Re-Focusing for a moment on true values

[Greeneagle5]

Many of you have read "Flags of our Fathers" by James Bradley whose father

John Bradley was a Navy Corpsman serving with the Marines. Read on. If you

have not read "Flags of our Fathers", I recommend it.

(Sent to me from a retired veteran, my Dad)

G5

>

>

> This from our LTA Skipper. .

>

> 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" which is #5

> on

> the New York Times Best Seller list right now. 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. 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 care giver. 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.

>

> We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us

> to

> live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice. Let us never forget from

> the

> Revolutionary War to the Gulf War 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 you wake up free, IS a great day AND ALWAYS REMEMBER

> THOSE SIX BOYS AND THE THOUSANDS OF OTHERS WHO HAVE MADE OUR FREEDOM

> POSSIBLE....................

[johndaigler]

G5,

 

Thank you.

 

jd

[Eamonn]

They say that the Lord moves in mysterious ways. I have just been asked if I could go and take care of the Scouts Own Service at the District Klondike Derby. I was looking through my stuff and found this.

I do hope you don't mind if I share it with a bunch of Scouts who no doubt will be dirty, tired and yet proud that they made it through yet another Klondike event.

Thank You.

Eamonn

[VentureScoutNY]

 

Thanks Greeneagle for sharing. I actually was just given "Flags of our fathers" by my mother. Haven't statred reading it yet but look forward to starting it over my spring break! What a fine History we have! One I am proud of everyday!

 

YIS

[cubbingcarol]

I just finished Bradley's book 'Flyboys'. One of the featured boys was from our town of Childress. This is the book that also features President Bush (the 1st) and the boys that were shot down over Chichi Jima. It was so interesting I finished in about 5 days. Now I will have to check out 'Flags of Our Fathers' since I read this post.

 

We visited the memorial back in June, and I was awestruck (sp?). Now after reading this book I have a much deeper appreciation and understanding. It posed the subject of forgiveness and how the people who lived in those times are more forgiving of the Japenese people than those of us today. I must admit that I carried a grudge, even though I'm only in my 30's, towards them. But after I read Bradley's book my mind is now open to the fact that war truly does bring out the worst in everyone, all sides included. It shed some light on atrocities carried out by our side as well.

 

Of course if we are wise we will learn from our own mistakes and not repeat them. JMHO.

 

Carol

[Greeneagle5]

Carol,

 

I also had the privilege and honor to personally know a WWII navy pilot who's squadron was memorialized in "Flyboys". In fact, I was able to present him an autographed copy to read last year shortly before he passed away.

His stories of night launching off the flat-tops in mid-Pacific in total black-out conditions and complete radio silence to protect the fleet will be remembered for many years to come. Please Thank THEM... not me,

G5(This message has been edited by Greeneagle5)

[frankj]

Flags of Our Fathers is a book well worth reading. It briefly mentioned a Navy doctor in one chapter, it turns out this man was the father of a high school classmate of mine. The Marine Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery should be seen if you visit Washington, DC. Thanks for posting the message at the start of the thread.

[evmori]

Greeneagle,

Thank you for your post.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[FScouter]

It is a good book. A sobering reminder that there is no glory in war.

[Trevorum]

My father was also a Navy Corpsman serving with the Marines. He was on Bougainville.

 

He never talked much about his experiences during the war. But I clearly remember one time, I must have been around 9 or 10, when the neighborhood guys and I were playing war. After I came back into the house that evening, my dad took me into the study and pulled a big book off the shelf. He had me read a poem about WWI by Wilfred Owens. I don't think I ever played war again.

 

DULCE ET DECORUM EST

 

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots

Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

 

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling,

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .

Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

 

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est

Pro patria mori