Untitled Flashcards Set

First page is the introduction of why the story needs to be written. His most interesting choice is to talk about one four hundredth of a second. That is how long it takes to take the picture; it is the shutter speed. The author frames this to contrast the time of the event with the long-lasting historical impact. Then we go to the idea of history afterward. Alcohol and heart attack kill two of the survivors, with the third burying the memories and living in peace. John Bradley ignores his history, “willing the past into a cave of silence”. When the son asks, John Bradley says the true heroes of Iwo Jima are the ones who never came back. He doesn’t seek fame, but they find boxes with his military memorabilia. The author is trying to show how he buried the memories but can’t fully let them go. They are still there. The weight of his experience lingers. When we think of this, we should think of the burden that is placed on these men both during and after war. We are looking at how trauma creates a burden that people can’t set down. In a letter, he says it is the “happiest moment”. This is how he feels in the moment, but he has not yet seen what happened after the moment. The rest of this chapter is the Bradleys’ trip to Iwo Jima. He talks about how he feels more connected to the events as he walks. He has a sense of wonder and elation when he reaches the top of Suribachi. He talks about how eager the soldiers were to join the war. After they put the plaque on the mountain, they start frolicking. We are supposed to think of these actions as youthful because the guys who fought were young and many lied about their age. While on  the other hand the actions they we set out to do have a heavy impact on them and everyone around them.We have this youth and innocence starkly contrasted with the horror of war. This horrors effect all of them and altered all of their lives so severely. When they come into a pillbox, he begins to empathize with both the American and Japanese soldiers who fought within. He sees the humanity in both sides and is able to recognize that people died and whether they were American or Japanese it didn't matter in the end. They are all human. This is significant overall. We should not hope for victory in war but for the absence of war. Empathy is significant and important when dealing with this as otherwise we don’t learn humanity. The debris left on the island that is mistaken for soil is a symbol. It is the weight that is carried by John Bradley for the rest of his life. This is what he’s taking from the island. Mike Stank is not an officer but is respected as one. By showing how he cries with a family of a fallen soldier, the author is humanizing the “marine’s marine”. They are not just marines, but human beings with lives, families, and emotions. The chapter wraps up with the theme of something that remains.

Chapter 4 tells us about who these men were before the marines. Mike Stank is a natural born leader who inspires others. He is very charismatic. It talks about his physicality. Not only is he impressive with his personality, but he is also impressive in his strength. He acts differently than he looks. He is charismatic, but eventually believes he won’t live past the next engagement. Ira is a man with the trouble of alcoholism. He is quiet and reserved because of his culture as a Pima indian. The Pima are a tribe that values community. The idea of being a member of a community is stronger than the pursuit of fame. The idea of fame is looked down upon and those who seek fame in the pima Indian culture are often ridiculed and shunned. He enlists because of this emphasis on community. He is a very religious man, who writes home often. He has a contrast with Mike Stank as he is a quiet, reserved, faithful man. On the other hand Mike is very much a leader and loud about who he is. The other marines even call him something like a gung ho marine. I don't remember the name but it was important to Mike's character. He is subverting our expectations of being a marine. Ira is adept enough to become a parachute marine. We are then introduced to Harlon, who is similar to Ira. He joined the marines to be with his friends. This is problematic for his family, who raised him as seventh-day-adventists. They are pacifists. Harlon refuses to be a conscientious objector so he can be with his friends. He is a football player and star receiver fo the team and is given a pep rally when they find out hte whole team volunteered. This has him put in a weird position because of who he is. His father agrees to let him go, thinking this will make him a man. Ira and Mike will be at Bougainville. It is as close to a living hell as imaginable. Then the author returns to Wisconsin. Jack enlisted in the navy because his father (a doughboy) tells him that he doesn’t want him to go through the horror of the trenches. What he will endure will be less. The grandparents cannot keep them from death but they can make the rest of their lives as tolerable as possible. They make him a Marine Engineer. He prepares the beaches for the supplies and equipment that come. Engineers often have to come before the main troops. Jack and his father successfully get his assignment changed to being a member of a navy hospital. He is a navy corpsman. The root of this word “Corps” means body. The marines also use corps in their name. They are attached to the marines units under fire and help and ease their final moments. This reassignment will work against him soon. Renee is different from the others. He joined because he liked the uniforms. He is more shallow than the others as he wants to get fame. We then return to Bougainville. Before the attack, they are fed a nice meal (as many of the men will never come back). It talks about Ira’s experience on Bougainville. He never tells his family about what he had to undergo. Harlon is also sent to Bougainsville. We are introduced to Franklin Zowski. He is an innocent country boy. Jack is taught how to administer to the wounded. At bougainville, Mike told his friends that he didn’t think he would come back. Despite this, he continues as other men depend on him. Harlon tries to avoid being sent back and tells his girlfriend that he wouldn’t come back. There is another guy who tells his girlfriend that when he comes back he will be a hero. He never comes back. Smith is a man in charge of Tarowa and Iwo Jima. When they land at Tarowa, General Smith sees the destruction but is proud of the marines. 

