A son of Vasil Strank and Martha Grofikova, Michael Strank was born in a Ukrainian Lemko family who moved to Pennsylvania. When he enlisted in the Marine Corps, he didn’t think he would become an American hero. He was photographed raising the American flag and flagstaff atop Mount Suribachi with five other servicemen before he was killed on the island during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The Government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance created videos telling stories of outstanding Ukrainians in the WW2. Directed by Oles Sanin. Multilingual translation done by InformNapalm team.