It appeared on a 3-cent postage stamp in 1945, reproduced millions of times and sent through the mail with every ordinary transaction of American life.

It was recreated in bronze as the central image of the Marine Corps War Memorial, dedicated in 1954 at a ceremony attended by President Eisenhower, which sits across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.

The memorial is enormous — the figures stand nearly thirty-two feet tall — and it shows the six flag raisers in the moment Rosenthal captured, rendered permanent in metal.

The names of every Marine Corps engagement since 1775 are inscribed on the monument’s base.