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Sousley, Franklin Runyon

Date of birth:
September 19th, 1925 (Hilltop/Kentucky, United States)
Date of death:
March 21st, 1945 (Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan)
Nationality:
American (1776 - present, Republic)

Biography

Private First Class Franklin R. Sousley was one of the six men in John Rosenthal's famous photograph of United States Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima in World War II.
On 21 March 1945, Private First Class Franklin R. Sousley was shot in the back by a Japanese sniper while walking down the middle of an open road on the nearly-secured island. Originally buried on Iwo Jima, his body was reinterred on May 8, 1947, in Elizaville Cemetery, Kentucky.

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Private First Class
Unit:
Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division "The Spearhead", U.S. Marine Corps

With one battle star for Iwo Jima.
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal