Time Magazine Disrespects Iwo Jima Vets & American Flag
The attacks from within the US never seem to cease. CAIR, ACLU, Barack and Michelle Obama, their church, Nation of Islam, La Raza. Time magazine once again disgraces itself and in the process disgraces Iwo Jima veterans and America, replacing the American flag with a tree. As if global warming wasn’t the biggest hoax perpetrated on mankind in history, a fifteen year old debunked Al Gore’s global warming myth. More on Iwo Jima at the end of this post.
Update - Dennis Prager: Time Fights Carbon Emissions; Military Fights Evil
Iwo Jima Veterans Blast Time’s ‘Special Environmental Issue’ Cover
Time editor tells MSNBC ‘there needs to be a real effort along the lines of World War II to combat global warming and climate change.’
By Jeff Poor
Business & Media Institute
4/17/2008 5:24:05 PM
For only the second time in 85 years, Time magazine abandoned the traditional red border it uses on its cover. The occasion - to push more global warming alarmism.
The cover of the April 21 issue of Time took the famous Iwo Jima photograph by Joe Rosenthal of the Marines raising the American flag and replaced the flag with a tree. The cover story by Bryan Walsh calls green “the new red, white and blue.”
Donald Mates, an Iwo Jima veteran, told the Business & Media Institute April 17 that using that photograph for that cause was a “disgrace.”
“It’s an absolute disgrace,” Mates said. “Whoever did it is going to hell. That’s a mortal sin. God forbid he runs into a Marine that was an Iwo Jima survivor.”
Mates also said making the comparison of World War II to global warming was erroneous and disrespectful.
“The second world war we knew was there,” Mates said. “There’s a big discussion. Some say there is global warming, some say there isn’t. And to stick a tree in place of a flag on the Iwo Jima picture is just sacrilegious.”
According to the American Veterans Center (AVC), Mates served in the 3rd Marine Division and fought in the battle of Iwo Jima, landing on Feb. 24, 1945.
“A few days later, Mates’ eight-man patrol came under heavy assault from Japanese forces,” Tim Holbert, a spokesman for the AVC, said. “During fierce-hand-to-hand combat, Mates watched as his friend and fellow Marine, Jimmy Trimble, was killed in front of his eyes. Mates was severely wounded, and underwent repeated operations for shrapnel removal for over 30 years.”
Lt. John Keith Wells, the leader of the platoon that raised the flags on Mt. Suribachi and co-author of “Give Me Fifty Marines Not Afraid to Die: Iwo Jima” wasn’t impressed with Time’s efforts.
“That global warming is the biggest joke I’ve ever known,” Wells told the Business & Media Institute. “[W]e’ll stick a dadgum tree up somebody’s rear if they want that and think that’s going to cure something.”
Time managing editor Richard Stengel appeared on MSNBC April 17 and said the United States needed to make a major effort to fight climate change, and that the cover’s purpose was to liken global warming to World War II.
“[O]ne of the things we do in the story is we say there needs to be an effort along the lines of preparing for World War II to combat global warming and climate change,” Stengel said. “It seems to me that this is an issue that is very popular with the voters, makes a lot of sense to them and a candidate who can actually bundle it up in some grand way and say, ‘Look, we need a national and international Manhattan Project to solve this problem and my candidacy involves that.’ I don’t understand why they don’t do that.”
Holbert, a speaking on behalf of the American Veterans Center, said the editorial decision by Time to use the photograph for the cover trivialized the cause the veterans fought for.
“Global warming may or may not be a significant threat to the United States,” Holbert said. “The Japanese Empire in February of 1945, however, certainly was, and this photo trivializes the most recognizable moment of one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. history. War analogies should be used sparingly by political advocates of all bents.”
Stengel also appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on April 17 and had no difficulty admitting the magazine needed to have a “point of view.”
“I think since I’ve been back at the magazine, I have felt that one of the things that’s needed in journalism is that you have to have a point of view about things,” Stengel said. “You can’t always just say ‘on the one hand, on the other’ and you decide. People trust us to make decisions. We’re experts in what we do. So I thought, you know what, if we really feel strongly about something let’s just say so.”
