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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.)      |
Good morning EGC.
Good morning Gail. Looks like we are in for a week of low to mid 30's at night and low 40's during the day. No snow though!
Thank you Mayor. Good morning.
My favorite topic. Very nicely done!
DaughterOfAPhM2c
Hiya feather.
Thanks PE. How are you feeling?
fyi, duckie is out shopping for "dressy flats" & "purses to match" this AM!
free dixie HUGS,sw
Good morning alfa6. Hope you get some well deserved rest today.
Amen to that. Excellent quote from Thoreau, thanks.
I think of you and your father every time we do a story on Iwo. :-)
Hi PE, yes, thank you, so far so good.
How is our youngest FOXHOLE FReeper??
LOL. Hugs!!!!!
rotfl!
free dixie,sw
I'm feeling much better, thanks. I'm still coughing up a lot of crud, but otherwise doing well.
I imagine it is kinda like getting a store set up, eh :-)
BTW have y'all put up any pictures of the newly completed and ready to go store minus snippys kitchen table yet, nosy folks want to know???
Regards and have fun at the trade show
alfa6 ;>}
Bitty Girl is doing very well. Her second tooth came in just before Christmas. Yesterday, she was introduced to biscotti while shopping with Msdrby. She loved it.
I'm sooooo jealous, I've got neither of these. ;-(
We sure are happy to have you home!
Good to hear, except the crud part, LOL. Drinks lots of fluids!
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