Chapter News|News
Progress for Rosenthal Chapter on naming ship
Progress continues on our effort to honor Joe Rosenthal with a Navy ship. While Joe earned the Pulitzer Prize and many other awards during his long career, newer generations of San Franciscans and Americans deserve to know the name of the creator of the most significant photograph ever taken. While some of us may have faded over the decades, Joe’s photo shines just a brightly as it did 72 years ago!
Our current efforts fall into three categories:
1. Outreach and signature collection during Veterans Day Weekend, when numerous public events take place, more than we can hope to attend. But we will represent the USS Joe wherever we can in the Bay Area, and this year, in Philadelphia.
2. Increased contact with the Press. Joe’s birthday, Fleet Week, and now Veterans Day, all provide opportunities for the Press to run the story. Last week I was interviewed for www.ConnectingVeterans.com and their show on CBS radio.
I am now contacting organizations and websites serving the photography community. While we think of Joe in the context of history, he was, after all, a successful photojournalist for most of his life, and his name is up there with the other photography greats. In addition to his Pulitzer Prize, Joe was a longtime President of the San Francisco Press Club, a member of the USMC Combat Correspondents Association, is in the International Photography Hall of Fame, and Time Magazine ranked his Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima among the 100 greatest photos ever taken (Personally, I would say it’s in the top five.). Our outreach to date has been largely aimed at the veterans community; we are now connecting with a new audience.
