Japanese Iwo Jima eyewitness tells it in his own words

Japanese Iwo Jima eyewitness tells it in his own words:

"'On the morning of February 23, he saw the first U.S. flag go up on Suribachi's peak, followed shortly thereafter by the second, larger flag, the raising of which was immortalized at 1/400th second in Rosenthal's famous photograph. Akikusa's descriptions up to this point correspond completely to American accounts of the event. But what followed afterward appears to contradict the official U.S. Naval version of the battle.

The following morning, as Akikusa relates in his book, 'It was not the Stars & Stripes, but the Nissho-ki (Japanese Sun flag) that was waving. Even though the peak was the target of attack from every direction on the island, I thought how hard they must have fought, and tears naturally came to my eyes. The valiant fighters were defending Mt. Suribachi to the death.'

The U.S. troops quickly hauled down the Japanese standard and replaced it with their own flag. But early the next morning, February 25, 'the Nissho-ki was once again fluttering in the morning sunshine. It was a dazzling, beautiful sight.'

'The flag was a different one from the day before,' Akikusa recalls. 'It was a smaller one, and square. It may have been improvised. The red circle in the center looked brownish, so it could have been blood.'

'It may have been made out of a"..................

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