Flags of Our Fathers

Born in 1974, I can hardly claim to have experienced the terror and patriotism that surrounded WWII. By all accounts, the picture of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi has always existed for me. In ever history book through school, the six men hoisting the American flag on a makeshift pole atop this sawed-off "mountain" was printed as the epitome of American valor. Little was mentioned about the people or the event that surrounded this monumental photograph. Now, thankfully, we know.

This book is an absolute must-read. At once a biography of each of these six brave men, a history book, a war novel, and a tale of struggle, this book should find its way onto the bookshelf of every American. The lives of these men before, during, and after the battle of Iwo Jima is enough to fill you with great sadness and immense patriotic pride simultaneously.

This book is as relevant today as it could have been had it been published 55 years ago. While it is quite usual to hear words like honor, courage, and commitment strewn about by talking heads that pervade our society and media, it is rare to see these demonstrated by actual human beings. The stories of these men will show that that even under great strain the human spirit can thrive, and that occaisionally our heroes can be taken at face value.

However, as Bradley points out, these men were not heroes for raising that flag on Mount Suribachi. They, like every other American boy who set foot on foreign soil for God and country half a century ago, were heroes for the simple act of being there and doing the best they could.

Buy this book.

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS is a brilliant work for so many reasons: it pays homage to the six men who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima during WWII; it is a tribute to a father who felt strongly that the real heroes at Iwo were the boys who didn't come back; it is a testimonial to the USMC and its fighting men; it portrays a graphic and at times unimaginable description of the horrors of war; and, it depicts not only the indignities that we humans can suffer upon one another, but also the moments when common men (indeed, boys) are moved to perform acts of uncommon valor and courage. When reading this book, you will feel pride, grief, anger, sadness, and dismay. Its words will make you laugh, cry, mourn, and think hard. FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS is a good book---no, a great book---about a moment in our history and the ordinary men who performed extraordinary deeds and left their mark upon the annals of war. Read it...for the sake of the six flagraisers, the families left behind in all wars, and the whole human race.

I was only 5 when the attack on Iwo Jima took place. My own father, by virtue of age, good luck and a naval officer's commission escaped conscription into this particular hell. My personal wartime experience is a vague one of watching free movie musicals at the Ottumwa Iowa Naval Air Station, squashing and saving tin cans for the war effort and finally weaving red white and blue crepe paper into the spokes of my junior bike in celebration of VJ day. Thanks to a new book about World War II, I am discovering what it was really like back then to feel true patriotism. It is a bittersweet revelation, but a very valid one.

"Flags of Our Fathers" is a book which appeals not only to the die-hard WWII buff but to any person, male or female, with an interest in a teeth clenching, powerful and poignant story. It describes a horrible battle, the incredible selfless sacrifices of young men and the angst of their families.

James Bradley & Ron Powers have brought to vivid life the real people behind the famous flag-raising mythos, the surreal war in which they so valiantly fought and the survivors' eventual reentry into civilian life. This is an adventure story of true horrific experiences. On the surface it is a "good guy-bad guy" saga in which our good guys finally triumph. The good guys lucky enough to come home are quiet, self effacing and seemingly forever linked to the ghosts of those who did not survive. In an age before psychologists had discovered and mined "survivor's guilt" and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, the luckiest of these largely teenaged boys trained, fought, were wounded, came back and resumed living to the best of their ability. I defy any woman not to bleed for the mothers and fathers who waited and any man not to cry for the "uncommon valor" of these very young sons. Bradley's personal experiences with his own hero father, his intimate interviews with families of these sons and his own quiet faith are melded with the poetic prose of Ron Powers into a seamless whole.

This is a meticulously researched, lovingly crafted and stunning battle book, written by exceptional men about exceptional men. It is sure to become a classic.

James Bradley's tale of the six boys who raised the Old Glory over the island of Iwo Jima (one of whom was his own dad) is a classic of war literature.

It is a father-son story. It is a war story. It is a story of patriotism and sacrifice. But ultimately it is the story about how ordinary people can rise to extraordinary heights in fantastically dangerous situations.

Inspired and inspirational, this book is must-reading for anyone even remotely interested in World War II, and in the sacrifices that certain Americans made in order to win it.

This Memorial Day, buy a copy for everyone you know!

No, this isn't John Wayne and "Sands of Iwo Jima". This is a story of American youth and a time of American innocence.

Who were these six young, skinny kids in this photograph? A photograph that has become an icon of our times. Three of them would never know what impact this photo and their actions had on a country. Three others would know only too well.

I sincerely thank James Bradley for taking on this very personal and very emotional subject. His father, PM2C John Bradley, USN must have been made of greater stuff than most folks. His son's book is one of the most fitting tributes to a father's memory I could ever imagine.

My most heartfelt best wishes go out to James, his mother and all the Bradley's.