What happened to the FIRST American flag raised over Iwo Jima -- the one that DIDN'T appear in the famous photo?

Image by luvi via Flickr

Sixty-six years ago today, one of the most recognizable and inspirational military photographs in history was taken: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. On Feb. 23, 1945 a group of five US Marines and one US Navy corpsman were photographed erecting an American flag atop Mt. Suribachi during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. The iconic image came to win Pulitzer Prize, serve as the inspiration for the US Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery and -- perhaps most importantly -- to represent the courage and valor of American armed forces (particularly the Marines) during the second World War.

Not bad for a backup plan.

The flag immortalized in Joe Rosenthal's famous photograph was the second US flag raised atop Mt. Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Another US flag had been raised a short time earlier, one that the rather more famous (and larger) US flag was brought in to replace.

What happened to the first US flag raised atop Mt. Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima?