(1925-03-07)March 7, 1925 Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died
October 12, 1979(1979-10-12) (aged 54) Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Buried
Originally on Mount Cavalry Cemetery Currently on Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance
United States
Service/branch
United States Marine Corps
Years of service
1943–1946
Rank
Corporal
Unit
2nd Battalion 28th Marines 5th Marine Division
Battles/wars
World War II
Battle of Iwo Jima
Awards
World War II Victory Medal
René Arthur Gagnon (March 7, 1925 – October 12, 1979) was a United States Marine Corps corporal who participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.
Gagnon was generally known as being one of the Marines who raised the second U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, as depicted in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima by photographer Joe Rosenthal. On October 16, 2019, the Marine Corps announced publicly (after an investigation) that Corporal Harold Keller, not Gagnon, was in Rosenthal's photo.[1] Gagnon was one of three men who were originally identified incorrectly as flag-raisers in the photograph (the others being Hank Hansen and John Bradley).[2]
The first flag that had been raised was deemed too small. Later that day, Gagnon, a runner in the 5th Marine Division, was given a larger flag to take up the mountain. A photo of the second flag-raising became famous and was widely reproduced. After the battle, Gagnon and two other men who were identified as surviving second flag-raisers were reassigned to help raise funds for the Seventh War Loan drive.
The Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, is modeled after Rosenthal's photograph of six Marines raising the second flag on Iwo Jima.
^"Warrior in iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photo was misidentified, Marines Corps acknowledges". NBC News. October 16, 2019.
^Robertson, Breanne, ed. (2019). Investigating Iwo: The Flag Raisings in Myth, Memory, and Esprit de Corps(PDF). Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps History Division. pp. 243, 312. ISBN 978-0-16-095331-6.
René Arthur Gagnon (March 7, 1925 – October 12, 1979) was a United States Marine Corps corporal who participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World...
was identified as Sousley until June 2016 and Keller was identified as ReneGagnon until October 2019. All of the men served in the 5th Marine Division...
during the fifth season of The West Wing. Bradford played the role of ReneGagnon in the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers, based on the book of the same...
stated that Keller was incorrectly identified as Private First Class ReneGagnon in the photograph, who they determined is not in the photo. Keller is...
Harold Keller was in the Rosenthal's photograph in place of ReneGagnon (fifth from left). Gagnon who carried the larger second flag up Mount Suribachi, helped...
Flag on Iwo Jima photograph. The story follows the lives of Bradley, ReneGagnon, Ira Hamilton Hayes, Michael Strank, Harlon Henry Block, and Franklin...
flag-raiser Private First Class Ira Hayes, together with Private First Class ReneGagnon and Navy hospital corpsman Pharmacist's Mate Second Class John Bradley...
took telephone communication wire (or supplies). Private First Class ReneGagnon, the Second Battalion's runner (messenger) for Easy Company, was ordered...
go with him up Suribachi with supplies (or communication wire). Pfc. ReneGagnon the Second Battalion's runner (messenger) for E Company was ordered to...
Harold Keller was in the Rosenthal's photograph in place of ReneGagnon (fifth from left). Gagnon who carried the larger second flag up Mount Suribachi, helped...
as himself raising the flag John Bradley as himself raising the flag ReneGagnon as himself raising the flag William Self as Pvt L.D. Fowler Jr. John...
as flag-raisers in the photograph (the others being John Bradley and ReneGagnon). The Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, is modeled after...
Laporte campaign in the 1970 election. Laporte's two principal aides, RenéGagnon and Jacques Côté, met with D'Asti and another Cotroni family capo, Nicolo...
Suribachi with communication wire (or supplies). Private First Class ReneGagnon, the Second Battalion's runner (messenger) for E Company, was ordered...
Marie-Aurore-Lucienne Gagnon, simply known as Aurore Gagnon (31 May 1909 – 12 February 1920), was a Canadian girl who was a victim of child abuse. She...
Lynskey played Pauline Harnois, the fame-hungry fiancée of soldier ReneGagnon, in Clint Eastwood's epic World War II film Flags of Our Fathers (2006)...
donated heavily to the Laporte campaign. Laporte's two principle aides, RenéGagnon and Jean-Jacques Coté, met with Di Iorio and D'Asti to pick up briefcases...
Latvian-born American historian, complications from Parkinson's disease. RenéGagnon, 93, Canadian painter, cancer. Benjamin Harrison, 93, American major...
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