Six Boys on Iwo Jima - Printable Version +- Forums (http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/forumnew) +-- Forum: World War II (http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/forumnew/forumdisplay.php?fid=43) +--- Forum: ANYTHING WWII (http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/forumnew/forumdisplay.php?fid=12) +--- Thread: Six Boys on Iwo Jima (/showthread.php?tid=875) |
Six Boys on Iwo Jima - chucktoo1926 - 02-18-2006 > > A Tale of Six Boys" > > 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". 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 cal led > 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. His best friend, who is now 70, told > me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop > General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't > get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Yes, he was 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 caregiver. 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. > > Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on > Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our > freedom. > REMINDER: > Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day. You are > free because some vet died to keep you free. > > Great story - worth your time. Please pass along > Six Boys on Iwo Jima - chambers - 02-18-2006 Thanks for sharing that, Chuck.
Brooke |