By Deborah Larsen
Donald Louis Knickerbocker
Donald Louis Knickerbocker was born in Pontiac, Michigan, on June 10, 1921, the son of Adna and Ada Dickinson Knickerbocker. Donald grew up in Rochester, and his family lived on Renshaw Street.
In December 1941, Donald entered the U.S. Navy. On February 23, 1945, he was a participant in the Battle of Iwo Jima and an eyewitness to one of the most celebrated events of the war. According to a letter Donald wrote to his parents in Rochester, later reported in the Rochester Clarion, his ship, LST 779, was the first Allied LST on the beach at Iwo Jima. When the U.S. Marines subsequently took Mt. Suribachi, they raised a small flag to communicate the victory to the troops on the beaches and offshore, but the flag was too small to be seen from a distance. Donald wrote that the flag from his LST was then used to replace the original flag, and the flag from LST 779 was the one featured in the iconic photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press. The Naval History and Heritage Command confirms the story of the two flags: “The first flag, measuring 54×28 inches, was obtained from attack transport USS Missoula (APA-211), and raised on a 20-foot section of pipe at 10:20 a.m. Several hours later, an 8-foot-long battle ensign, obtained from tank landing ship LST-779, was raised, resulting in Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal’s famous photograph of the flag raising.”
Donald was released from military service in October 1945. He married, started a family, and worked in the automobile industry.
Donald Louis Knickerbocker died at age 85 on May 9, 2007, and was laid to rest in Lapeer, Michigan.