1955 ... and he would have been really pi$$ed off, had he lived to see the movie ...
Posted on 06/23/2016 7:53:45 AM PDT by oh8eleven
The Marine Corps admitted Thursday that it misidentified one of the six men in the World War II photograph of a flag-raising in Iwo Jima — one of the most iconic images in American history.
For more than 70 years, history said John Bradley, a Navy hospital corpsman, was one of the six men seen in the legendary photo from one of the war’s bloodiest battles.
But the Marines now say Bradley is nowhere in the photo — and the man believed to be Bradley is in fact Harold Schultz, a private first class.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
WAR IS HELL ! My dad was a combat soldier in N. Africa,
Italy & Germany during WWII. He was shell-shocked all to
pieces; had flashbacks well into his seventies. Flashbacks
are NOT “dreams”. Flashbacks ARE being there all over again
& reliving the experience. - My great-great grandfather was
a Confederate soldier at Shiloh. He stated, if asked, that
it was the most horrible experience imaginable. - My parents
used to take me to Shiloh when I was a child. Well over
65 yrs. ago. The Bloody Pond was a much darker “old blood”
color at that time from where the wounded from both sides
washed their wounds. Many died at the edge of the pond.
It is much more faded with time, as is the tendency of the
memories of war to fade. It is rare that an old soldier
will want to relive or “glory” in such a reality.
john ? John Kerry ? Is that you ?
You are correct. Apologies; medals are rightly earned and received.
This was in the days when there were no electronic cameras and everything was mechanical. So, basically Rosenthal's shot was a happy accident.
Rosenthal later took a staged shot when the flag had been raised with most of the Marines at the summit that he called his "gung ho" shot because of the poses the men took.
There was no dark room on Iwo so Rosenthal dropped his film into a pouch to Guam. He had no idea what he had captured. As soon as the photo came out of the dark room, Guam knew what they had and radioed the photo back to America where it was on the front page of darn near every paper.
Lowery claimed the photo had to have been staged, perhaps out of jealousy. Somebody asked Rosenthal if the photo had been staged and thinking they were talking about the gung ho photo said it was. He immediately corrected himself, but the rumor persists to this day.
These are interesting tidbits of history but the power of the photo, as you say, is that it embodies the fundamental spirit of the Marine Corps and the way they fought the worst battle in the history of the Corps.
Thx for the link.
On a side note I used to golf quite regularly between 2003-2007 with an older gentleman that I later found out was 2nd Lt. on the second wave on Iwo Jima. One of the nicest men I have ever known and as quiet as a church mouse.
I know. My daughter joined the Corps in 2004 and served until 2009!
Read the book and attributed Bradley's reticence to discuss the flag raising to modesty. Many years, on the anniversary of the flag raising on Iwo jima, the media would call and ask for a comment. The family was instructed to tell them he was upstate fishing. Bradley was awarded the Navy Cross for action a few days later, unrelated to the flag raising. However, I find it difficult to believe he didn't know that he was not in that picture. He had to know ...
The Rosenthal shot was sent to the states via what we now call fax, but darn it was slow back then.
The Lowery shots and more:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/22/world/cnnphotos-iwo-jima/
I think this is Lowery’s obit:
http://articles.latimes.com/1987-04-18/local/me-887_1_iwo-jima
Never heard that Lowery claimed Rosenthal’s photo was staged. Another version says the accusation began with Time magazine (what a surprise). Someone from the publication asked Rosenthal if the photo was staged; thinking they were referring to the “gung ho” photo (taken after the second flag-raising), the AP photographer replied “yes.” It took him several weeks to get Time to correct their reporting.
Incidentally, Lowery’s photos of the first flag raising didn’t appear in Leatherneck until 1947.
“You are correct. Apologies; medals are rightly earned and received.”
That usage of the word “win” hearkens back to a day when men spoke of “winning glory.” It is correct, but because of the shift in usage of the word “win,” many who have not read documents old enough to contain the earlier usage think it incorrect.
Which, these days, means almost everyone.
To me, the fact that you can’t really see the faces and identify them easily is symbolic of your comment that all the Marines on that island were part of raising that flag.
Uncommon Valor was a common virtue” Chester Nimitz
Semper Fi Doc - you earned it - even without the flag raising.
Did Bradley survive the battle, most of the guys in the picture were killed on Iwo.
Roger that, thanks.
Semper Fi
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