed too small. Later that day, Gagnon, a runner in the 5th Marine Division, was given a larger flag to take up the mountain. A photo of the second flag-raising became famous and was widely reproduced. After the battle, Gagnon and two other men who were identified as surviving second flag-raisers were reassigned to help raise funds for the Seventh War Loan drive.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, is modeled after Rosenthal's photograph of six Marines raising the second flag on Iwo Jima.
- ^ "Warrior in iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photo was misidentified, Marines Corps acknowledges". NBC News. October 16, 2019.
- ^ Robertson, Breanne, ed. (2019). Investigating Iwo: The Flag Raisings in Myth, Memory, and Esprit de Corps (PDF). Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps History Division. pp. 243, 312. ISBN 978-0-16-095331-6.