PFC James Michels USMC

PFC James Michels USMC photo
Wounded in Action on Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945
Aged 27

James Michels entered the Marine Corps in early 1944. Trained as a Rifleman he was assigned to 2d Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division during the Battle of Iwo Jima. On 23 February (just 4 days into the battle), Michels was a member of the combat patrol that placed the first American flag atop Mount Suribachi. They met no resistance in their climb, but upon reaching the summit several enemy grenades were thrown at them by Japanese soldiers from nearby caves. The enemy forces were eliminated with the help of Marine flamethrowers. Michel’s patrol then had the honor of lifting the first flag. This iconic image was captured by Leatherneck magazine’s combat correspondent, Staff Sergeant Louis Lowery. Arguably the second most famous photo of the battle, it shows Michels on guard in the foreground with the flag; his M1 Carbine at the ready.
The following day, on 23 February, Michels was slightly wounded in the thumb by shrapnel from a Japanese mortar. The round had landed in the middle of the ten foot crater, where he and four other Marines had sought shelter. The explosion seriously wounded two other men, but they all survived as the soft volcanic sand miraculously absorbed much of the explosion. Michels continued to fight and remarkably survived the campaign. He was discharged shortly after the war at the rank of corporal.