World War II Database

Flags of Our Fathers was inspired by what the author James Bradley described as "The Photograph", complete with the initial capitalization that made it a proper noun. Perhaps that was justified, for that this photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima was one of the most, if not the most, widely published photographs of all time. Bradley was the son of John Bradley, one of the flag raisers. When his father died in 1994, he and his family unexpectedly found a Navy Cross medal among the items his father left behind, which intrigued the author. While the nation eagerly called the six figures in the photograph heroes, why did his father turn down so many interviews and speaking engagements, striving to remain a private figure?

The book was a collective biography of a number of US Marines and US Navy Corpsmen, focusing mostly on the six flag raisers. Bradley did a wonderful job bringing their lives to the readers. To compile their life stories, he visited many survivors and friends and family of these veterans, and the end result was a book that gave the readers an inside look at their lives before, during, and after the battle. It was the stories during the battle that probably would carve the deepest memories among the readers, for that these stories were of one of the most vicious battles ever fought in the history of war. Some of the stories were described almost artistically, such as when flag raiser Franklin Sousley was hit by sniper fire.

Sousley's end was one of the many passages where the reader might choose to revisit immediately after the first pass, re-reading once more to soak in the simple but yet elegant way Bradley narrated the event. The author did not shy away from telling the stories of the many violent deaths that occurred on Iwo Jima during that battle, however. Some of the more descriptive accounts of Marines' deaths provided a picture of the price the Marines paid for every yard of advance they made.

A definite page turner, that very characteristic was also the book's biggest weakness. Part of the reason why the book was a page turner was because of the hyperboles the author regularly used. Though they made certain passages more dramatic, sometimes these exaggerations appear overly fantastic.

A caution must also be raised to readers who had not yet picked up Flags of Our Fathers. The book was a biography, and biographies do not always make good history due to their lack of objectivity. This book was certainly American-centric by design, thus needing little Japanese perspective.

One trivial item worth mentioning was the account of how photographer Rosenthal came about taking the famous photograph. Many people probably did not know that Rosenthal almost missed the opportunity to take the picture that later won him a Pulitzer Prize. It was one of the interesting trivia that the reader would pick up as she went through the book. Perhaps unimportant, but these little tidbits the author included made the book enjoyable.

Iwo Jima was a battle that made heroes out of both the Americans and the Japanese who fought there. Flags of Our Fathers gave the readers a chance to immerse in the drama of the American campaign on that island. It was a wonderful book in its presentation and readability, and it could provide the first-hand description of the gruesome battle that the reader might not see when reading a typical historical text.

Flags of Our Fathers revisited, 15 Jan 2016

Some days ago I had finished the audio book edition of this book, read by Stephen Hoye. Hoye did a great job with his reading; though his pace felt a bit slow, the rises and falls in his voice coupled with strategically placed pauses all contributed to a most enjoyable performance.

Having revisited this book more than nine years after the first reading, thus a bit richer in knowledge, I had a stronger feeling that Bradley (and co-author Ron Powers) took some liberaties with drama and sensationalism in these pages. However, I also appreciated the beautiful narrations a bit more. I would certainly continue to recommend this book.

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