Marine Iwo Jima Flag Raising

A Marine who fought at Iwo Jima and witnessed the historic flag raising on Mount Suribachi has died at age 91.Lt. Col Alfred “Al” Carroll was a very young Marine when he fought on the island and saw the flag raising on Feb. 23, 1945. He died last Wednesday. His funeral service was held at Leak Memorial Chapel; he is survived by his three daughters, seven grandchildren and eight great-grand children.[caption id="attachment_8358" align="aligncenter" width="520"]

Al Carroll at his home in 2015. Source: Mickey Welsh, Montgomery Advertiser[/caption]Carroll was just one mile away when Joe Rosenthal shot the iconic photo of the Iwo Jima flag raising. Five U.S. Marines and one sailor hoisted the colors on top of Mount Suribachi after days of fighing. The photo became one of the most famous from World War II and inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial in Washington, D.C.The flag could be seen 500 feet in the air on top of the mountain from miles away.“When the flag went up, it was almost like a football game with all the cheering,” Carroll said. “You could hear them all over the island and ships blowing their horns.”

From Iwo Jima Marine to Professor At Auburn

Carroll was born on a farm in 1925 in Clayton, Alabama. He and his two brothers joined the Marine Corps after they heard that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. His sisters also served during the war, entering into the medical specialties.He was serving the 4^th Marine Division during the flag raising on Iwo Jima. The battle is considered the bloodiest in the entire Pacific campaign.“My buddies paid the supreme sacrifice and did not have the chance to have a family and come back home like I did,” he said. “I’ve been blessed all my life.”Al Carroll continued to serve in the military and various police departments and taught criminal justice at Auburn University for 20 years. He retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1978.