FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: The Flag Raisers ~ 11 July 2016

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

The Flag Raisers

Info from here.

           

 

There are six Flag Raisers on the photo. Four in the front line and two in back.

The front four are (left to right) Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block.

The back two are Michael Strank (behind Sousley) and Rene Gagnon (behind Bradley).

Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterwards. Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within weeks.

Ira Hayes 
b. January 12, 1923 Sacaton, Arizona
d. January 24, 1955 Bapchule, Arizona

Ira Hayes was a Pima Indian. When he enlisted in the Marine Corps, he had hardly ever been off the Reservation. His Chief told him to be an "Honorable Warrior" and bring honor upon his family. Ira was a dedicated Marine. Quiet and steady, he was admired by his fellow Marines who fought alongside him in three Pacific battles.

When Ira learned that President Roosevelt wanted him and the other survivors to come back to the US to raise money on the 7th Bond Tour, he was horrified. To Ira, the heroes of Iwo Jima, those deserving honor, were his "good buddies" who died there.

At the White House, President Truman told Ira, "You are an American hero." But Ira didn't feel pride. As he later lamented, "How could I feel like a hero when only five men in my platoon of 45 survived, when only 27 men in my company of 250 managed to escape death or injury?"

The Bond Tour was an ordeal for Ira. He couldn't understand or accept the adulation . . . "It was supposed to be soft duty, but I couldn't take it. Everywhere we went people shoved drinks in our hands and said 'You're a Hero!' We knew we hadn't done that much but you couldn't tell them that."

Ira went back to the reservation attempting to lead an anonymous life. But it didn't turn out that way . . . "I kept getting hundreds of letters. And people would drive through the reservation, walk up to me and ask, 'Are you the Indian who raised the flag on Iwo Jima"

Ira tried to drown his "Conflict of Honor" with alcohol. Arrested as drunk and disorderly, his pain was clear . . . "I was sick. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about all my good buddies. They were better men than me and they're not coming back. Much less back to the White House, like me."

In 1954, Ira reluctantly attended the dedication of the Iwo Jima monument in Washington. After a ceremony where he was lauded by President Eisenhower as a hero once again, a reporter rushed up to Ira and asked him, "How do you like the pomp & circumstances?" Ira just hung his head and said, I don't."

Ira died three months later after a night of drinking. As Ira drank his last bottle of whiskey he was crying and mumbling about his "good buddies." Ira was 32.

Franklin Sousley
b. Sept. 19, 1925 Hilltop, KY. 
d. March 21, 1945 Iwo Jima, Japan.

Franklin was a red-haired, freckle-faced "Opie Taylor" raised on a tobacco farm. His favorite hobbies were hunting and dancing. Fatherless at 9, Franklin became the main man in his mother's life. Franklin enlisted at 17 and sailed for the Pacific on his 18th Birthday. All that's left of Franklin is a few pictures and two letters Franklin wrote home to his mother:

------------July 1944, Letter from Training Camp:
"Mother, you said you were sick. I want you to stay in out of that field and look real pretty when I come home. You can grow a crop of tobacco every summer, but I sure as hell can't grow another mother like you."

------------Feb. 27, 1945 Letter from Iwo Jima:
"My regiment took the hill with our company on the front line. The hill was hard, and I sure never expected war to be like it was those first 4 days. Mother, you can never imagine how a battlefield looks. It sure looks horrible. Look for my picture because I helped put up the flag. Please don't worry and write."

Franklin was the last flag-raiser to die on Iwo Jima, on March 21 at the age of 19. When word reached his mother that Franklin was dead, "You could hear her screaming clear across the fields at the neighbor's farm."

Franklin is buried at Elizaville Cemetery, Kentucky.

John Bradley 
b. July 10, 1923 Antigo, WI.
d. January 11, 1994 Antigo, WI.

"Doc" Bradley was a Navy Corpsman who "just jumped in to lend a hand." He won the Navy Cross for heroism and was wounded in both legs.

