The Resume

(July 10, 1923-January 11, 1994)
Born in Antigo, Wisconsin
US Navy Pharmacist's Mate
Participant in the raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima (February 23, 1945)
Appeared as himself in the film 'The Sands of Iwo Jima' (1949)
Last surviving flag raiser
His son James wrote 'Flags of Our Fathers' (2000)

Why he might be annoying:

He joined the Navy to avoid ground combat. (A plan that clearly did not pan out.)
He was not originally meant to be one of the flag raisers, but joined in when the water pipe used as a makeshift flagpole was too unwieldly for the original group of four Marines.
He almost never talked about the flag raising, discussing it with his wife only once.
He trained his wife and kids to tell reporters asking for interviews that he was on a fishing trip in Canada and could not be reached by phone.
His daughter Barbara said, 'Reading a book on Iwo Jima at home would have been like reading a Playgirl magazine…it would have been something I had to hide.'

Why he might not be annoying:

He earned the Navy Cross for treating and rescuing a Marine under heavy fire.
He was wounded by shrapnel during a mortar attack (March 12, 1945).
He helped a Marine to the aid station and was preparing to return to his unit when the doctors noticed his own badly injured legs and ordered him evacuated from the combat zone.
He married his childhood sweetheart.
When he was recognized and called a hero, he would reply that the heroes of Iwo Jima were 'the boys who did not come back.'
In one of his rare interviews, he said 'It took everyone on that island and the men in the ships offshore to get the flag up on Suribachi.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Breeders [Have 5 or More Kids] (Ranked: 8)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 49]
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [July] (Ranked: 7101923)
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [A-C]
• I Died in 1994 (Ranked: 70)
• I Died in the City I Was Born In
• I Had a Stroke [Cerebral Vascular Accident]
• I Portrayed Myself
• Look at Me, I'm Using a Cane or Crutches
• Look at My Flag
• People with John or Mary in their Names
• Profiles 34751-35000 (Ranked: 34825)
• Purple Hearts
• Served in World War II
• Time's 100 Most Influential Photos of All Time [2016] (Ranked: 34)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 9 Votes: 22.22% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 163 Votes: 49.08% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 43.75% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 14 Votes: 42.86% Annoying