1. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) (A) Private First Class Franklin Runyon Sousley was born on September 19, 1925, in Hilltop, Kentucky. Sousley served as a marine in the United States Marine Corps during the period beginning on January 5, 1944, and ending March 21, 1945. Sousley graduated from Fleming County High School in May 1943 and chose to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Upon completion of military basic training, he was assigned to Company E, 2d Battalion, 28th Marines, of the 5th Marines Division at Camp Pendleton, California, as an automatic rifleman. (B) Private Sousley was promoted to a private first class on November 22, 1944. Pfc. Sousley landed on Iwo Jima on Friday, February 19, 1945, and actively fought in the battle for the islands. During the intense fighting, members of the United States Armed Forces secured Mount Suribachi and hoisted a United States flag on top of the summit on February 23, 1945. On February 23, 1945, Pfc. Sousley, alongside Corporal Harlon Block, HM John Bradley, Pfc. Rene Gagnon, Pfc. Ira Hayes, and Sergeant Michael Strank followed orders to raise a larger United States flag so it could be seen over the island. The iconic photograph taken of the 6 men, while they raised the United States flag attached to a heavy Japanese pipe has led to an immortalized symbol of American bravery, perseverance, and sacrifice endured by members of the United States Armed Forces during the intense battles of World War II. Pfc. Sousley was killed in combat by a Japanese sniper around Kitano Point on March 21, 1945. (C) Originally buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery at Iwo Jima in plot 9, row 8, grave 2189, on March 22, 1945, his remains were returned to the United States on May 8, 1947, where he was finally laid to rest at Elizaville Cemetery in Fleming County, Kentucky. Pfc. Sousley was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation with 5/16 ″ Silver Star, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign