Franklin sousley biography
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Franklin Sousley
United States Marine, 1925–1945
Franklin Sousley | |
|---|---|
Sousley in 1944 | |
| Born | (1925-09-19)September 19, 1925 Hill Top, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | March 21, 1945(1945-03-21) (aged 19) Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, Japanese Empire † |
| Place of burial | 5th Marine Division Cemetery, Iwo Jima |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service / branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1944–1945 |
| Rank | Private First Class |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Purple Heart Medal Combat Action Ribbon |
Franklin Runyon Sousley (September 19, 1925 – March 21, 1945) was a United States Marine who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He was one of the six marines who raised the second of two U.S. flags on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, as shown in the iconic photograph R
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Franklin Sousley & The Battle of Iwo Jima
By Randall B. Ingram
Everyone has seen the now famous photograph of the three firefighters hoisting Old Glory over the ruins of the World Trade Center. Much has been said about its resemblance to one of the most famous photographs ever taken, the flag raising atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima during World War II. That picture captured the imagination of the American people, and indeed the entire free world in 1945. It was the embodiment of the American fighting spirit, its image the very essence of heroism and determination. It has in combat. Today, he rests in a quiet cemetery, virtually forgotten outside his rural Kentucky hometown.
There were six flag raisers, although only kvartet are visible. On the far right planting the flagpole fryst vatten Harlon Block of Texas, a star football player who enlisted in the Marines along with all the seniors on his high school team. Between Harlon and Franklin is John Bradley, a Navy medic from Wisconsin w
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Franklin Runyon Sousley (19 September 1925 – 21 March 1945) was a US Marine Corps Private First Class who was one of the six Marines who raised the second of two U.S. flags on top of Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945.
Biography[]
Franklin was born in Hill Top, Kentucky, and was the second child to Merle Sousley and Goldie Mitchell. At age two his five-year-old brother, Malcolm died from appendicitis. He attended a two-room schoolhouse in nearby Elizaville, and attended Fleming County High School in nearby Flemingsburg. In May 1933, his younger brother Julian was born, and he lost his father a year later when he was nine years old, Franklin was the only male figure in the family and assisted his mother in raising Julian. Sousley graduated from High School in May 1943 and resided in Dayton, Ohio as a worker in a refrigerator factory before he was drafted into the US Marine Corps on January 5, 1944. Franklin was sent to boot camp in San Diego, Cali