Good for what ails ya
Posted on 03/03/2006 5:29:48 PM PST by MoJo2001
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That's a lotta berries.
Good for what ails ya
The Real Story of Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
Men of the 84th,
This story was sent to me by a brother in the 84th for distribution to the
BN. It has special meaning for me personally because I have had the Honor
and Privilege of knowing a marine who survived Iwo Jima and personally knew
each of these 6 men. That man is Captain Dave Cameron now living in
Chattanooga TN. Dave like the men below is a true American Hero!
A Tale of Six Boys"
Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC, with the eighth grade
class from Clinton, WI. where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I
greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take
some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially
memorable.
On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial.
This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts
one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six
brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill
on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II.
Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and
headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base
of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "Where are you guys
from?"
I told him that we were from Wisconsin. "Hey, I'm a cheese head,
too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a
story."
(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at
the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good
night to his dad, who has since passed away. He was just about to
leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to
us, and received his permission to share what he said from my
videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible Monuments filled
with history in Washington, D.C., but it is quite another to get the
kind of insight we received that night.)
When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here
are his words that night.)
"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is
on that statue, and I just wrote a book called "Flags of Our
Fathers". It is the story of the six boys you see behind me.
"Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the
ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He
enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members ! of his
football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game
called "War." But it didn't turn out to be a game.
Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I
don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are
generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory
of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were
17, 18, and 19 years old.
(He pointed to the statue) "You see this next guy? That's Rene
Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the
moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that
helmet, you would find a photograph... a photograph of his
girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was
scared. He was 18 years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys.
Not old men.
"The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike
Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They
called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already 24.
When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say,
'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He
knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, 'You do
what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'
"The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian
from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White
House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero.' He
told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies
hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?' So you
take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together
having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the
beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira
Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead
drunk, face down at the age of 32 .. ten years after this picture
was taken.
"The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from
Hilltop, Kentucky. A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who
is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the
porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the
stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts.
Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at
the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he
was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran
that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her
scream all night and into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter
of a mile away.
"The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad,
John Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad
lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter
Cronkite's producers, or the New York Times would call, we were
trained as little kids to say, 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not
here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No,
we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even
went to Canada. Usually, he was sitting there right at the table
eating his Campbell's soup. But we had to tell the press that he was
out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press.
"You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these
guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My
dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a
caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died.
And when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain.
"When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad
was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me
and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima
are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'
"So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo
Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys
died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine
Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for
your time."
Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a
flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with
the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a
hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe,
but a hero nonetheless.
Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on
Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for
our freedom. Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours
and also pray for those still in murderous unrest around the world.
STOP and thank God for being alive and being free at someone else's
sacrifice.
REMINDER:
Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day.
You are free because some vet died to keep you free.
Exactly... you can see it! :) Trouble in a furface. They just wait until you aren't looking. I'd hate to see what it would be like if they were not momma and baby. (heh... they are 7 and 5)
Congrats SERES school is no small feat
EPGWS get the credit for the request tonight. Also tonight is kind of a first for the Flyby and Sortie. I actually had to do a google search to get a few more pics to make up the half dozen for tonights sortie. I had a few A-36 pics but not enough for a good post. So on with the pics!!!
First up an A-36 on the ramp somewhere. It looks like a Douglas B-23 Dragon and a B-29 are in the background.
A hanger shot of the first plane, the wing mounted dive brakes show up well in this pic.
An A-36 on the taxiway, notice the Ju-52 off to the left.
Off we go into the wild blue Duxford yonder
The Apache inflight
And finally a little art work of the A-36 in action at Monte Cssino.
The Collins Foundation has an A-36 in restoration at New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
See y'all next Friday with another Friday Flyby
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Another great bunch of pictures, alfa! Thanks for always coming up with the best shots!
Welcome Troops, Veterans, Families, and Allies!
Singing Sergeants ~ Battle Hymn of the Republic
ArtistDirect.com l Amazon.com l Ticketmaster.com l Songfacts.com l Walmart.com
Gonna have to cry for an hour after reading that.
My Dad was on Guam at the time.
If mine are quiet they probably have stolen a sock and are playing tug of war.
Sweet little rascals.
~~Southern Rock For The Troops~~ |
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