December 10, 2019 Edged Weapon, Armor & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2019
Card measuring 4-1/2" X 6" displaying a 50 star American flag, signed in ink at the bottom "Rene A Gagnon". Included are: A ticket stub to an Essex County (MA) Marine Corps League dinner honoring Rene Gagnon, dated May 29, 1970: First Day cover depicting the flag raising on Iwo Jima, dated July 11, 1945: Two Marine Corps patches: Note stating that the autograph was given at the May 29, 1970. René Gagnon (1925-1979) was a US Marine Corps corporal and one of the six soldiers who raised the second flag in Iwo Jima atop Mount Suribachi, famously captured in the iconic image Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. Born in New Hampshire, Gagnon worked in a textile mill before joining the Marine Corps Reserve in 1943. Gagnon and Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, and climbed Mount Suribachi four days later. The Company was to raise an American flag once the crest was captured. Two hours after the initial flag was installed, the men decided to erect a larger flag, one that would be more easily visible from the beaches. Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, Private First Class Franklin Sousley, and Corporals Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, and Harold Schultz assisted in the raising of the flag, and the moment was immortalized in the black and white photograph taken by AP combat photographer Joe Rosenthal. This image was later used to create the Marine Corps War Memorial that was dedicated at Arlington Ridge Park. Gagnon later visited the site on Mount Suribachi on February 19, 1965, accompanied by his wife and son. CONDITION: Excellent.
Condition: (Excellent).