Famous Iwo Jima Picture Missing

[BlueJ1]

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6059133

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A history buff has sued a museum, claiming it lost several of his World War II-era photographs, including the famous shot of the U.S. flag raising on Mount Suribachi, on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima.

Rodney Hilton Brown says the photos were part of the World War II memorabilia that he loaned to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, which is sited on a retired aircraft carrier usually docked in the Hudson River, initially in 1995 and again in 2005.

Brown, a mortgage broker who collects historical artifacts as a hobby, said at least eight out of 52 pictures were missing when the museum returned his collection to him at his vacation home at Fairhaven, Mass., in November 2006.

The museum returned most borrowed items to owners after it decided during the summer of 2006 to put the Intrepid in dry dock for repairs, Brown said.
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He said photos missing from his collection included the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning shot by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal of Marines raising Old Glory on Mount Suribachi. He said the missing photos were worth about $175,000.

Museum president Bill White issued a statement saying, "We are surprised and disappointed to hear of the filing of this lawsuit. We have referred this matter to our insurance representatives."

White said the museum used its "limited resources" to honor and support the country's military members and their families.

"This unfortunate action detracts from our carrying out this critically important national mission," he said.

Brown, 64, said he bought Rosenthal's personal album of original photographs from the Battle of Iwo Jima from a retired U.S. Air Force major in 1990 for $5,000. The major "had gotten it from the photographer himself," he said.

An appraiser hired by Brown estimated in a June 2007 report that the lost pictures were worth about $175,000, his court papers say.

Brown's lawsuit, filed Tuesday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, accuses the museum of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty for taking the album apart to display certain photos and then losing some of them. It seeks $175,000 in damages.

"The integrity of the entire album was destroyed by a series of negligent actions," Brown's court papers say.

Besides being irreplaceable to him, the papers say, the pictures will be lost to scholars and national history museums.

Thats sad. A major piece of history is gone.

[EskimoJoe]

The thieves deserve a death penalty 

[GtoRA2]

It is sad, its also sad he felt he had so sue the museum ship. If its anything like the Hornet, they are prolly on a shoestring budget. Hopefully insurance will cover it.

[SOB]

He's a mortgage broker, scum of the earth, of course he sued. 

[BlueJ1]

Stealing history only allows others to forget, then repeat it.

[SD67]

Thats sad. A major piece of history is gone.

Not gone, just repositioned. Somebody knows where it is.

[rpm]

It is sad, its also sad he felt he had so sue the museum ship. If its anything like the Hornet, they are prolly on a shoestring budget. Hopefully insurance will cover it.

I'm sorry but I feel he had every right to sue. That's beyond gross negligence on the part of the Intrepid staff. Sadly, money will not replace history.
I bet this incident will also stop others from allowing Intrepid from using their historical items for display to the public.

[aenigma]

It is sad, its also sad he felt he had so sue the museum ship. If its anything like the Hornet, they are prolly on a shoestring budget. Hopefully insurance will cover it.

The Hornet is also under attack by developers who want to build high price homes in that area. The possible good thing about the slow down of the economy is the delay of such actions. If it were to happen, I sure hope the Hornet gets moved to Mare Island to be along side USS Iowa who is slated to be moved there as well. It would be sad as Alameda was the staging point for Doolittle and the Raiders.

[Angus]

Was it this one?


Which is the original by Joe Rosenthal.
Or that one?

Which is the original flagraising?
Anyway, Clint Eastwood has a copy

[midnight Target]

He's a mortgage broker, scum of the earth, of course he sued. 

The housing crunch rears its ugly head.

[Dowding]

What's the problem?

Just fake another one. 

[SOB]

The housing crunch rears its ugly head.

Heh, that has nothing to do with the housing crunch... that's personal experience in doing IT support for about 3 years for a large mortgage brokerage.  They weren't all scum, just most of 'em.

[texasmom]

Museum president Bill White issued a statement saying, "We are surprised and disappointed to hear of the filing of this lawsuit. We have referred this matter to our insurance representatives."

Why on earth would they be surprised or disappointed about that? If you accept the items graciously loaned (and obviously of great value), you don't lose them.  Knuckleheads.

So y'all are mad that this guy is suing, because *obviously* he doesn't need any more money, because he's a mortgage broker?  pffft.  Who cares what he does for a living? He's a generous donor to that musuem, and they should have taken care of his items.

[lasersailor184]

Umm, this guy loaned out his own PERSONAL PROPERTY for the museum to display.  And the museum then wasn't careful enough NOT TO LOSE SOMEONE ELSE'S PROPERTY.


They should be sued, even to include punitive damages.

[Bodhi]

While I hate lawsuits, any museum that can not have enough accountability to not lose items loaned, should really rethink whether they should be in the museum business.