WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the Marines shown in a famous World War II photograph raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima was posthumously awarded a certificate of U.S. citizenship on Tuesday.

The Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia depicts Strank and five others raising a flag on Iwo Jima.

Sgt. Michael Strank, who was born in Czechoslovakia and came to the United States when he was 3, derived U.S. citizenship when his father was naturalized in 1935. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently discovered that Strank never was given citizenship papers.

At a ceremony Tuesday at the Marine Corps Memorial -- which depicts the flag-raising -- in Arlington, Virginia, a certificate of citizenship was presented to Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero.

Strank and five other men became national icons when an Associated Press photographer captured the image of them planting an American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.

Strank was killed in action on the island on March 1, 1945, less than a month before the battle between Japanese and U.S. forces there ended.

Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of CIS, presented the citizenship certificate Tuesday.

He hailed Strank as "a true American hero and a wonderful example of the remarkable contribution and sacrifices that immigrants have made to our great republic throughout its history."
What war was the Iwo Jima battle a part of? Where was Michael Strank born? Where was STrank killed? Who was among six who famously raised flag on Iwo Jima? What rank did Michael Strank hold? When was the certificate given to his sister? Who was killed on Iwo Jima in World War II ? WHERE WAS Strank, born? What did Strank not receive? Where was Strank born? Who received the certificate? Who was among the six who raised the flag in Iwo Jima?
II Czechoslovakia on the island Sgt. Michael Strank, Sgt. Tuesday. Michael Strank, Czechoslovakia citizenship papers. Czechoslovakia Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero. Sgt. Michael Strank,
question: What war was the Iwo Jima battle a part of?, answer: II | question: Where was Michael Strank born?, answer: Czechoslovakia | question: Where was STrank killed?, answer: on the island | question: Who was among six who famously raised flag on Iwo Jima?, answer: Sgt. Michael Strank, | question: What rank did Michael Strank hold?, answer: Sgt. | question: When was the certificate given to his sister?, answer: Tuesday. | question: Who was killed on Iwo Jima in World War II ?, answer: Michael Strank, | question: WHERE WAS Strank, born?, answer: Czechoslovakia | question: What did Strank not receive?, answer: citizenship papers. | question: Where was Strank born?, answer: Czechoslovakia | question: Who received the certificate?, answer: Strank's younger sister, Mary Pero. | question: Who was among the six who raised the flag in Iwo Jima?, answer: Sgt. Michael Strank,