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Posted on 01/07/2005 10:32:01 PM PST by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 Navy Corpsmen World War II Joe Rosenthal's photograph of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima--as subsequently memorialized in sculptor Felix deWeldon's bronze statue in Arlington National Cemetery--is probably the most famous military image in the world.  It is appropriate that one of the six men straining to lift the flagpole was a Navy corpsman, Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class John H. Bradley. Like his Marine buddies, Bradley was a member of the 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division.  Each of the three divisions engaged in the struggle for Iwo Jima included roughly 100 Navy surgeons and nearly 1,000 corpsmen in its ranks. Most of those emergency medical specialists deployed forward with the maneuver elements or worked in improvised aid stations just behind the front lines. The nature of their work required continuous risk-taking. They retrieved wounded Marines, performed initial life-saving measures, evacuated severe casualties back to the beach--always under fire. Navy medical crews paid an exorbitant price in the savage fighting at Iwo Jima. Twenty-three doctors and 827 corpsmen were killed or wounded in action, a casualty rate twice as high as bloody Saipan. One of the wounded was John Bradley, a casualty of heavy fighting in the northern part of the island 17 days after the historic flag raising.  Typical of the Navy corpsmen who served at Iwo Jima was Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class William B. Jett of Batesville, Ark. Jett came ashore with a replacement draft and joined the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, veterans of Suribachi, a unit that had already lost a disproportionate share of corpsmen. Jett was a company aid man assigned to a rifle platoon operating along the northwest corner, an area dubbed "the jungle of stone." In the next three weeks of fighting, Jett survived four platoon commanders--a lieutenant, a platoon sergeant, a sergeant and finally a corporal. But Jett, in his turn, was not immune to the heavy fire; shrapnel hit him in the left arm and wrist as he leaped out of a shell hole. He stayed in the lines. "Coming out alive on Iwo," he said, "was like going through a rainstorm without getting wet."  Four Navy corpsmen received the Medal of Honor for conspicuous bravery on Iwo Jima: Pharmacist's Mates (1st Class) Francis J. Pierce, (2nd Class) George Wahlen, (3rd Class) Jack Williams, and (1st Class) John H. Willis. The last two were posthumous awards. Small wonder that most Marine infantrymen traditionally regard their accompanying corpsmen with special respect and affection.   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" Navy Cross awarded to John H. Bradley February 21, 1945, D-Day plus 2: "For extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy at Iwo Jima on Feb. 21, 1945 as a hospital corpsman attached to a Marine Rifle platoon. During a furious assault by his company upon a strongly defended enemy zone at the base of Mt. Suribachi, Bradley observed a Marine infantryman fall wounded in an open area under a pounding barrage by mortars, interlaced with a merciless crossfire from Machine guns. With complete disregard for his own safety, he ran through the intense fire to the side of the fallen Marine, examined his wounds and ascertained that an immediate administration of plasma was necessary to save the man's life. Unwilling to subject any of his comrades to the danger to which he had so valiantly exposed himself, he signaled would-be assistants to remain where they were. Placing himself in a position to shield the wounded man, he tied a plasma unit to a rifle planted upright in the sand and continued his life saving mission. The Marine's wounds bandaged and the condition of shock relieved by plasma, Bradley pulled the man thirty yards through intense enemy fire to a position of safety. His indomitable spirit, dauntless initiative, and heroic devotion to duty were an inspiration to those with who he served and were in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Naval Service." (Bradley served until wounded in both legs on March 12 by an enemy mortar shell, but refused evacuation until rendering aid to two other wounded Marines.)      |
SNippy was snapping away at the store today.
Seattle? Nothing but tree huggers up there. ;-)
Thanks Matt.
Imagine this. In the spring of 1945, around the world, the sight of a twelve-man squad of teenage boys, armed and in uniform, brought terror to people’s hearts. Whether it wasa Red Army squad in Berlin, Leipzig, or Warsaw, or a German squad in Holland, or a Japanese squad in Manila, Seoul, or Beijing, that squad meant rape, pillage, looting,wanton destruction, senseless killing. But there was an exception: a squad of GIs a sight that brought the biggest smiles you ever saw to people’s lips, and joy to their hearts.
Around the world this was true, even in Germany, even – after September 1945 – in Japan. This was because Gis meant candy, cigarettes, C-rations, and freedom. Americahad sent the best of her young men around the world, not to conquer but to liberate, not to
terrorize but to help. This was a great moment in our history.
Steven E. Ambrose. The Victors, Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II. New York:Simon & Schuster, 1998.
I love Turtledove. I haven't heard about this one though.
I hear Snippy has some ocean front property in Arizona for sale.
LOL.
I hear it is almost as bad as Oregon. Can't even get decent spotted owl in the stores there, I hear.
Of course, I'm getting tired of all the tax and transfer liberals in Texas.
Dpends on which word, if this is good or bad.
LOL. It must be a good word. No advertising yet but we had lots more traffic in the store today. I can't wait to get back from the trade show/convention next week so we can blitz the area with advertising and hopefully the 'shop' will take off!
LOL. I have these really nice flags, enamel artwork fired on copper, handmade in Connecticut, the artist does other things, beautiful birds, fish, etc. Very expensive.
A couple came in and liked the enamel but thought it was pricey. I told them I had the flags, small and less intricate therefore not as expensive but the woman said she wasn't interested in the flag anymore or anything with the flag on it. Grrrr. It was all I could do to not throw them out of the store with a good tongue lashing.
If Oregon isn't as bad, we are a close second. We are like lots of other states, the countryside is for Bush, the big city (Portland) for the Dems.
LOL on your tagline. You nut!
So far it looks good. :-)
Evening Phil Dragoo.
I like your appropriate response.
BTTT!!!!!
My father's memories.
He stayed with the American Army and eventually emigrated to America as a Displaced Person. IMHO, a wise choice, as a lot of the Home Army members who returned to Poland were made to "disappear" by the Russians.
free dixie,sw
Thank you Matt. Bookmarked!
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