World War II Honoree

Alan Stevenson Wood

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Pasadena, California

Honored By

Friends of American Heroes

HE PROUDLY SERVED HIS COUNTRY IN THE U.S. NAVY DURING WWII. HE WAS CREDITED WITH PROVIDING THE FLAG IN THE FAMOUS FLAG-RAISING ON IWO JIMA. HE WAS A 22-YEAR-OLD NAVY LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE IN CHARGE OF COMMUNICATIONS ON LST-779, ONE OF MANY LANDING SHIPS THAT DISGORGED TANKS AND CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT ON IWO JIMA'S SHORES FEBRUARY 23, 1945. BEACHED CLOSE TO THE BASE OF MOUNT SURIBACHI, HIS SHIP WAS BOARDED ONE MORNING DURING THE FIVE-WEEK BATTLE BY A MARINE SEEKING THE BIGGEST FLAG THAT HE COULD FIND. AFTER FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING TO CAPTURE THE ISLAND, U.S. FORCES HAD MANAGED TO SCALE MOUNT SURIBACHI TO HOIST AN AMERICAN FLAG. HE HAPPENED TO HAVE A 37-SQUARE-FOOT FLAG HE FOUND MONTHS BEFORE IN A PEARL HARBOR NAVY DEPOT. FIVE MARINES AND A NAVY CORPSMAN RAISED THAT FLAG CAPTURED IN A PHOTO BY ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER JOE ROSENTHAL.