I AM DONE

48 pages

Well this is my last post for this book. I have really enjoyed it! The chapters of 16-20 were just a little boring to me. I could tell that Rene, Ira, and Jack didn't really like the fame and attention they were getting, and i wouldnt either. I know the author put these chapters here for a reason but i just didn't like how they were honored as better marines than the others. They thought the same way too. But it sure was an outstanding book!

It is know James Bradley telling the story in 1st person. A week before Christmas in 1954, Ira is arrested (51st time) again for being drunk and disorderly. One month later, he was found dead in the snow after a fight. He was under a lot of stress from his instant fame. James Bradley believes that "his alcoholism was caused by what would today be diagnosed as posttraumatic stress disorder caused from the battle at Iwo Jima." James Bradley felt a connection with Rene Gagon Jr. because their parents were the only 2 of the 6 flag raisers to have kids. He was a janitor and after Rene's marriage, he was never happy his son always said. His wife was always emotionally abusive. He soon died of a heart attack and was buried in the same cemetery as Ira. God this is terrible! I think the quote "The real heros of Iwo Jima, are the ones who didnt come back" has something to do with their deaths because they survived and don't think of themselves as "hero's." But the constant stress of reporters and news saying that they were heros interfered with them if you know what i mean.

Chapter 20, last chapter, Jack Bradley avoids reunions with his fellow Marines because he thinks he will be a totally different man i guess....? James Bradley never asks Jack about his time in the war because he knows he wont talk about..Jack Bradley dies of a stoke in 1994. Hundred of people come to his funeral and they played a recording of him in an interview, "People refer to us as heroes. We certainly weren't heroes. And I speak for the rest of the guys as well"

The War is over....finally its over

50 pages

Im gonna quickly summarize chapter  16, 17, and 18 because its just about money and everyone celebrating for their "heros" and making statues for them. In my opinion, i read this book to know about Iwo Jima, not how the men became superstars. The Seventh Bond Tour starts and the goal  is $14 billion ($7 billion from companies and $7 billion from individuals). On May 8, the news announces that Germany has surrendered and that Joe Rosenthal has won a Pulitzer Prize for his photo. Ira Hayes starts drinking alot and becomes and alcoholic. This is pretty sad, but i guess he was just under way to much pressure from the news and everything, i understand. But he is usually drunk during his interviews...But throughout the tour, the three Marines travel to all the big cities in the US for honors, interviews and all that other stuff haha. Truthfully i would get annoyed with all the cameras flashing and people bugging me. But the tour finally ends with an amount of $26.3 billion. Jack Bradley goes to Bethesda to get treated for all his leg wounds that he ignored in Iwo Jima.

CHAPTER 17: In July of 1945, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Josef Stalin plan the use of atomic weapons on Japan to end the war. Jack Bradley and Rene Gagon go on with their lives and make a family.

CHAPTER 18: ugh....boring boring boring. Since the six men are "famous" now. People want to make movies and statues for them. These would be real cool if it was for me! but i wouldnt like constant attention.

The Aftermath of War...Death, Morning, Donations

30 pages

The time changes back to when Jack Bradley returns from the war in Antigo, Wisconsin and marries Elizabeth Van Gorp, his "childhood sweet heart." He owned a funeral home and held many services for the men who died in the war. They had eight kids and James Bradley, the author, was the middle child. They all wanted to know about their dads time in the war but he would never say anything about it. The death of Iggy probably still shocked him. He refuses interviews and always said "the ones that didnt come back are the real hero's."

"In peace, sons bury their fathers.  In war, fathers bury their sons."

Alright, basically chapter 15 is about all the mothers that learn the horrible news that their son has died in battle, including the mothers of Mike Strank, Harlon Block, and Franklin Sousley. The Treasury Department makes a Seventh Bond Tour, which are fund raising trips around the country, where Americans are influenced to donate to the war effort. So President Roosevelt gets the remaining flag raisers to a headquarters in the Pacific to influence them to donate. Later, everyone in the picture is identified except Harlon Block. He is mistaken for Hank Hansen, which Ira knows, but for some reason Ira was ordered to keep it a secret. Near the end of the chapter, President Trumen introduces the three remaining boys to the crowd at Griffith Stadium, where the New York Yankees played against the Washington Senators. This was probably the hardest time for most family's. Like everyone, if i had a son in war that had been killed, I wouldnt get over it for as long as i lived. It is just so sad how many Marines died on Iwo Jima and throughout the war..

"Like Hell With The Fire Out"

22 pages
Other did not know, but the real battle was about to begin. Easy Company's mission was to join with the rest of the 28th Regiment and advance onto the northern plateau. This doesn't sound good...They had to cross rough exposed ground while hidden Japps shot at them once again. For those of you that are reading this, there are many men that i mention that die that i probably have never discussed about because there was just to much to say about every other man earlier in the book. So be prepared if this is one huge post lol. Too many people died and i want to get as many as i can on this blog.

