Verified Document

Flags Of Our Fathers Anyone Term Paper

It was a powerful image that may have helped counteract the effects of the horror the men had seen. The flag was more an act of defiance and determination than of triumph. In fact, the men on the top of the volcano who actually placed the first flag were attacked by Japanese shortly after they finished photographing the first flag.

The actual flag in the photo was saved from a ship that was sinking during the Pearl Harbor attack and was much larger than the first one used. The photographer of the famous picture was Joe Rosenthal, who saw men raising the second, larger flag.

The men on Iwo Jima did not know that this was the first battle covered by the media in real time, but the American public knew that the battle had been horrific / The photograph Joe Rosenthal took (whout even looking through the viewfinder) must have seen like just desserts for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The picture surfaced just as Americans had begun to realize just how high a price we were paying to take Iwo Jima. Unfortunately, the press did not serve the six men who raised the second flag well. They embellished the story with reports of great heroism and sniper fire. Unfortunately when the truth came out, many believed it was the six Marines who exaggerated the story and not the media. Worse, the flag became a symbol to Americans that the battle was over, and media interest drifted away from Iwo Jima.

Mike Strank was killed by a stray American shell on February 27. That night, Harlon Block was killed. In all, four were killed and another wounded. Of the survivors, their feelings the day the flag was raised must have been much different than how they felt about if afterwards, when they must have heard all the...

The real emotional triumph that day was when the first, smaller flag was raised. Ira Hayes rarely showed emotion. Rene Gagnon never even fired his rifle until March 12, and then reluctantly.
The impact of the picture was so powerful that Roosevelt wanted to formally declare them as national heroes. It seems likely that Rene Gagnon would have been quite bothered by that, as he watched his companion shot down by a Japanese soldier and only reluctantly shot that man. He did not like violence. Neither did Ira Hayes, who was visibly bothered the next day after he shot a Japanese soldier about to attack a foxhole he and friends were in. All of the men would be heroes in Americans' eyes, of course, just as all the men who fought on Iwo Jima were, but it seems likely that Hayes and Gagnon saw the flag-raising as one event in more than a month of Hell. Meanwhile, officials wanted to know who the men were in the photograph. Gagnon did the best he could but failed to identify Ira Hayes. When the survivors returned to America they were greeted as heroes. Bradley may have accepted that standard, having survived against all odds as a medic, rushing in to the firefights, but neither Hayes nor Gagnon were completely comfortable with the need to kill. It seems likely that when they looked at that famous photograph they saw the price that was paid by all their comrades, and the price they had to pay themselves, crossing the line to killer, to help win freedom for their country.

Bradley, James, with Powers, Ron. Flags of our Fathers. By James Bradley with Ron Powers. Rockland, MA: Wheeler Publishing, Inc., 2001.

Sources used in this document:
Mike Strank was killed by a stray American shell on February 27. That night, Harlon Block was killed. In all, four were killed and another wounded. Of the survivors, their feelings the day the flag was raised must have been much different than how they felt about if afterwards, when they must have heard all the misinformation about it: that they raised the flag while under lethal attack, or that the photograph was staged. The real emotional triumph that day was when the first, smaller flag was raised. Ira Hayes rarely showed emotion. Rene Gagnon never even fired his rifle until March 12, and then reluctantly.

The impact of the picture was so powerful that Roosevelt wanted to formally declare them as national heroes. It seems likely that Rene Gagnon would have been quite bothered by that, as he watched his companion shot down by a Japanese soldier and only reluctantly shot that man. He did not like violence. Neither did Ira Hayes, who was visibly bothered the next day after he shot a Japanese soldier about to attack a foxhole he and friends were in. All of the men would be heroes in Americans' eyes, of course, just as all the men who fought on Iwo Jima were, but it seems likely that Hayes and Gagnon saw the flag-raising as one event in more than a month of Hell. Meanwhile, officials wanted to know who the men were in the photograph. Gagnon did the best he could but failed to identify Ira Hayes. When the survivors returned to America they were greeted as heroes. Bradley may have accepted that standard, having survived against all odds as a medic, rushing in to the firefights, but neither Hayes nor Gagnon were completely comfortable with the need to kill. It seems likely that when they looked at that famous photograph they saw the price that was paid by all their comrades, and the price they had to pay themselves, crossing the line to killer, to help win freedom for their country.

Bradley, James, with Powers, Ron. Flags of our Fathers. By James Bradley with Ron Powers. Rockland, MA: Wheeler Publishing, Inc., 2001.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

American Flag After the Terrorist
Words: 642 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

When it is flown at half-staff because of a death or series of deaths, it should be first hoisted to the top of the pole for an instant and then lowered to halfway. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. "Half-staff" means lowering the flag to one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff. Crepe streamers may be

Malware Attacks the Democratic Process Once Upon
Words: 2658 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Malware Attacks the Democratic Process Once upon a time, a candidate had to excel at kissing babies and stump speeches. These were the major ways in which the candidate got his -- or much less frequently her -- image out to voters. All that the candidate's staff had to do as to ensure that reporters and photographers showed up at the right time to capture the choreographed images. The world of

Global Business Analysis - India
Words: 4108 Length: 16 Document Type: Term Paper

This behavior is not considered dishonest; in fact, and Indian person would be considered rude if he or she did not try to attempt to give a person what has been requested. Another very important aspect of business culture in India is the meeting etiquette. Meeting Etiquette is influenced by all sorts of cultural elements described above, including social class. For example, in India, one must greet the eldest or

Women and the Homefront in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee...
Words: 11672 Length: 31 Document Type: Term Paper

Women and the Home Front in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee during the Civil War This paper examines the living conditions and attitudes that shaped the lives of the women in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee during and after the American Civil War. The thesis statement should deal with the breakdown of long standing ties between the people of the mountains as they chose to fight for the

Internal Fraud Detection Fraud Can Be Detected
Words: 561 Length: 2 Document Type: Case Study

Internal Fraud Detection Fraud can be detected by deliberate effort through internal control efforts or by coincidence or chance. When companies do not practice strong internal control, it leaves the door open for employees to misappropriate assets without being detected, except by chance. By the time fraud is detected by chance, it could have cost a company millions of dollars in misappropriated assets. The first coincidence discovered by the magazine company was

Big Five Personality Trait Longevity
Words: 1718 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

I would like to explore Jungian theories about personality (as might be found in Meyer-Briggs instrumentation) and consciousness with respect to recall while writing memoir and the phenomenon Jung (2006) referred to as collective consciousness. This little slice of memoir was interesting because in the writing, I experienced recollection. I had not thought about these events in my childhood for sometime. In fact, the last time I remember trying to

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now