René Arthur Gagnon (March 7, 1925 – October 12, 1979) was one of the United States Marines immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's famous World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
Gagnon was drafted in 1943, and elected to join the United States Marine Corps Reserve on May 6. He was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. On July 16, he was promoted to private first class. He was transferred to the Marine Guard Company at Charleston Navy Yard in South Carolina and remained there for eight months. He then joined the Military Police Company of the 5th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California. On April 8, 1944, he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division. In September, the 5th division left Camp Pendleton for further training at Camp Tarawa, Hawaii, for the assault on Iwo Jima by three Marine divisions of the V Amphibious Corps (code named "Operation Detachment"). Flag raising on Iwo Jima A diagram identifying the six men who raised the replacement flag on Mount Suribachi.
On February 19, 1945, Gagnon landed on the southeast side of Iwo Jima with the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines on "Green Beach 1", which was the closest landing beach to Mount Suribachi on the southern end of the island. On February 23, Gagnon, a battalion runner (messenger) for Company E,[1] participated in what was most likely the most celebrated American flag raising in U.S. history.
In 1991, former Marine Lt. George Greeley Wells, who was the 2nd battalion, 28th Marines, adjutant in charge of carrying the American flag(s) for the battalion, stated in The New York Times that he was ordered by the battalion commander on February 23, 1945 to get a large replacement flag for the top of Mount Suribachi, and that he (Wells) ordered Gagnon, a runner, to get a flag from a ship on shore — possibly the USS Duval County (LST-758).[2] Wells stated that this flag was the one taken up Mount Suribachi by Gagnon to be given to Lieutenant Schrier of Company E, with a message for Schrier to raise this flag and return the other smaller flag raised earlier on Mount Suribachi back to Gagnon. Wells also stated, that he had handed the first flag to Schrier that Schrier took up Mount Suribachi, and when this flag was returned to him by Gagnon, he secured the flag until it was delivered to Marine Headquarters after the 2nd battalion returned to Hawaii from Iwo Jima.[3][4][5][6] When the replacement flag and flagpole was raised by Gagnon and the five others on Mount Suribachi, the first flag and flagpole on the mountaintop was lowered at the same time.
On March 14, 1945, a third American flag was officially raised by two Marines at Marine headquarters, located at the base of Mount Suribachi. The flag that Gagnon helped raise on February 23 was lowered and taken to Marine headquarters. On March 26, Gagnon and the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines left Iwo Jima and both flags that were flown on Mount Suribachi were taken to Marine Headquarters in Washington, D.C. after the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines returned to Hawaii.
Government war bond tour
On March 26, 1945, when the 28th Marines left Iwo Jima for Hawaii, Gagnon was aboard the transport USS Winged Arrow (AP-170),[7] and was the first to be identified as one of the six-flag raisers in the photo. He was ordered to Washington, D.C., arriving on April 7. Gagnon, together with the other two identified survivors of the second flag raising, Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes and Navy Pharmacist's Mate John Bradley, were assigned to temporary duty with the Finance Division, United States Department of the Treasury, for appearances and participation in connection with the Seventh War Loan drive (bond selling tour). In May and June 1945, the tour went through several major U.S cities raising billions of desperately needed dollars and morale at home to help win the war.
[9] The three flag-raisers had the actual flag they had raised on Mount Suribachi with them during the bond tour.
In July 1945, Gagnon was ordered to San Diego for further transfer overseas. He married Pauline Georgette Harnois, of Hooksett, New Hampshire, in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 7, 1945. By September, he was on his way overseas again, this time with the 80th Replacement Draft. On November 7, 1945, he arrived at Tsingtao, China, where he joined Company E, 2nd Battalion, 29th Marines, 6th Marine Division. He later served with the 3rd Battalion, 29th Marines. In March 1946, he had been on duty with the U.S. occupation forces in China for about five months before he boarded a ship at Tsingtao at the end of the month for San Diego. Gagnon arrived in San Diego on April 20, 1946. He was promoted to Corporal and was honorably discharged at Camp Pendleton, California, on April 27, 1946.
The caches were placed without getting out of my kayak when the river was at 7.5 feet on the below gauge.
Licking River Gauge