Good Monday morning May 31
I hope that you all are having a great Memorial Day and remember that is to honor our fallen brothers.
Brothers in Arms Thanks to Super in the true spirit of Memorial Day
Know that I pray for those on the "Tip of the Spear" and all my brothers in arms!
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From The Bear last year
Memorial Day 2019 – In Ocean's Wastes, No Poppies Blow, No Crosses Stand in Ordered Row….
Mighty Thunder is proud to present this beautiful little poem by Mr. Alan Syler ... to remember all those fallen warriors "lost at sea" and "body not recovered." No marker. To lie alone far from the hallowed ground of Arlington in the company of brothers-in-arms passed... on. Alone in the deep. Forever. Not to be forgotten. Ever….
In ocean wastes no poppies blow,
No crosses stand in ordered row,
Their young hearts sleep… beneath the wave…
The spirited, the good, the brave,
But stars a constant vigil keep,
For them who lie beneath the deep.
'Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer
On certain spot and think. "He's there."
But you can to the ocean go…
See whitecaps marching row on row;
Know one for him will always ride…
In and out… with every tide.
And when your span of life is passed,
He'll meet you at the "Captain's Mast."
And they who mourn on distant shore
For sailors who'll come home no more,
Can dry their tears and pray for these
Who rest beneath the heaving seas…
For stars that shine and winds that blow
And whitecaps marching row on row.
And they can never lonely be
For when they lived… they chose the sea…
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In Flanders Fields
John McCrae - 1872-1918
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
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In case you thought Memorial Day weekend was three days of parties
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Thanks to Micro
Reveille
A tribute to Memorial Day.
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Today in Naval History
May 31
1900 Sailors and Marines from USS Newark (C 1) and USS Oregon (BB 3) arrive at Peking (now known as Beijing), China, to protect U.S. and foreign diplomatic legations during the Boxer Rebellion.
1918 USS President Lincoln is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine, (U 90). Twenty-six lives are lost.
1919 Curtiss flying boat NC 4 lands at Plymouth, England, concluding the first transatlantic flight.
1944 USS England (DE 635), assisted by six destroyers and destroyer escorts, sinks sixth Japanese submarine in less than two weeks.
1944 USS Barb (SS 220) and USS Herring (SS 233) attack Japanese shipping in the Sea of Okhotsk about 150 miles west of Matsuwa Island, Kuril Islands, sinking several ships.
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Today in History: May 31
1433 Sigismund is crowned emperor of Rome.
1678 The Godiva procession, commemorating Lady Godiva's legendary ride while naked, becomes part of the Coventry Fair.
1862 At the Battle of Fair Oaks, Union General George B. McClellan defeats Confederates outside of Richmond.
1879 New York's Madison Square Garden opens its doors for the first time.
1889 Johnstown, Pennsylvania is destroyed by a massive flood.
1900 U.S. troops arrive in Peking to help put down the Boxer Rebellion.
1902 The Boer War ends with the Treaty of Vereeniging.
1909 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) holds its first conference.
1913 The 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for direct election of senators, is ratified.
1915 A German zeppelin makes an air raid on London.
1916 British and German fleets fight in the Battle of Jutland.
1928 The first flight over the Pacific takes off from Oakland.
1941 An armistice is arranged between the British and the Iraqis.
1955 The Supreme Court orders that states must end racial segregation "with all deliberate speed."
1962 Adolf Eichmann, the former SS commander, is hanged near Tel Aviv, Israel.
1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono record "Give Peace a Chance."
1974 Israel and Syria sign an agreement on the Golan Heights.
1979 Zimbabwe proclaims its independence.
1988 President Ronald Reagan arrives in Moscow, the first American president to do so in 14 years.
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Memorial Weekend
Thanks to Shadow
… Kind of a reminder of what "Memorial Day" is all about… and it also notes that the dying didn't end with the cessation of combat. We make light of it… but honestly, our chosen path was a dangerous one… and the end could come at the most unexpected times and could reach out to take even some of our very best. John was one of those guys. He was a great stick! Smooth as silk! Loved flying wing on him, felt like a Blue Angel in my Gray F-4. He had two tours in RVN… first with John Verdi's squadron out of DaNang and came back, went through the Air Force Fighter Weapons School... and as a payback for doing "good" he gets orders and was force transitioned to helicopters (no good deed goes unpunished). ! He ended up in Cobra's and had a second tour in RVN. Upon return, he handed in his letter and got out; because the helo guys wanted to keep him and John wanted back in the F-4. So he resigned and promptly started flying with an F-4 Reserve squadron and wrangled his way back on active duty. He was a hell of a guy… confirmed bachelor… not because he didn't like women (and they really liked him)… sent half his paycheck home to his parents every month. That kind of guy. He had the cleanest, neatest, room in the whole BOQ. Could eat off his floor and all his uniforms and civilian cloths were hung precisely… even his sock drawer was laid out by color! He was as fastidious of any man I ever met. But there was so much more to the man than that. I and many other Marines miss him to this day!
In the end, a bad plane got him… Sad story.