Bradley, a quiet, private man, gave just one interview in his life. In it he said . .
"People refer to us as heroes--I personally don't look at it that way. I just think that I happened to be at a certain place at a certain time and anybody on that island could have been in there--and we certainly weren't heroes--and I speak for the rest of them as well. That's the way they thought of themselves also."

"Of the surviving Flag Raisers, only Bradley was successful in putting his life back together after the war." 
---From the best-selling "Immortal Images" by Tedd Thomey

John Bradley returned to his home town in the Midwest after the war, prospered as the owner of a family business, and gave generously of his time and money to local causes. He was married for 47 years and had eight children.

While Bradley had a public image as a war hero, he was a very private person. He avoided discussion of his war record saying only that the real heros were the men who gave their lives for their country.

The Global Media reported the death of a World War II icon on January 11, 1994 at the age of 70. But his hometown newspaper best captured the essence of Bradley's life after the war:

"John Bradley will be forever memorialized for a few moments action at the top of a remote Pacific mountain. We prefer to remember him for his life. If the famous flag-raising at Iwo Jima symbolized American patriotism and valor, Bradley's quiet, modest nature and philanthropic efforts shine as an example of the best of small town American values."

---Editorial, "The Antigo Daily Journal"

Harlon Block 
b. 1924 Yorktown, Texas. 
d. 1945 Iwo Jima, Japan.

Harlon was an outgoing daredevil with many friends at Weslaco High School. A natural athlete, Harlon led the Weslaco Panther Football Team to the Conference Championship. He was honored as "All South Texas End." Harlon and twelve of his teammates enlisted in the Marine Corps together in 1943.

Harlon was Sgt. Mike's second-in-command. He took over the leadership of his unit when Sgt. Mike was killed. Harlon was killed by a mortar blast hours later on March 1 at the age of 21.

When his mother Belle saw the Flag Raising Photo in the Weslaco Newspaper on Feb. 25, she exclaimed, "That's Harlon" pointing to the figure on the far right. But the US Government mis-identified the figure as Harry Hansen of Boston. Belle never wavered in her belief that it was Harlon insisting, "I know my boy." No one--not her family, neighbors, the Government or the public--had any reason to believe her. But eighteen months later in a sensational front-page story, a Congressional investigation revealed that it was Harlon in the photo, proving that indeed, Belle did "know her boy."

Harlon is buried beside the Iwo Jima Monument in Harlingen, Texas.

 

Michael Strank
b. 1919 Jarabenia, Czechoslovakia.
d. 1945 Iwo Jima, Japan.

Their leader and Sergeant, it was Mike who got the order to climb Mt. Suribachi. Mike picked his "boys" and led them safely to the top. Mike explained to the boys that the larger flag had to be raised so that "every Marine on this cruddy island can see it." It was Mike who gave the orders to find a pole, attach the flag and "put'er up!"

At home as a boy, Mike was studious, had a photographic memory, played the French Horn and once slugged a baseball out of Points Stadium in Johnstown. In 1936, Mike ran down to the river to see for himself the terrible Johnstown flood. He brought this report back to his family: "Don't worry--it will recede."

Mike's right hand is the only hand of a flagraiser not on the pole. His right hand is around the wrist of Franklin Sousley, helping the younger man push the heavy pole. This is typical of Mike, the oldest of the flagraisers, always there to help one of his boys. Two months before the battle Mike's Captain tried to promote him but Mike turned it down flat: "I trained those boys and I'm going to be with them in battle," he said.

Mike died on March 1, 1945. He was hit by a mortar as he was diagramming a plan in the sand for his boys. Mike is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Rene Gagnon 
b. Manchester, N.H. March 7, 1925 
d. Manchester, N.H. October 12, 1979 

Rene Gagnon was the youngest survivor and the man who carried the flag up Mt. Suribachi. He was the first survivor to arrive back in the US.

Rene was modest about his achievement throughout his life.

Rene is honored with a special room in New Hampshire's prestigious Wright Museum.

Rene is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, the Flag Raiser buried closest to the Marine Corps Memorial.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

 

 

[PROCON]

How's the brood of kittehs doing lately?

How many you got now?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...did you do any garage saling this weekend? Find some treasures?