Time has been banging the global warming drum for some time now. In April 2007, Time offered 51 ways to “save the planet,” which included more taxes and regulation.
(more classy covers by TIME)
- Time Magazine disrespects Iwo Jima veterans
For the background story on the Iwo Jima photos, please read Photo Icons - The Story of the Iwo Jima Photo

Tags: America, Global Warming, Iwo Jima, Life, Marines, Media, military, News, Obama, Politics, Prager, Science, Time Magazine, Veterans, Vets











April 18, 2008 at 10:34
Its pretty bad, even for Time.
April 18, 2008 at 9:10
We almost juxtaposed it with their proclamation of Obama as next president…and Arafat as a peacemaker, and Putin as man of the year, and…and…and…well after further review we decided to add them…
April 19, 2008 at 12:49
[...] a national image. Another blog, CreepingSharia.com(there’s a clue there) cannot believe that “attacks from within the US never seem to cease” which seems to me a clever choice of words for comparing, in a similarly asymmetric style, a [...]
April 19, 2008 at 12:52
What in the hell has happened to people in America?? What has happened to love of country?? And love of the flag?? Has respect for God and Country gone completely by the wayside??
I personally know an old Marine that was a part of the invasion of Iwo Jima, not just a casual acquaintance either, we are friends, and to my way of thinking this is an appalling travesty, a dishonor to him and to the memory of all the Marines that fought and died on that gritty little speck in the Pacific, and it’s nothing more than another slap to the face of this great nation…
But, I suppose they’ll hide behind their 1st amendment rights as well, that’s what the haters of America DO, they hate the nation yet hide behind the freedoms that our soldiers fought and died to give them…
April 20, 2008 at 12:01
I sent a letter to the editor about this image. I am refusing to read the magazine this week. It is a slap in the face to those who served in the South Pacific and sullies the memories of the fallen soldiers.
Completely disgraceful.
April 20, 2008 at 5:05
Good for you Roxanne - more American’s should take the time to express their opinions in favor of America…
April 22, 2008 at 6:43
It was once said that Life magazine was full of pictures for folks who couldn’t read. It was also said that Time was for the folks that couldn’t think.
Time has once again covered itself with disgrace and sought the approval of our enemies. To have the gall to compare the sacrifices of Marines on Iwo Jima to this imbecellic fantasy called Global Warming only further endorses the belief I have that the editors of Time are indeed lunatics.
Throughout my life, I have always been under the impression that most people desire to have others think of them as being intelligent. Obviously, Time, and the liberal, algore desciple following, crazies are not interested in their own presentation or social appearence.
I have attempted to remain calm in this response, and as a former Marine and retired police officer, this was indeed a test in restraint. It would indeed however be a good warning to the imbecilles at Time who came up with this cover to avoid running into any WWII Marine or other member of the Greatest Generation.
April 29, 2008 at 11:45
As a father whose son is with his Marine Corps Unit, serving in Iraq, I am disappointed and saddened by Time Magazine’s use of this famous image.
Let’s face it, magazine covers are meant to be provocative and controversial and the Editors at Time knew exactly what they were doing when they published this doctored image of the flag raising at Iwo Jima.
There are a few images in America that we should hold dear and sacred—the famous photo taken atop Mount Suribachi is certainly one of them. But apparently Time Magazine would rather intentionally insult the entire Marine Corps and our remaining WW II veterans in a crass effort to sell a few magazines.
It’s no wonder that the newsweekly magazines are losing subscribers. This insulting image coupled with an entire agenda driven report on the issue of global warming—speaks volumes about why this magazine is less and less relevant each year.
May 8, 2008 at 12:00
[...] category, Newsweek has apparently tried to take disrespect for America a few steps further than TIME magazine did a few weeks ago. In doing so, Newsweek uses a rear view of the Statue of Liberty as well as a [...]