Mike Stanks squad was running when Jappanese snipers popped out and fired at them. They took cover and as Mike was telling them about a way to escape....but was cut down by friendly fire. It was a U.S Navy Destroyer that was bombing the area! Sgt Strank, one of the best and bravest leaders was now dead. He was just doing his job i guess, trying to find a way to save "his boys." Harlon took Mikes place and was now the squad leader. The battle continued and the Regiment was pinned down once again. Jack Bradley, nicknamed "Doc," was trying to heal Hank Hansen when Tex Hipps saved Bradley's life by yelling, "Watch out Bradley! Banzai charge!" and killed the Japps. But sadly Hank Hansen died in Bradley's arms. Suddenly Harlon explodes from an enemy grenade. Poor guy was cut in two. The next day, Colonel Johnson who wanted the original flag to be returned was blown to bits, followed by the death of Sgt. Thomas who led the push up Suribachi. The next day haunted Jack Bradley. The squad found Ralph Ignatowski, Bradley's best friend in the war, dead. In my opinion this is probably put him into shock and silence for the rest of his life. Chick Robeson got hit and Bradley got him evacuated from the island. As days when on, Jack Bradley's time in the war came to an end as a mortar round hit in the area and gave him  shrapnel wound along with Sam Trussel. Bradley was evacuated soon after. Franklin Sousley was shot in the back by a sniper on some road and died a couple seconds later. Tex Stanton had his feet blown off and was evacuated from the island. About a week later, Easy Company was done on Iwo Jima with only 50 survivors. Iwo Jima was America's bloodiest, but most heroic battle.

Truthfully, words cannot describe how i feel about any of this. Depressing? Sad? Stunned? Nope, non of these words come close. But i do know that these Marines went through so much Hell on this island. The survivors were probably wondering how they did it...

Myths

 14 pages
  The Marines thought they had won, but they were still on the look out for any lurking Japps in the night. As one Marine named Chick Robeson remembers, "As we lay in our fox hole trying to sleep, we could hear them blowing themselves up with grenades held to their stomach." Later, Jack Bradley, Franklin Sousley, and Rene Gagnon wrote letter back home to their loved ones talking about how they raised the flag on Iwo Jima and describing how bad the battle was.

New York Times newspaper describing U.S "victory"

Joe Rosenthal picture of the second raising of the flag gets published in New York Times newspaper on February 25, and he instantly becomes famous for his outstanding picture. The article talked about Iwo Jima and how it was the bloodiest battle of WWII took up almost the whole newspaper. But it started writing misleading stories and ideas about the battle. For example, in one of the articles it said, " the Jappanese were rolling grenades down the [cliff] to burst in the faces of advancing Marines." It said that the flag being raised marked the end of the battle, but it lasted for many more days. In my opinion, such exaggerations make the story better, thus making more of a profit. If i was a Marine, i would want the public to know the whole truth, not lies!

"So Every Son Of A Bitch On This Whole Cruddy Island Can See It!"

 20 pages
 The Marines were woken by bombs drops very close to their position. It was their own planes mistaking them as "live Japanese." Nothing was worse than friendly fire. So Severance called the colonel on his private radio frequency and told them to radio the pilots to stop the bombing sense all their radios were damaged. As the Marines advanced up the hill killing all Japanese in their paths with specialized demolition squads like flamethrowers. Captain Inouye of the Japps cried to himself in one of the chambers under the mountain, "Suribachi's fallen...Suribachi's fallen."

Colonel Johnson picked 40 men to finish the climb to the top. Scared, but prepared, the Marines marched up single file waiting for an ambush...it never came thank god. When they got to the top they found a metal pole and put an American flag on it that one of the Marines were holding. Lietenant Schrier, Platoon Sgt. Thomas, Sgt. Hansen, and Cpl. Lindberg and a few other Marines raised the flag. The whole island erupted in cheers of their fellow allies. But that flag belonged to that battalion and Colonel Johnson wanted it back. He requested another flag to be put on the volcano. Franklin and Ira found a pole weighing about 100 pounds to use for the second flag! Mike Stanks team had the honors of raising the flag this time, while others simultaneously lowered the first flag. But nobody really paid any attention to them. I mean "after all, it was just a replacement flag," one marine said. I can't make any connections, but i would be real happy when the flag rised. I would cheer along with everyone else.

                   

     1st flag raise (but was taken down)       2nd flag raised (replacement)

D-Day Plus 2

14 pages

Another night has passed and at 8:30 am, the US continue their advance on Suribachi. What the Marines didn't know was that Mount Suribachi was hollowed out into a 7 story fortification for the Japanese, with pillboxes, and hidden holes all over the mountain to shoot at unexpected marines. Another disappointment came as well. The tanks that were supposed to show up but never did, which would have given the troops some cover from the pillboxes.

The men just charged! I don't know what motivated them to, but they did. Mortar rounds were constant and "blew most of us to high hell" while machine guns never stopped firing. Jack Bradley saw a marine get hit by a mortar but still in one piece. He rushed over to him dodging the crossfire and helped him. After he finished, he dragged him 30 yards to safety. This earned him a Navy Cross....which he never mentioned to his family for some reason. As the the slaughter continued, the Marines continued to advance until they near the top. If you have no respect for anyone in the war, there is something wrong with you haha. They go through hell but still find the will to keep on moving! I would freeze up and fall to the ground lol. And if you were a medic, you were constantly running around the battlefield helping the wounded. That takes a lot of skill and stamina to do something like that! I have never done anything like this before haha, but all i can say is that the men who did should be honored greatly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD89Z0_Rav8
This is a video about what the demolition squads did to get the Japps out of their hiding places.