Flags of Our Fathers
by
James Bradley
Table of Contents
- ISBN:
-
055338029X
- Format:
-
Hardcover, 384 pages
- Publish Date:
-
May, 2000
- Publisher:
-
29
- Other Format(s):
-
Paperback, Audiobook
In February 1945 U.S. Marines plunged into the surf at Iwo Jima – and into history. Through a hail of machine-gun and mortar fire that left the beaches strewn with fallen comrades, they battled to the island’s highest peak. And after climbing through a landscape of hell itself, they raised a flag. In this best-selling account, also a major 2006 motion-picture release, the son of one of the Iwo flag-raisers presents a powerful account of six very different men who came together in a moment that will live forever. To his family, John Bradley never spoke of the photograph or the war. But after his death at age 70, his family discovered closed boxes of letters and photos. Author James Bradley draws on those documents to retrace the lives of his father and the men of his Company. Following these men’s paths to Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers is a classic story of the heroic battle for the Pacific’s most crucial island – an island riddled with Japanese tunnels and 22,000 fanatic defenders willing to fight to the last man. But perhaps the most interesting story is what happened after the victory. The men in the photo – three were killed during the battle – were proclaimed heroes and flown home, to become reluctant symbols. For two of them, the adulation was shattering. Only James Bradley’s father truly survived, displaying no copy of the famous photograph in his home, telling his son only, “The real heroes of Iwo Jima were the guys who didn’t come back.” This is an unforgettable chronicle of one of the most famous moments in American military history, and the story behind the iconic photograph that became an enduring American symbol.
It is easy to understand why Flags of Our Fathers became a runaway best seller. It is quite simply a first-class account, succeeding both as history and as a compelling human-interest story. It is highly recommended for Americans in general, and because it explains the core values of the Navy and Marine Corps so compellingly, this book is a “must-read” for sea-service professionals.