Six Boys And Thirteen Hands...

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 soldiers 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.'

(It was James Bradley who 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 had 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, DC, but it is quite 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' which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. 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, at 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 people 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 - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it.


(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. It was just boys who 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 was one of them who lived to walk 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 carried the pain home with him and eventually died dead drunk, face down, drowned in a very shallow puddle, at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was taken).

'The next guy, going around the statue, 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. Those cows crapped all night.' 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 Those 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, like Ira Hayes, 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 combat caregiver. On Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died on Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed, without any medication or help with the 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.

REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day.


Great story - worth your time - worth every American's time. Please pass it on.

I want to thank you for sharing this story. I have seen the statue and it is impressive. My grandfather served in both WWI and WWII, the first one as a young enlisted boy and the second one as an officer in the Army. The memorials in Washington DC are amazing and a tribute to all who served. The story is right about never forgetting the ones who didn't come back.

Thank you so much for this. It gives a wonderful background for the pic. Brought tears to my eyes.

Ditter43.. I personally know the family. Jim's dad owned/operated Bradley Funeral home here in Antigo WI..now his sons own/operate it. The family is a very well known/loved local family. I sure wish you would have had the chance to meet John him self.. as he was a very giving man and taught his family to always give to the community, and never ask for anything in return. John never liked being in the lime light.

Great piece - don't want to call it a story. Thanks Ditter!

Very interesting and brought a chill down my spine reading this and want to Thank you & OUR SEVICE MEN/WOMEN FOR ALL THAT THEY DO OR HAVE DONE TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY FREE. God Bless America

Thank you for this Ditter.....

That was wonderful!! Thank you!

Thanks Ditter. You make us laugh, you make us cry, WE LOVE YOU!

As the wife of a former Marine and the grandmother of a current Marine, Thank You for sharing. And thank you to all the service men and women for all that they do each and every day. They are ALL heroes in my eyes. God Bless and Semper Fi

Thanks, Ditter. These are the stories you never hear about. My uncle served in India and he passed away in l999.

Thanks Ditter. I had read the story before but it does bear repeating.Proud history in my family - both my husband and his father were Marines. Semper Fi

Thank you for sharing this one!

Thank you for sharing. I passed this along to my email friends. My husband and father in law are Marines.

Thank You Ditter, I will pass this on to all my friends and family

My husband is retired Navy. After living in the DC area and knowing the story, reading it again was very humbling.

Thank you Ditter, I will pass this one on.

Thank you for sharing your story. My father served in WWII and the older I get the more respect and thanks I have for all our men and women who protected our country then...and now. My husband is involved in the Honor Flight Program, which takes WWII veterans to Wash. DC for a one day, completely free trip, to visit the WWII Menorial. It is an awesome experience for the men and women...if you know of any WWII vets who have not made and trip and want to, you can contact Honor Flight.org.

I always look forward to your posts because they make me chuckle. Todays made me teary eyed. Thank you so very much for all your posts

Thank you, Ditter.

Great story Ditter. My father served during WWII, he never talked about what he saw only that he repaired hundreds and hundreds of short-wave radios. A neighbor who passed away several years ago, serviced in the Pacific Campaign during WWII, only thing he said was that he used his rifle and he would not talk about the Islands. The uncle I am named after serviced on the aircraft carrier, USS Princeton, that ship went down off the Somoa Islands and he with it. We must never forget those who didn't come home and those who served.

Thank you for this story. I've seen the statue several times, my sister lives just outside DC. I'm reading "Flags of Our Fathers" now, I have also read "Flyboys" by James Bradley. Both are books worth reading to really understand what the war in the Pacific was truly like.

Thank- you for sharing

It's nice to know someone knows the story of those six boys, I am releated to Rene Gagnon he is a 4th cousin of mine. My mother's sister was married to a Gagnon.

Very moving

Ditter, thanks so much for this. My father in law, now deceased, was one of the few who made it off that island alive. He never talked about his war experiences. He did tell my husband & siblings, once, as they were growing up about one night on the island. It was so dark you couldn't see you nose between your eyes. He was in a fox hole with other soldiers, some of whom were dead, and the Japaneses were on patrol. As they patrolled, one of the Jap soldiers stepped on my FIL's head. He held his breath and prayed and survived.
It's so easy to see a statue & contemplate the portrayal, but hearing Mr. Bradley's description certainly brings it to life. Last year, my DH & I were in Washington and made a special point to go see this memorial. Beyond moving to us both.

Thank you for this. I am in the middle of doing some research for, printing pictures, ordering a video of the Iwo Jima story and making a quilt for a Marine who served there in 1956. He will so much appreciate this story to go with the other things I am sending him.

Wow!

The story continues that if you count the hands on the Memorial, you will count thirteen hands. The 13th is God's. Edie

But it is not true! Edie

Great piece (not story, as beachlady said), Ditter!

Thanks Ditter for sharing this wonderful gift of history and reminding us once again, our freedom comes at a very high price.

Oh Ditter, I am sitting here crying my eyes out. What a wonderful story. My oldest son has been in the army his entire adult life, did two tours in Iraq and has to deploy to Afghanistan in October. I cherish every moment with him because I don't know if i could handle bad news any better than Mrs. Sously did.
Thank you. Let us always pray for the American soldiers and all of the coalition forces fighting together for our freedom.

Amen and thank you, my son is a Marine! My husband served in army in VN and my bother in Navy also Viet Nam and my Dad in Navy WWII. How very grateful to all those who sacrifice so much.

Thank you Ditter - made me cry. I will pass it on & now I want to read the book!

Thank you so much for sharing! Our freedom is precious and has been sacrificed by precious men! We at home need to fight for our freedom as well by being informed and keeping our rights in tact. It is all slipping away day by day and moment by moment. We should not let these men die in vain!!

As I sit here reading this wonderful piece of history I am looking at a man that went to Korea and Vietnam to this day will not speak of his time there, but makes me proud none the less, of him and many others.

Thank you , so true the losses in war are great.

My moms uncle is/was Micheal Strenk, I am very proud and to see the pictures and hear the stories makes my heart feel warm.

my late fil was also one of the few that made it off iwo..he never talked about any of it, not even to dh when he went into the marines..

the only stories we ever heard from him was when he was coming out of anestisia (spelling) after surgery..

he was wounded on iwo, called his purple heart the "i forgot to duck medal" to all the grandkids.. after our kids were older, they were amazed when they studied wwII in high school, that he made it off in one piece...

they are called the greatest generation.. and truer words cannot be spoken.

I am really touched! My father died in France a week or so past D Day