San Francisco Names a Street For the Photographer Who Captured Marines Raising an American Flag at Iwo JimaJoe Rosenthal is famous for his Pulitzer Prize-winning image. But he spent most of his career photographing San Francisco, where he lived for many years Joe Rosenthal holding a print of his famous photographin 2000 David Hume Kennerly / Getty ImagesIn early 1945, the Associated Press photographerJoe Rosenthal captured an iconic shot of troops raising an American flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. It became one of the most famous images from World War II, and it won thePulitzer Prize for photography later that year.Sure, I took the photo, Rosenthal said when complimented on his winning image, per theAPs Janie Har and Terry Chea. But the Marines took Iwo Jima.This month, Rosenthal, who died in 2006, is being honored in San Francisco, where he lived for most of his life: Officials have renamed a downtown block of Sutter Street Joe Rosenthal Way. As speakers emphasized at the recent renaming ceremony, Rosenthals contribution to World War II photography was the highlight of a long career mostly spent covering local events for the San Francisco Chronicle. The Battle of Iwo Jima took place between February 19 andMarch 26, 1945. Joe Rosenthal / Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsThe Bay Area cityhome to pivotalNavy shipyards during the 40sis a fitting location to honor a World War II photographer, as Aaron Peskin, leader of the citys Board of Supervisors, tells Ryan Curry of KCRA, a local news channel. San Franciscos modern history is inextricably linked to World War II, he says. Its U.S. history, and [Rosenthal] is a son of San Francisco.Born in Washington, D.C. in1911, Rosenthal moved to San Francisco just after graduating high school. He became a newspaper photographer in the early 30s and joined the AP in 1941. When he became an AP war correspondent in 1944, he was sent to thePacific Theater.Rosenthal captured many U.S. assaults, includingGuam,Angaur and Peleliu. But he didnt take his celebrated photo untilIwo Jima, where U.S. Marines invaded on February 19, 1945. Some 22,000 Japanese soldiers died in the ensuing 36-day battle, and roughly 24,000 American soldiers were killed or injuredthehighest number of single-action casualties in Marine Corps history.USA: IWO JIMA PHOTOGRAPHER - JOE ROSENTHALWatch on No man who survived the beach can tell you how he did it, Rosenthal later said, per theChronicles Peter Hartlau. It was like walking through rain and not getting wet.On the Battle of Iwo Jimas fifth dayFebruary 23Rosenthal observed two Marines attempting to place a 150-pound flagpole atopMount Suribachi. Other soldiers arrived to help, working in tandem to hoist the flag, and Rosenthal snapped a photo. Rosenthal died in 2006 at age 94. Nancy Wong via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0His image became a poster advertisingwar bonds, which citizens could purchase to fund the military, and the ad helped raise $26 billion in 1945, per the AP. After the war, Rosenthal returned to the Bay Area, and he spent more than three decades taking photos for the Chronicle before retiring in 1981.As Rosenthals daughter Anne tells KCRA, her father fell in love with San Franciscos beauty and people. She says she feels very honored about the renaming of Sutter Street, adding: Of course, [I] wish my dad were here to see this.In Rosenthals post-war decades with the Chronicle, he captured pro baseball playerWillie Mays, SenatorDianne Feinstein, children running out of their last day of school in 1965 and countless other moments and figures.He had this 50-year career35 with the Chronicleand he was known for one photograph, Tom Graves, chapter historian for the U.S.Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, tells the Chronicle. From kindergarten to parades to professional and amateur sports games, he was the hometown photographer. I think thats something that San Francisco should recognize and cherish.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: American History, Arts, Cities, History, Japan, Journalism, Photographers, Photography, Photojournalism, San Francisco, Warfare, World War II