Michael Strank, participant of the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima, was born on Nov. 10, 1919 in Conemaugh, Pa. He was the son of Vasil and Martha Strank, natives of Czechoslovakia. He attended Franklin Borough Schools in Pa., and graduated from high school in 1937. He joined the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) where he remained for 18 months and then became a highway worker for the state.
Michael enlisted in the Marine Corps for 4 years at Pittsburg, Pa. on Oct. 6, 1939. He was assigned to the Recruit Depot at Parris Island, S.C. where, after completing recruit training in December, Private Strank was transferred to Headquarters Company, Post Troops, at the same base.
Transferred to Provision Company W at Parris Island on Jan. 17, 1941, Strank, now a Private First Class, sailed for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arriving Jan.23rd. Strank was assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Brigade. (On Feb. 1 the 1st Marine Brigade was renamed the 1st Marine Division) On April 8th he was assigned to Company K where he was returned to Parris Island, S.C. again. In Sept. Strank moved with his division to New River, N.C. (now known as Camp Lejeune). On April 23, 1941 he was promoted to Corporal, and was advanced to Sergeant Jan. 26, 1942.
With the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, early in 1942, he traveled cross country to San Diego, CA. From there he sailed to Uvea, the largest of the Wallis Islands. In September, after a short tenure with the 22nd Marines, he was transferred to the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion, also at Uvea. With the Raiders he participated in the landing operations and occupation of Pavuvu Island in the Russell Islands from Feb. 21 through March 18th, and in the seizure and occupation of the Empress Augusta Bay area in Bougainville from Nov. 1st to Jan. 12, 1944. He was returned to San Diego Feb. 14th for rest and reassignment.
On return from leave, Sergeant Strank was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. After extensive training at Camp Pendleton, and in Hawaii, he landed on Iwo Jima Feb. 19, 1945. After the fall of Mount Surbachi, he moved northward with his unit. On March 1st, while attacking Japanese positions in norther Iwo Jima, he was fatally wounded by enemy artillery fire. He was buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery with the last rites of the Catholic church. On Jan. 13, 1949, his remains were reinterned in Grave #7179 Section 12, Arlington National Cemetery.
Sergeant Strank was entitled to to the following decorations and medals: Bronze Star, Purple (awarded posthumously), Presidential Unit Citation with 1 star (for Iwo Jima), American Defense Service Medal with base clasp (for his service in Cuba before the war), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 4 stars (for Pavuvu, Bougainville, Consolidation of the Northern Solomons, and Iwo Jima), and the WWII Victory Medal.
