A no-nonsense Devil and his Reising, 70 years on
Sergeant Michael Strank (10 Nov 1919–1 Mar 1945) was one of the six Marines who raised the second flag on Mt.Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. He died on Iwo Jima on 1 March 1945 when his squad came under heavy fire and was hit by friendly fire by an American shell. His death made him the first—but certainly not the last—man photographed raising the flag to die in battle.
Strank was born on November 10, the Marine Corps birthday, and was termed by one who served in his squad as, “The greatest Marine I ever knew.”
On January 13, 1949, his remains were reinterred in Grave 7179, Section 12, Arlington National Cemetery.
Michael Strank’s brother Peter Strank, served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin in the North Pacific during World War II.
On a side note, you have to dig the M55 Reising he is using. These H&R-manufactuered subguns were pressed into service at the beginning of the war and the early Marine Raiders (of which Strank was a member of the vaunted 3d Marine Raider Battalion) were one of the few units to use them in combat.
In the green hell of Guadalcanal, Marines found themselves with Reisings that were so rusty and jammed that they would not function. Armorers who had piles of inoperable guns couldn’t fix them as spare parts would not marry up and each had to be hand-fitted almost from scratch. By 1943, the gun was pulled from combat. At that stage of the war, the M1 Carbine and M3 Grease Gun were readily available to front line troops and the quantities of Reisings on hand were diverted to State Defense Forces, the Coast Guard’s Beach Patrol Units, and state-side MP companies.
And with the caveat that they may not always get the best gear, but always wind up with the best of men, Happy Birthday Marine Corps.
The 240th Anniversary Message from the Commandant