Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal took the picture of marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima.
The island of Iwo Jima spanned only eight square miles, but was strategically important for its closeness to Japan and hence its value as an air base.
About 6,800 marines were killed and more than 18,200 wounded in the fighting from February 19 to March 17, 1945.