I've sometimes wondered why so much footage of the last few years of the Pacific War were in color, while that coming from Europe was still in black and white. The reason is that the Marine Corps designated a staff sergeant, Norm Hatch, to organize a motion picture unit and instead of sticking with the bulky 35 mm. cameras of the era, he snatched up all the Bell and Howell cartridge-loading 16 mm. cameras he could find. The cartridges were in color. The camera itself was perfect for the job. It weighed less than 3 pounds and could be quickly loaded with 50 feet of film (four minutes worth).
The narration describes Genaust's film in some detail. ("These are the first shots of Iwo Jima on Genaust's first reel. The handwritten notes identify the location, the cameraman, and the reel.") No one was an expert on motion picture cameras at the time and Hatch and his unit learned from scratch. The Marine Corps in particular recognized the propaganda value of combat footage.
This documentary is largely about Bill Genaust, who shot the famous footage of the American flag being raised on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima. He was killed five days later and his body was never found.
Genaust's first assignment was Saipan. Only 3 reels of his footage are left, and they're infrequently seen in documentaries. There are long stretches of mundane life, and some of the Marines look filled with fear. It was at Saipan that a colleague captured shots of civilians jumping from cliffs. (The colleague, McLue, a close friend, was shortly killed in action.) Genaust himself fended off a Japanese attack alone and was wounded in the thigh. He was nominated for a Navy Cross and turned down partly because he was a photographer and not an infantryman, or so says Norm Hatch in the commentary. Genaust was awarded the Bronze Star and could have been sent home but opted to stay.
One platoon climbed to the top of Mt. Suribachi, an extinct volcano still in Japanese hands, and raised a small flag. A black-and-white still photo was taken. But flag officers wanted a much bigger flag, one that could be seen from a distance. The order probably had something to do with the fact that Forrestal, the Secretary of the Navy, had come ashore.
A larger flag was raised, caught in both black-and-white still, and in Genaust's 16 mm. movie camera. Neither the public nor the Office of War Information knew about the small flag and the large flag, and the image of the latter being raised looked somehow photoshopped. It seemed too perfect to be true. When the reality was recognized, of course, the still photo and Genaust's footage became iconic -- stamps, posters, mammoth statues and memorials.
The island had not been entirely secured on Genaust's last day. He was with other Marines who discovered a cave which might or might not be occupied. Genaust entered the cave with a flashlight and was cut down by a machine gun. In accordance with policy, the cave was sealed with explosives. It was never located again. The efforts of guys like Genaust sometimes rouse a sense of shame in me, bothered from time to time by tooth aches, a sour love affair, or constant trouble with a recalcitrant car.