Tom Graves
Chapter Historian, USMC Combat Correspondents Association
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
Photo by Joe Rosenthal (1911-2006), who many locals remember from his time at the San Francisco Chronicle
Our guest speaker will be Author, Photographer and Historian Tom Graves. Tom will introduce us to Joe Rosenthal’s story and why he and his photo are so significant.
He will also share his personal mission as Team Leader of the USS Joe Rosenthal Project. Have you signed the petition? www.USSJoe.org
Tom is an award-winning author. He wrote Twice Heroes: America's Nisei Veterans of WWII and Korea.
Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) soldiers were once considered untrustworthy and forbidden to serve in the military. When allowed into a single, racially segregated regiment, this small U.S. Army unit became the most highly decorated in United States history.
Twice Heroes is the winner of the 2014 Benjamin Franklin Award in History.
Tom’s message appeals to a wide group of interests. Especially considering that February 23rd marks the 75th Anniversary of the Flag Raising.
Please bring a friend or organization who, you feel, wouldn’t want to miss this event. Veterans and their loved ones, Reserve Units, historians from other organizations, and San Franciscans wanting to deepen their knowledge of a local celebrity would all benefit from Tom’s talk.
San Francisco photographer Tom Graves began photographing and interviewing WWII and Korean War veterans in 2001, published a book, Twice Heroes, on the subject, and has now interviewed nearly 300 veterans.
In his 40 years’ professional experience, photography has taken him to five continents and to all 50 states for America's largest companies and publications including The New York Times, People, and Time magazine.
Since 2006, Tom has spoken and exhibited at dozens of events and venues, including the National WWII Museum, American Legion National Convention, de Young Museum, Houston Museum of the Holocaust, Rice University, National Steinbeck Center, San Francisco City Hall and at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
He is historian of the Joe Rosenthal Chapter of the USMC Combat Correspondents Association, where he leads the effort to name a Navy warship for Iwo Jima flag raising photographer Joe Rosenthal. Tom is among the few civilians to visit Iwo To, as the island is now called.