The Marines Who Raised the Flag on Mt. Suribachi: Correcting the Record

April 25, 2024 (Thursday, 1900 EST)

Colonel Keil Gentry, USMC (ret.)

Vice President for Business Affairs, Marine Corps University

Acting Director, National Museum of the Marine Corps

Correcting the historical record spanned 70 years; however, when the Marine Corps first associated names with the faceless figures in Rosenthal’s photograph in April 1945, it assumed a responsibility to get it right. General Vandegrift, Commandant of the Marine Corps, articulated that duty in a letter to Sergeant Hansen’s father following the del Valle Board’s positive identification of Corporal Block in the position previously assigned to Sergeant Hansen. He wrote, “…I hope you will agree that, in fairness to all parties, the Marine Corps was obligated to correct the mistaken identification.”   That sentiment was true in 2016 when the Huly Board partially corrected the identifications. The mandate for historical accuracy and integrity asserted itself again two years later when additional evidence was brought to the attention of the Marine Corps. This brief outlines the research efforts leading to and the conclusions of the Bowers Board.

Col. Gentry served in the Marine Corps for over 30 years in various billets.  Spending most of his career in operational billets, he commanded at the battery, battalion, and regimental levels.  Additionally, he served as the Head of National Plans for the Marine Corps, Deputy Legislative Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Director of the Marine Corps War College.  He retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2016.

He currently serves as the Vice President for Business Affairs for Marine Corps University/Education Command. Col. Gentry also participated in multiple named contingency operations, including PROVIDE COMFORT, PROVIDE PROMISE, JOINT ENDEAVOR, ASSURED RESPONSE, QUICK RESPONSE, IRAQI FREEDOM, AL FAJR, and TOMODACHI.