[left that other site]

It was drizzly and cold this weekend, so no yard sales in sight.

Oh well...the summer is young!

[radu]

Kittehs are doing well. The group that’s allowed outside have been antsy since I’ve been keeping them in while it’s so hot would have let them out today but the two young mourning doves have left the nest. They’re still hanging out in the dogwood just off our deck and make a bit of racket when they flutter from limb to limb. That would attract the cats and those cute babies would be snacks.
So they stayed inside another day.

We’re still at 35 kittehs and pray the number doesn’t increase. These furry heatherns are more than enough of a handful. LOL!

[The Mayor]

O no, I hope she will be ok...
Allergist appt tomorrow then plenty of work.

[SandRat]

[luvie]

That’s beautiful!

[luvie]

Great post, galz! I have always wanted to know their stories!

[luvie]

Howdy, radu! (((hugs)))

Hope you had a lovely day today! Are all the kittehs well and feisty?

[radu]

Howdy, LUV!

Been a decent day. It was comfortable enough to take Aunt Clara outside to sit and visit a while. Haven’t been able to do that very often this summer and she enjoys getting out.

Kittehs are surprisingly quiet at the moment. I reckon that means they’ll all wake up all at once and go wild before long. LOL!

Did you have a good day? Still roasting over there?

[luvie]

Yes, it’s roasting. Too hot to stay out for more than a couple of minutes without feeling like you just walked through the doors of hell.

Glad you had a nice day and that Clara could go out for a bit. Being cooped up like that has to be hard on anyone!

My day was good. Easy. The best kind! :) The two-hour nap didn’t hurt. heehee

[radu]

That’s how it’s been here the past couple of weeks and will be again the rest of this week at least. We got the one day of relief and it’s back again tomorrow. UGH!

I forgot to mention the little bit of excitement this morning. As I was getting ready to go to bed, I looked out the kitchen window as one of the mourning doves landed on the deck railing. I thought it was one of the babies and decided to see how it would react if I went outside.
I slowly opened the back door and it didn’t flinch so I slowly walked towards it, talking to it as I’ve been doing all along. By the time I was about 4 feet away, I realized it wasn’t a baby - - it was Momma. And she was just sitting there looking at me and bobbing her head a little. I guess she’s figured out I’m not a threat.

I stayed out there a few minutes, then came back inside to head to bed. As I looked out the window one last time, Daddy dove arrived to feed the kiddos and Momma flew off.

I’ll miss those sweet birds once they take off.

[luvie]

Ooooo....that’s great that the doves feel safe with you around. I’m really surprised the kitties haven’t harassed them, though! They are pretty easy targets since they aren’t the fastest or the smartest birds on the branch. LOL!

[radu]

The cats have been inside during all the hot weather we’ve had, otherwise those babies would have been snacks by now.
I normally would have let them outside today, since it was comfy enough, but I kept them in to keep those cute babies safe.

They’ll head out soon so when the next cooler spell gets here, the cats should be able to go out.

[luvie]

I guess there has been one advantage to the hot weather then! God protects his own. :)

[radu]

One of the FEW advantages to it being so hot. LOL!

The beans have enjoyed the heat along with the rain we’ve had the past week. They almost doubled in height and are beautifully bushy. ‘Bout time for them to flower now.

Getting a little rain right now. I made a Wal Mart run for a few items we needed and just did beat the rain home.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Pro...heroes all!!

I just finished putting a bedside table together. One more job scratched off the list.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Answered!

[luvie]

Bravo that the beans are thriving now! Hate to see the farmer work so hard and lose a crop! It’s disheartening.

I hope the rain was a refreshing one and not a steamy one.

[radu]

We’ve been lucky in not losing a crop but have had a couple of low-yield years.

It’s cool enough tonight that it isn’t steamy outside but the humidity is noticeably higher than it was this afternoon. It’s been a light rain - still falling - and that’s the best kind. Soaking with no runoff.

There are a lot of farmers in our county and I’d say all are breathing a sigh of relief the past week. We’ve been on the brink April, May, and June and it’s kinda nice to not hold our breath for a while. LOL