Members of the Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation, joined by veterans and officials from Newington and New Britain, held a remembrance on October 9th for the U.S. Marine combat cameraman who filmed the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima in February 1945.
The special ceremony was held at Iwo Jima Memorial Park on Ella Grasso Boulevard next to the CCSU campus. The Foundation added an inscribed brick at the monument in honor of Sargeant Ganault, a native of Sioux Fall, S.D. who lived in Minnesota.
A mother and daughter traveling from Illinois, who are cousins of Sargeant Ganaust, participated in the event. Attending were New Britain Mayor Bobby Sanchez, Newington Town Councilor Kathy Gonzalez. N.B. Veterans Commission Chair John Buckley. Elaine Schieffer and other leaders of the Foundation.
Sargeant William H. Ganaust captured the iconic scene in the fiercely fought Battle for Iwo Jima. National archives have preserved the 198 frames of film taken on a 16mm camera that documented the historic flag raising. Sargeant Ganault was standing next to and working alongside Associated Press Photographer Jack Rosenthal as six Marines ascended Mount Suribachi. Rosenthal’s front-page photograph of the event won a Pulitzer Prize. Nine days later, Ganaust was missing in action and killed in Iwo Jima at age 36. A plaque can be found in his memory at the Memorial atop Mount Suribachi.
The National Iwo Jima Memorial was conceived and built by the Iwo Jima Survivors Association, led by Dr. George Gentile. On Feb 23, 1995, the monument by sculptor Joseph Petrovics was dedicated in memory of the 6,821 Americans who lost their lives on Iwo Jima, 50 years after the iconic flag raising depicted by the monument. The names of the 100 Connecticut men who died are inscribed on the monument, and 100 flags are flown at the park to commemorate their sacrifice.
For more information on Iwo Jima Memorial Park\ Visit the National Iwo Jima Memorial in Connecticut
John McNamara is a Ward 4 Alderman and the Common Council Majority Leader.
