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dadofthree

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Tale of Six Boys by Wisconsin resident Michael T. Powers



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 marines 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 quit e 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, a t

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 called 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 statu e, 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. Remember to pray praises for this

great country of ours and also pray for those still in

murderous unrest around the world. STOP and t hank God

for being alive and being free at someone else's sacrifice.





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
 
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