Flags of Our Fathers There

Flags of Our Fathers There have always been some people that proved to be worthy of admiration, and people generally have searched for role-models that they can look up to and honor. Those that have shown extraordinary talents have been remembered and celebrated throughout history with the help of writings, carvings, pictures, or similar methods of capturing moments in time. World War II has been an event that gave birth to millions of heroes that fought for their countries and for the well-being of humanity.

Photographer Joe Rosenthal made one of the celebrated pictures from the war when he photographed six men raising a flag in Iwo Jima. James Bradley, the son of one of the flag-raisers, wrote the book "Flags of Our Fathers" in order to let the world know more from the lives of those that rose the famous Iwo Jima flag.

When Joe Rosenthal decided to take the picture of six men raising a replacement flag he hadn't been aware that the respective picture would become one of the most well-known pictures ever taken. James Bradley has gone at writing a book relating to the event and to previous events from the lives of the six men. The book first tells about how his father, John "Doc" Bradley, along with Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Franklon Sousey, Harlon Block, and Rene Gagnon, had lived before going to war, fighting for their country.

Consequently, James narrates on the subject of the Iwo Jima flag and about the events that happened aroundthe time when the picture has been taken. Life is full of unexpected episodes and one can see this when looking at James's decision to write "The Flags of Our Fathers." According to the author, his father hadn't talked much about the incidents that happened during the war, nor did he talk about the moments when he and his six companions became heroes.

James apparently found some of his father's letters subsequent to John's death. He wanted the book to highlight the true moments that would make the six men heroes, and not the flag-raising picture. The book is about war and the horrors that it creates with people being put through unimaginable events that change their lives. James shows how the public usually wants to see heroes that perform brave acts. They don't want a tragic story about suffering men that would only succeed in ruining the rest of their day.

One can learn about war and heroes when looking at James Bradley quoting his father: "The real heroes of Iwo Jima were the guys who didn't come back." Joe Rosenthal's picture has become famous only after a few days from when it has been taken. The men that raised the flag quickly became heroes with the whole nation and even the whole world remaining speechless after seeing the picture. However, James Bradley did not accept the six men to be appreciated only for having been present in the picture.

According to James, the picture did not make things better for the soldiers fighting and dying for their country. From the five marines and the Navy corpsman that raised the flag on top of Mt. Suribachi only three men survived. The book shows the effects that the famous picture had on the three surviving heroes. Apparently, the government took advantage of the picture to better the reputation that the war had and to influence people into raising more and more money to fund the battle.

James Bradley expertly recounted the steps that brought the three remaining soldiers to the point when they had been virtually haunted by the picture's fame. In spite of the fact that Iwo Jima had been captured only after the picture has been made, the whole world had been certain that the photograph had been taken when the Americans had conquered the island. Bradley speaks about how the battle had lasted for several days and how Strank, Block, and Sousey had fallen victims to the war.

The author describes how the dreams and the idealism that people relate to when thinking about the war are nothing but false impressions. Bradley proves to have an amazing ability to narrate as he presents the real occurrences that lead to the taking of the picture. It seems that the flag displayed in the photograph had only been a replacement flag which a commander had ordered the soldiers to raise in order for all of the nearby soldiers to see.

The six flag-raisers accidentally happened to be on top of Mt. Suribachi at the right time as they had just made a communication there. Joe Rosenthal had also been there by accident as he had missed the raising of the first flag just a day before. Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon, and John Bradley returned to their homes as heroes with the whole nation venerating them. Their fame did not come as a good thing however, because the three had been.