JIM Seymour’s column “Through the Looking Glass” which appeared in your March 2 edition, while undoubtedly well-intentioned, contains some absolutely staggering factual errors which have the effect of distracting from and undermining his message.
To begin with a relatively minor one, he describes the island of Iwo Jima as lying “off the coast of Tokyo.” Iwo Jima is located approximately 520 miles south of Tokyo—hardly “off the coast.”
Seymour then goes on to describe the 1945 battle to secure the island as “ultimately unsuccessful” and Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer-winning photograph of the flag-raising atop Mount Suribachi as “famously staged.” Both of these assertions are unconscionable. The island was declared secure on March 26, 1945 after over a month of fighting, and before the war ended, its airfield would provide an emergency landing site for over 2,000 B-29 bombers.
As for the photograph, it has long been well-established that it was not staged. The 16mm color film of the incident, shot by Marine Sgt. Bill Genaust simultaneously with Rosenthal’s photograph, makes this abundantly clear.
Indeed, the film “Flags of our Fathers,” which Seymour praises so highly, also makes this point clear.

LOUIS GIAMELLE
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (ret.)
Yigo, Guam