Grave of Michael Strank, Arlington
The sergeant who raised the flag on Suribachi: a Rusyn from the Prešov region claimed by Slovaks and Ukrainians alike.
Michael Strank was born on 10 November 1919 in Jarabina in the Prešov region — a Lemko-Rusyn village where nearly half the residents still call themselves Rusyns. His father wrote in his 1930 petition for US citizenship: “My race is Ruthenian” — Slovaks, Rusyns and Ukrainians all call him their own, and the catalogue does not choose for the family. On 23 February 1945 Sergeant Strank was among the six Marines who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, and he was killed there on 1 March. In 1949 he was reburied at Arlington: Section 12, grave 7179, next to McClellan Gate.
Section 12 of Arlington National Cemetery (DVIDS, 21.02.2025); the exact location of the grave is in the ANC Explorer app. The cemetery is open daily 8:00–17:00, and the main entrance is a 5-minute walk from Arlington Cemetery metro station (arlingtoncemetery.mil, as of 01.10.2026).