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Radicova Commemorates Veterans Day in U.S.A.
Thursday 11 November 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Washington/Bratislava, November 11 (TASR) - During her ongoing visit to the United States of America, Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova honoured American war veterans commemorated on Veterans Day, November 11, by laying a wreath at the Iwo Jima Memorial near Washington D.C.
One of the flag-raisers portrayed in the statue on the memorial was Sergeant Michael Strank, who was born in Jarabina, Czechoslovakia. He was one of the six soldiers who planted the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima. A photograph of this taken by Joe Rosenthal became one of the most famous images of WWII.
Strank was born on November 10, 1919 in a small village near Stara Lubovna (Presov region). His parents later emigrated to Pensylvania to look for work. Strank commanded a unit that landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. On March 1 the unit came under heavy fire and had to take cover. Strank was killed by an artillery shell while forming a plan of attack. He was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.
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