We’ve all seen this photo before. Whether it was from a history book in school or media around any of the war-referencing holidays like Veterans Day, seeing it brings up a lot of emotions – if you know the story behind it.

The photo was taken on February 23rd, 1945 when six Marines who had fought to control the Japanese-held island finally prevailed and placed the American flag on the peak of the small island.

Joseph Rosenthal, the photographer, snapped the photo when he turned to see the men struggling to swing the heavy metal pole into its stand.

“As the trail became steeper, our panting progress slowed to a few yards at a time. I began to wonder and hope that this was worth the effort, when suddenly over the brow of the topmost ridge we could spy men working with the flagpole they had so laboriously brought up about quarters of an hour ahead of us,” he recalled.

Babe Ruth, a name synonymous with baseball, had his final game on June 13th, 1948.

The player was photographed during the game by photographer Nathaniel Fein when he leaned on his bat before heading back into the dugout.

Fein was intentional to capture his number and wanted to only use natural light. This photograph turned into the first-ever sports-themed Pulitzer Award.

Babe Ruth died only two months after this photo was taken after a battle with cancer.

This emotional photo was taken on December 4th, 1950 by Max Desfor. Desfor was a photographer for The Associated Press and documented the Korean War.

When the final push from the North Korean and Chinese military forced the Americans and South Koreans south, Desfor snapped this photo of people scrambling to get over the Taedong River.

“All of these people who are literally crawling through these broken-down girders of the bridge. They were in and out of it, on top, underneath, and just barely escaping the freezing water. My hands got so cold I could barely trip the shutter on my camera… I couldn’t even finish a full pack of film. It was just that cold.”

In what looks like a scene from an action film, Virginia Schau took a photo of an accident on the Pit River Bridge that caused a truck to hang over the edge while rescuers attempted to save those stuck inside.

Schau was in a fishing vessel with her family for a trip, allowing her to get the perfect and unexpected angle that she did.

Schau was the second amateur photographer to ever win the Pulitzer in News Photography.

Good photos capture emotion. In 1955, John L. Gaunt, a Los Angeles Times photographer, was in his front yard when he realized something strange was going on.

The McDonalds (pictured) had realized they lost their son who had disappeared in the surf. He was only 19-months-old and had crawled into the sea when they weren’t looking.

The little boy’s body was found a mile down the beach and this photo captures their fears of the worst.

In 1956 on a foggy day, two ships attempted to pass one another while sailing around Nantucket Island. The Swedish American ship, the Stockholm, and an Italian ship, the Andrea Doria, collided with one another although their radar said they were completely safe. The Andrea Doria sustained damage across the side where the lifeboats were, preventing people from accessing them.

Harry Trask, the photographer, climbed into a seaplane to watch the expensive ship slip below the surface as it sank.

“As we circled, I could see the stack gradually sink below the surface. As the air from the cabins rose to the surface, the water foamed. Debris and empty lifeboats were scattered everywhere. In nine minutes it was all over.”

While at a parade in Washington DC’s Chinatown, a little boy stepped off the sidewalk and got too close to the dancing dragons. Officer Maurice Cullinana walked up and had a small conversation with Alan Weaver, explaining why he had to stay on the sidewalk to be safe.

William C. Beall was able to snap a photo of the moment, letting us see a cute display of childhood, immortalized forever.

Andrew Lopez was a photographer that was there for the Allied landing at Normandy, the push to Paris, and the Battle of the Bulge. He eventually went to Cuba to photograph the revolution and was able to catch this masterpiece.

When Fidel Castro finally seized power in 1959, he had all the leaders in Fulgencio Batista’s army rounded up and sentenced to death.

Jose Rodriguez was a corporal in Batista’s army and was sentenced to death by firing squad. This photo was snapped as he was led his last rites. He was executed the next day.

Paul Vathis, the photographer, was following President Dwight D. Eisenhower and JFK around Camp David in 1961 when a “no more photos” order was given. In the last moments before he was ushered away Vathis was able to capture this through the legs of a Secret Serviceman.

The two men were talking about invading Cuba.

When President JFK was assassinated, it created a shift in American politics forever. His assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, became infamous around the world and was on his way to a waiting car when a man appeared.

Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner, lept out and shot Oswald in the chest – a wound that would eventually kill him.

Robert Jill Jackson was there to shoot coverage of the transport and happened to click his shutter button right as Ruby pulled his gun and fired on Oswald.

Rocco Morabito, a photographer driving in Jacksonville, Florida, noticed a powerline worker had just been shocked, sending 4,160 volts of electricity through him and stopping his heart.

His coworker immediately started mouth to mouth, commonly known as the “kiss of life.”

After calling the police, Morabito was able to snap a few photos. The man eventually started breathing again.

MLK Jr.’s assassination was felt around the world, but nowhere was it felt more than in his family.

Two funerals were held in Atlanta at his church, Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Moneta Sleet Jr. was there taking photos for Ebony magazine when she was able to capture MLK’s wife, Coretta Scott King.

It depicts a regal face, a strong woman with her child, and grief.

In 1969, a group of students from the Afro-American Society took over one of the buildings on Cornell University’s campus in New York. The group was taking a stance against the racial inequity at the university and it resulted in an armed standoff that lasted for 36 hours.

Steve Starr was able to photograph the event even though the university was actively keeping the media away. The entire event ended peacefully.

J. Ross Baughman was a photographer for The Associated Press who covered the Rhodesian Bush Was that happened in 1977. Baughman was with white forces that Rhodesia sent out to sweep the area for guerilla militia groups.

During the searches they made all the men in the villages stand up in a line for 45 minutes while they were beaten to try and get more information.

The government took most of Baughman’s film, but he was able to hide a few rolls of it. Baughman was the youngest person to ever win the Pulitzer Prize at 23-years-old.

The photo was originally taken without a known photographer. As a result, it was the first photo to ever with a Pulitzer without a name attached.

The 11 men in the photo were Kurdish and were killed near an airfield after they were identified as counterrevolutionaries. They were “tried” and then killed by supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini.

The photo was taken anonymously to protect the photographer, and even when authorities tried to find out who took it, the publication refused to reveal the name.

It was finally released in 2006 – the photographer’s name is Jahangir Razmi.