Wes Claire, a private first class in the Marines and part of the first wave of troops to hit the island of Iwo Jima during World War II, died Dec. 2, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He was 89.
Claire, a native of St. James, Minn., was just outside of the famous Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph on March 23, 1945. A fact that he was happy to share with his daughter, Marie Chandler.
"My dad would say he wasn't a hero, that the real heroes did not get a chance to come home," said Chandler. "But that wasn't true."
In addition to his daughter Marie, Claire is survived by his partner, Elaine Speaker; his son, Michael; his daughter, Rita Poff, seven grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
Claire was buried on Dec. 9 at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Little Falls, Minn.
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