The book is focused mainly on the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Marines who made the battle famous. The fighting on Iwo Jima was the only time in all of WWII in which US Marines suffered more casualties than the Japanese. Whilst the battle was still raging Rosenthal's photograph of the Marines was released and overnight gained the attention of the whole nation. In the following weeks Strank, Block, and Sousley were killed in battle and their families were notified. Bradley, Gagnon, and Hayes were sent on the 7th War Bond Drive and became public heroes. Even though the war for them was finished and they had raised money for their country, their fight was far from over. Many of the Marines had a very hard time moving on with life after their experiences in war and the book sheds light on some of these hardships.
Two of the six Marines featured in the book have since been determined not to be in the famous photograph. Following an investigation, in 2016 the Marine Corps announced that the man previously identified as John Bradley had in fact been (then Private First Class) Harold Schultz, and in 2019, the Corps announced that the man previously identified as Rene Gagnon had in fact been Marine Corporal Harold Keller.[2]
James Bradley was initially surprised to hear that the Marine Corps had started an investigation into the identities of the men in the flag-raising photo, but said "I'm interested in facts and truths, so that’s fine, but I don’t know what’s happening."[3] Soon after the announcement of the investigation, Bradley said he no longer believed his father had been in the photograph, citing research originally published in the Omaha World-Herald in 2014.[4]
