Flags of Our Fathers
It is without question one of the most recognized pictures of all time. It is as familiar as pictures of Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon, President Kennedy in a Dallas motorcade, and two brothers and an airplane on a beach called Kitty Hawk. But there are mysteries surrounding this picture, which is strange considering how well it is known.
The site is called Flags of Our Fathers, a book by James Bradley. His father is one of the men who are in the picture, which was taken on Mount Surabachi on an island called Iwo Jima in 1945. This picture shows US Marines raising a flag on an island where some of the bloodiest fighting of the war occurred. Mr. Bradley’s father never talked about the event while he was alive. But shortly after his death, the family found some letters that told how he felt and how the experience affected him. Those letters caused Mr. Bradley to search out all the details he could about the event, and eventually put those details into book form. Here he tells about the effects of the war not only on his father, but the five other men who helped to raise the flag. Follow their lives from boot camp, through the war and after it. It is a truly amazing story. This site gives an excellent preview of the book, and provides background material that expands the story.
This is a book that really brings out the best of what our country truly is. At a time and place where uncommon valor was a common virtue, these men truly reflected that spirit. That is the spirit that has made our country what it is today.
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/jamesbradley/index2.html
flags of our fathers was one of the finest books about ww 2 that i have ever read. it was also the most heartbreaking. through the triumph and the victory was the clear understanding that it was also one of the biggest tradgedies in modern history. regardless the cause, regardless the right of it, what remained was young men pitted against each other in a hellish struggle of blood, horror, and suffering. the human cost in lives ended so violently is beyound comprehension for most of us. the mental toll on the survivors is equally appalling. the meaning of the “photograph” has changed for me. before, like many others it was a worshipped icon of america that as a youngster and until now, i lokked at with pride and awe. now , with eyes open to the full truth of it, i still look at the photo with pride. but it is with pride and a profound sorrow for all who experienced the hell of iwo. the only fitting gift that we can give to them, involves more that mere rememberence. it must also be to never again allow our hatreds, conflicts, or agendas, to lead us into the dark cavernous grave that was iwo jima.
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