Joe Rosenthal Dies at 94

Joe Rosenthal, whose photograph of U.S. servicemen raising the flag over Iwo Jima in World War II became an enduring American symbol, died Sunday at age 94.

He died at an assisted living center in San Francisco, according to The San Francisco Chronicle, the newspaper where he worked for 35 years until his retirement in 1981.

Though his photography career spanned more than 50 years, Rosenthal is best remembered for his single shot of the flag raising at the top of Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945. To read all of Daryl Lang's story for PDN click here.

I had the privaledge of meeting and visiting with Joe when I was part of the Black Team for the Eddie Adams Workshop, "Barnstorm 6". He was friendly and humble and answered all of my questions. In the ultimate ironic twist the man who made the most famous photograph of Marines was unable to serve as a Marine because of poor eyesight. Godspeed Joe.