CHARLES W. LINDBERG - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH - HFSID 277504

CHARLES W. LINDBERG
Color photo of the Silver Star winner, last survivor of the first Iwo Jima flag-raising. Emphasizing who came first, he has noted the time of day.
Photograph signed: "Charles W. Lindberg/1st Flag Raiser, Iwo Jima/February 23, 1945 - 10:30 AM". Color, 8x10. Charles W. Lindberg (1920-2007), who fought in the Guadalcanal and Bougainville campaigns of World War II before participating in the flag raising, was a 24-year-old Corporal. He carried a flame thrower with Company E, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima from February 19-March 1, 1945. Lindberg earned a Silver Star for his bravery. The flag raised by Lindberg and his fellow marines and photographed by Lou Lowery, was later replaced by a larger flag. It is the second flag-raising, photographed by Joe Rosenthal, which served as the model for the stamp, war bond, and Marine Memorial. Because the second flag-raising is such a famous picture, Lindberg and his fellow members of the first group had to fight for recognition. The second flag was raised four hours after Lindberg's. Evacuated from the island one week later after being wounded by a Japanese sniper, Lindberg later worked as an electrician. He died on June 24, 2007, and was buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, honored with an overflight of combat aircraft. His daughter said at the funeral, "Our hero has gone home; the heavens are safer tonight." Fine condition.