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Rene Gagnon

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Military Personnel

The Resume

    (March 7, 1925-October 12, 1979)
    Born in Manchester, New Hampshire
    US Marine
    Participant in the raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima (February 23, 1945)
    One of three flag raisers to survive the battle
    Appeared as himself in the film 'The Sands of Iwo Jima' (1949)

Why he might be annoying:

    He dropped out of high school.
    He grew a pencil-thin mustache that was mocked by fellow Marines for making him look like 'a little boy trying to disguise himself as a man.'
    He was not originally meant to be one of the flag raisers, but joined in when the water pipe used as a makeshift flagpole was too unwieldly for the original group of four Marines.
    He initially refused to identify Ira Hayes (who wanted to stay out of the limelight) as a flag raiser until he was taken to Marine Corps headquarters and told the request for the information had come from the President.
    After the war, he worked mostly at menial jobs, and was fired from many of them for his heavy drinking.
    He disliked attending events commemorating the flag raising, but participated at his wife's insistance.

Why he might not be annoying:

    As a runner for his battalion, he carried the flag up Mount Suribachi.
    He carried a picture of his hometown girlfriend inside his helmet for protection, and married her while on a post-Iwo Jima War Bond tour.
    He was fired from one job on Memorial Day (1978).
    Like the other two surviving flag bearers, he said he never considered himself a hero.
    He said, 'Don't glorify war. There's nothing glorious about it.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 33.33% Annoying