Dakota Beacon

This book, first published in 2000, had been rejected in its initial form by 27 publishers. It was made into film by Clint Eastwood in 2005, and republished in softcover in 2006.  It is, in my view, one of the epic stories of World War II.  The author, with his coauthor, describes with great understanding and empathy the central characters in the book.  They also provide a vivid portrayal of Marine training, and the development of the Corps Spirit. We come to understand how buddies become so bonded as to lay down their lives for one another.  The book also presents, in vivid and graphic detail, the horrors of brutal combat.  The book, in the end, is a Hymn to the Marine Corps, and its most iconic image, the flag raising on Iwo Jima

 I expect Flags of Our Fathers to be regarded as one of the classics in the genre of WWII chronicles. It is meticulously researched and eloquently narrated. It presents one of the most memorable moments in American history.

 The story unfurls like the flag itself.  It is written with the love of a son for his father. The father of James Bradley was a Navy corpsman who, along with five battle-singed Marines, raised the flag on Mount Suribachi.

 Author Bradley, after the death of his father, sought out and interviewed every person he could find connected with the other five flag raisers.  He enables us to know them in an intimate way, much as we might know a friend or close neighbor. We learn of their background and family ties, their strengths and their foibles.  He does this with great honesty, empathy and respect. In the process, the reader is given a view of prewar America that not many know today.  As the “Greatest Generation” is slipping away, this narrative provides a valuable literary scrapbook of the time and its people.

 Mike Strank had joined the Marines before the war broke out. He came to America as a boy with his family from Czechoslovakia.  His father worked in a Pennsylvania coal mine and came to rely on Mike to help look after the younger boys.  This caretaking trait made him a natural leader and he was revered by his men. Everyone regarded him as a Marine’s Marine. Iwo Jima  was his third tour of combat duty. He had a premonition of his death and apparently was killed by friendly artillery fire. 

Harlon Block grew up as a farm boy in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  He and his father became very close while sharing their labors.  His figure in the photo was misidentified for a time. His mother, however, was certain of his identity even though his face was not visible. He joined the Marines with many of his football team mates. His mother couldn’t forgive her husband for allowing Harlon to enlist.  Harlon filled Mike Strank’s leadership position for less than a day.  He was killed in a massive explosion. 

Franklin Sousley came from the hills and hollows of Kentucky. The bond between Franklin and his mother drew especially close after his older brother died at age five. He worked hard to help the family scratch out a living in the Depression. He was an adventurous boy with a sunny disposition, who could also be mischievous. He had a buoyant personality, and kept his buddies laughing.  The fighting on the island was winding down when Franklin was killed by a sniper’s bullet.

Rene Gagnon was of French Canadian descent. His parents moved from Canada to New Hampshire to work in the textile mills. He was an only child who became more alone when his mother discovered her husband had another child, with another woman. His mother would not allow any contact with her ex-husband. She had Rene accompany her to the textile mill when he was old enough. He dropped out of high school and worked in the mills until he was about to be drafted.  He enlisted in the Marines because he liked their “snazzy” dress uniform.  Rene was a “runner” and carried the US flag to the top of Suribachi.

 Ira Hayes was a Pima Indian who grew up on the Gila River Reservation in Arizona.  He worked with the family in subsistence farming.  Like his father he was a person of few words. He did not speak unless spoken to.  After grade school he attended the Phoenix Indian School.  When he enlisted at age nineteen, the community honored him with a traditional Pima ceremony.  Ira went on to earn paratrooper wings.  The Pima were very proud of him. Like Mike Strank, Ira had combat experience before Iwo Jima.  Over time war memories and alcohol became his greatest enemies. He died at age thirty-two.  He was honored by the State of Arizona, and buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  John Bradley, his fellow flag raiser considered him “truly a war casualty.”

The only non-Marine of the six flag raisers was Corpsman John Bradley (father of the author).  He was raised in Appleton Wisconsin in a family of strong Catholic values. Tragedy struck when John was ten years old.  His five year old sister was burned when her clothing caught fire from an electric heater. He tried to douse her with water. After several days she died.  He felt ongoing guilt for not having saved her.  This may have led to his unrelenting bravery in combat, always rushing to save his wounded Marines. Though he enlisted in the Navy (at his father’s urging to avoid ground combat) he was assigned to the Marines, and went through the same arduous training. He was wounded and hospitalized in the latter days of the campaign.  Unbeknownst to his family (until after his death) “Doc” Bradley was awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery in battle.

The flag raising, which was captured in a 1/400^th of a second exposure by photographer Joe Rosenthal, was a singularly routine and ordinary event to the six flag raisers. Rosenthal did not know what he had in the way of a photo as the film had to be sent to Guam for development. He had not even had a good look through the view finder of his press camera when he clicked the shutter. However, the AP photo editor on Guam recognized its brilliance. Rosenthal, with a bit of luck, had captured an image that was majestic in composition, power and message. It was radioed to the US and immediately began appearing on the front pages of every major newspaper. It provided the American public with an adrenalin shot of hope, joy and optimism about the war. Over the years “The Photograph” (as the author is fond of calling it) became the preeminent icon of American bravery and sacrifice.       

Only half of the flag raisers lived to leave the island. The three survivors were used by the government to help raise money (war bond sales) to help meet the ongoing expense of the war. They were hailed as heroes, but they were uncomfortable in that light.  They felt their act was minor, and they insisted the heroes of Iwo Jima were those buried in her black, blood drenched sands.

 The fighting on Iwo Jima (the “sulfur island”) was a veritable meat-grinder, with horrific losses. The Marines fought in active battle for 43 months in WWII.  They fought one month on Iwo Jima.  In that month they suffered one-third of all the Marine deaths in the war.  Ira Hayes would often remember, “We [his company] landed with 250 men and left with 27…” 

In the midst of reading of the ferocious combat, and the awful losses, one cannot help think of all those young men who died.  They died in their teens and twenties.  Some had never kissed a girl.  They would not go home to college or family. They would never have the gift of their own families and grandchildren. One’s heart simply breaks in contemplation.  How can we as a nation, as a people, ever pay the debt we owe them?  We can’t.  But we must not forget.  I believe all of our young men and women should know of this book and its transcendent story. 

 “When you go home -- Tell them for us

For your tomorrow – We gave our today.”

(Inscription from the Iwo Jima cemetery quoted by author Bradley.)