Iwo Jima’s volcanic nature is brought up often. The groundcover is volcanic ash. A great portion of the difficulty in landing on and capturing the island stemmed from this topography. The beginning of this chapter starts with the shelling of the island. The guys begin making light of the impending death that will occur. These are examples of dark humor. The japanese are outnumbered three to one, so the Japanese have to change tactics. The author gives credit to the japanese soldiers to further utilize empathy in the story. He must balance the American and Japanese war efforts, the efforts of the flag raisers, and the battle itself in this narrative. General Kubiyashi tells his soldiers to hold their fire so the beach can fill with marines. They have limited resources and must use everything wisely. After an hour, the Japanese started firing. It took them by surprise. There is an expected response to bullets: fear. It doesn’t occur to many to shoot back. The book then talks about the difficulty of traversal in the volcanic ash. A lieutenant tries to rally them acting as John Wayne, and falls flat on his face. John Wayne was the stereotype of masculinity; he was an actor. This is showing how the ideas of masculinity and bravery are myths themselves. The chapter is about our wrong perceptions of these two traits and how we should view them. There is a third instance of dark humor. These young men are trying to cope with what is presented to them. This is one of the elements people use to get through these experiences. These sometimes make us just as sad. Mike Stank sits down on the beach and empties his shoes. He is not just doing it to show bravery, but to make a point. There is a soldier who sees him who is lying prone on the ground. His message is as follows: no matter what you’re doing, you have the same chance of death. The one thing that matters is moving forward, thus escaping the firing zone. This is doing more than just proving his bravery. It inspires them to get up and move forward. They get out of the firing cones of the machine gun and attack a pillbox. They think the pillbox is neutralized, but, due to the tunnels, it is quickly replenished. Bradley does a good job of demonstrating those who aren’t flag raisers. He starts telling the story of the first medal winner on Iwo Jimo. He, Tony Stein, is included to compare his heroism with others. That is bravery. The next paragraph, there are engineers who must build a road system under heavy fire without paying it heed. The only difference between the two is recognition. While he is destroying pillboxes, there are marines who are unarmed and under fire. They are doing their jobs for the marines coming after them. None of them got a medal of honor. Bravery doesn’t change mortality. The author then focuses on the priests that administer to the dying. They come back from the war with just as much of a burden as anyone else, despite not being active combatants. It is brilliant that James Bradley is showing the difference between those who are recognized as heroes and those who are forgotten. These forgotten heroes often die in the action. By nightfall, the beach was secured. The first day of fighting had more casualties than all of Guadalcanal.

Chapter 11 is the story of the flag raising itself. The author does a good job talking about the two flag raisings. A high ranking naval officer asks for the first flag given to be put in his office. Sgt. Smith disagrees and sends a second, bigger flag up with journalists. Joe Rosenthal is the photographer who takes the picture. He didn’t mean to. They are taking photos from the mountain onto the landscape. He turns when he hears noise and snaps the picture. None of the six men know the photo was taken. Joe Rosenthal doesn’t pay it much attention. The first flag is displayed in the History of the Marines Museum. The action report makes no mention of the second flag raising.

The next chapter starts with the journey of the film. There is a juxtaposition of excitement and reality. There are three letters home from the flag raisers. The author includes these three letters after the process of the film to show the calm before the storm. These three men are telling their families they are ok through the letters. The flag raising, present in two of the three, is a minor theme. Another element is asking about things happening at home. These aren’t about the war, but about how they’re doing, and how their loved ones are doing. The flag is an afterthought. The letters are used to humanize the young men and to remind us that the flag is just a replacement flag. There is a disconnect between the reality of the people living it and the story of the people telling it. Before the image’s publication, the media’s headlines were informational and factual. Eventually, the Americans recoiled at the staggering statistics. The editor on Guam sees the picture and it is made a front page photo in every newspaper in America. Belle Block saw the picture and knew Harlon was there, even though his back was turned. For a long time Harlon was misidentified. After the picture was published, there was less accuracy and more hyperbole in the press. They replaced reporting with romanticism. This is a section about the power of the media. This is where we are in our news today. Once, everyone watched the same news station. It was Walter Cronkite. It was factual and based on actual reporting to the American public. What we have today is the same as that of this battle. Newspapers are inventing and distorting stories in order to gain more readers. There is an agenda behind how news is told in the world. We never look at whether the people involved in a tragedy want their grief publicised or kept private. We then get anti-myth, which attacks those from the story itself instead of the media. These flag raisers must endure scrutiny from the public for the rest of their lives. It didn’t signify the end of the battle, it was just the beginning. This is the same battle John Bradley must fight the rest of his life: to be a business owner and father instead of a flagraisers. The information that we give or withhold changes lives. 

These men will continue to be used for the gain of others. When Ira returns and tries reintegrating to civilian life, many of his people are mocking him for his celebrity. He turns to the bottle to cope. In the period after leaving the reservation he starts getting arrested. The media eagerly runs stories about his arrest. There is a statement he makes where he tells them that he now has everyone’s expectations. He eventually makes it back to Arizona. He has to carry a small American flag so the tourists that find him can take selfies with him. Eventually, Ira will drink himself to death. This entire story is the result of celebrity. Harlon’s funeral was mostly about the marines. Thesho government used Harlon’s funeral to celebrate the bravery of the marines but in doing so deprived the Blocks of private grief. Harlon’s mother divorces his dad. Mike’s family is harassed by the media for quite some time. Renee discovers that many of the jobs he was offered were empty. He gets married but then divorces. The girl he married was as vain as he was. They divorce because they were married for shallow reasons. Renee eventually gets a maintenance job where he is found dead in the boiler room. Jack drinks a little before bed and he won’t fall asleep unless a knife is in reach. The Arlington monument is unveiled. Ira breaks down weeping. Harry Truman visited them on his election campaign. He only visited for the election. The Strangs are still used for political purposes rather than giving them the respect they are owed. They were released to their individual destinies by the collective statue. 

The last chapter is about James Bradley’s journey after his father’s death. It includes the research and the stories he learned. It talks about his grandchildren. “People refer to us as heroes. We certainly weren’t. I speak for all the other guys”. This is in the transcript of the last interview of  john Brady