Sunday, October 16, 2005
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
About four or five years ago I went through my "WWII" phase of reading. I became absolutely enthralled with everything and everyone that played a part of the War. (Actually, I wasn't the only one going through this phase--all of America was. It culminated with Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation and Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.) One of the many books I read during this time was Flags of Our Fathers.There are literally hundreds of books that recount the amazing feats our brave soldiers accomplished during the war. What makes this book different is that it doesn't stop at the end of the war. It is the story of the four men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima and became one of the most recognizable and famous images of all time. The author, James Bradley is the son of one of the flag raisers. Interestingly enough, he didn't even know his father was one of them until after his death (which is a part of the story.)
The book chronicles the lives of the four famous men. One of them died in combat later on Iwo Jima. Another one could never deal with returning home and basically drank himself to death. The third soldier tried to "profit" from his famous status for the rest of his life, but died miserable and broke. The fourth, Bradley's father, tried to ignore his fame and simply lead a quiet life (like so many of the WWII veterans.) He hid his accomplishments, medals, and decorations from his family. Ironically, it was only by trying to forget about the war that he was able to live beyond it.
Like so many other books and movies about the "Greatest Generation," this book leaves you with a complete sense of awe and reverence for the men and women who did the unthinkable. They spend the best part of their lives enduring unimaginable hardships and hellish events and then simply returned home to normalcy. Utterly amazing.
Overall, this is a great story about great men who fought for a great country and a greater cause.
Rating: 3 Stars
