In February 1945 one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific took place on the little island of Iwo Jima. About 21000 Japanese and 7000 American soldiers died during the time of only one month.
Early in the battle the Americans raised their flag on Mount Suribashi and the photograph taken at this occasion belongs to the most famous of WWII. It became a symbol for the war-sick Americans.

The three surviving soldiers,Rene Gagnon, John Bradley and Ira Hayes, who raised the flag are send back to civilisation to raise funds for the war effort. But the heroism is contradicting their own perception, as so many real heroes died and that their own contribution was simply symbolic. Everyone of them has to cope with the new situation of honors, exploitation and grief.

The story is told from the point of view of Bradley's son, who just realizes the importance of the symbolic act of his father, after Bradley had died in 1994.