1. William Homer Genaust was an American war photographer during World War II best known for filming the second US flag-raising on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23,1945, which was immortalized in Joe Rosenthal's famous photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
Bill Genaust was a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps during the Pacific War operating a then-modern and lightweight 16 millimeter motion picture camera which used 50-foot color film cassettes.
Bill Genaust was reportedly killed in action nine days later during the Battle of Iwo Jima, and his remains have not been recovered.
William Homer Bill Genaust was born on October 12,1906 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Bill Genaust enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in Minneapolis on February 11,1943, at the age of 36, to be a combat cameraman.
Bill Genaust served in the Pacific Theater during World War II and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" and Purple Heart Medal in September 1945, for heroic actions using a rifle in a firefight on Saipan where he was wounded on July 9,1944.
Bill Genaust was recommended for the Navy Cross by Norman Hatch, his photo section commander, but the nomination was turned down because Genaust was a cameraman and not an infantryman.
Bill Genaust shared in the Navy Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the 4th Marine Division for the Battle of Saipan and Tinian.
Bill Genaust was given the opportunity to return home, but instead he volunteered to go to Iwo Jima during the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign.
Bill Genaust was assigned to help train Marine photographers on how to film in a combat zone.
Bill Genaust's film captures other Marines on the summit as they gaze up at the flag during the second flag raising.
On March 3,1945, Bill Genaust was reported missing in action after he was shot in a large cave at or around Hill 362-A, located on the northern part of Iwo Jima.
Bill Genaust reported that, because of poor lighting conditions on Iwo Jima, Genaust had joined an infantry team clearing caves and tunnels.
Bill Genaust said he would go in himself and talk to the Japanese soldier.
Two-thirds of the way into the cave Bill Genaust was shot by machine-gun fire coming from a hidden entrance.
The lieutenant ordered the cave closed, and Bill Genaust's body was buried in the blast.
Bill Genaust is among 250 Americans listed missing on Iwo Jima, although most of those were lost at sea.
In 1995, a bronze plaque honoring Bill Genaust was placed at the Mount Suribachi Memorial, site of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima.
The Sergeant William Bill Genaust Award is presented each year by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, one of a series of awards to both Marines and civilian community members recognizing their work in advancing and preserving Marine Corps history.