>Sgt Thomas McPhatter, 8th US Marine Corps ammunition company,
>was at Iwo Jima in 1945. These are his memories
>
>We set up an ammunition dump and the Japanese spotted it
>because they were firing mortars. There was black powder and
>smoke everywhere. It's unbelievable what you can smell. Men
>losing their legs ...

He said that the black soldiers were part of an ammunition company. And Flags of our Fathers is NOT about them at all. And Flags' focus really isn't on the battle as a whole anyway.

To me, it sounds like Spike didn't even see Flags because it's commonly known that there wasn't a black guy actually putting up the flag.