Shadow
Begin forwarded message:
From: roy stafford <rwstafford1@comcast.net>
Subject: Memorial Weekend
Years ago, I wrote an article for "Flying Magazine"… it was about something a dear friend told me about the plane we flew, the F-4 Phantom II. It was a little nugget, that didn't appear in any of our manuals or was ever discussed. It involved a seemingly innocuous little inspection panel. It wasn't even on our preflight inspection list. But what John filled me in on, was under that panel that was never talked about was the joint of what we called the BLC system. It was a system that took 17th stage bleed air off the engine and piped that pressurized air over the wings to provided additional lift for slow flight… as you can imagine, bleed air off the exhaust section of the turbine was incredibly hot! And any leak of it could turn into a blow torch! Problem was, It ran along the wing which was what we called a "Wet Wing" that held thousands of pounds of jet fuel. If the leak was blowing onto the wing structure, it could cause a catastrophic explosion. The whole airplane could blow up. John told me… if you ever see that little panel warped or discolored (pink or magenta)…. Don't fly the airplane without a complete inspection by maintenance. Usually that's where a break would occur. I always checked it from then on. Well, one day on a cross country flight, I landed at Alamogordo Air Force Base to refuel. We went in and filed a new flight plane and during my preflight inspection… there it was… that little panel was distorted and magenta colored instead of the normally gray surface. Turned out, just as John suggested, the whole BLC ducting had fractured just underneath the panel. Had we taken off, we most likely would have blown up. We got to spend the night in good old Alamogordo, the home of The Atom Bomb… while the Air Force fixed my airplane. I wrote a rather detailed description of the event and submitted it to Flying to be published in their "I learned About Flying From That" section. It was a monthly piece that contained story's of people's experiences in aviation… and passing on information and knowledge. Learning from other people experiences or mistakes
The attachment below, is what came after the decision of Flying to run the piece… and thoughts of a friend lost. I usually send it out to my aviation Bubba's every Memorial Day weekend.
See Attachment:
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— ... For The List for Monday, 31 May 2021... Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 31 May 1966...
"Carolina Moon—Into the Valley of Death".....
https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/rolling-thunder-remembered-31-may-1966-carolina-moon/
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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This Day in U S Military History…….May 31
1944 – US forces reduce their perimeter near Arare. All the American beachheads on the north coast experience significant Japanese attacks. Meanwhile, to the east, Australian forces capture Bunabum.
1945 – On Okinawa, the US 6th Marine Division (part of US 3rd Amphibious Corps) encounters Japanese rearguards near Hill 46. Japanese forces pull out of Shuri.
1945 – On Negros, organized Japanese resistance ends. On Luzon, a regiment of the US 37th Division begins moving northward from Santa Fe through the Cagayan valley.
1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
2001 – Veteran FBI agent Robert Hanssen pleaded innocent to charges of spying for Moscow. He later changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
2012 – SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule successfully returns to Earth following its demo mission to the International Space Station, landing intact in the Pacific Ocean. It is later recovered and shipped back to the United States.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
SHAFTER, WILLIAM R.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Company I, 7th Michigan Infantry. Place and date: At Fair Oaks, Va., 31 May 1862. Entered service at: Galesburg, Mich. Birth: Kalamazoo, Mich. Date of issue: 12 June 1895. Citation: Lt. Shafter was engaged in bridge construction and not being needed there returned with his men to engage the enemy participating in a charge across an open field that resulted in casualties to 18 of the 22 men. At the close of the battle his horse was shot from under him and he was severely flesh wounded. He remained on the field that day and stayed to fight the next day only by concealing his wounds. In order not to be sent home with the wounded he kept his wounds concealed for another 3 days until other wounded had left the area.
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CRAFT, CLARENCE B.
Rank and organization: Private, First Class, U.S. Army, Company G, 382d Infantry, 96th Infantry Division. Place and date: Hen Hill, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 31 May 1945. Entered service at: Santa Ana, Calif. Birth: San Bernardino, Calif. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945. Citation: He was a rifleman when his platoon spearheaded an attack on Hen Hill, the tactical position on which the entire Naha-Shuri-Yonaburu line of Japanese defense on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, was hinged. For 12 days our forces had been stalled, and repeated, heavy assaults by 1 battalion and then another had been thrown back by the enemy with serious casualties. With 5 comrades, Pfc. Craft was dispatched in advance of Company G to feel out the enemy resistance. The group had proceeded only a short distance up the slope when rifle and machinegun fire, coupled with a terrific barrage of grenades, wounded 3 and pinned down the others. Against odds that appeared suicidal, Pfc. Craft launched a remarkable 1-man attack. He stood up in full view of the enemy and began shooting with deadly marksmanship wherever he saw a hostile movement. He steadily advanced up the hill, killing Japanese soldiers with rapid fire, driving others to cover in their strongly disposed trenches, unhesitatingly facing alone the strength that had previously beaten back attacks in battalion strength. He reached the crest of the hill, where he stood silhouetted against the sky while quickly throwing grenades at extremely short range into the enemy positions. His extraordinary assault lifted the pressure from his company for the moment, allowing members of his platoon to comply with his motions to advance and pass him more grenades. With a chain of his comrades supplying him while he stood atop the hill, he furiously hurled a total of 2 cases of grenades into a main trench and other positions on the reverse slope of Hen Hill, meanwhile directing the aim of his fellow soldiers who threw grenades from the slope below him. He left his position, where grenades from both sides were passing over his head and bursting on either slope, to attack the main enemy trench as confusion and panic seized the defenders. Straddling the excavation, he pumped rifle fire into the Japanese at pointblank range, killing many and causing the others to flee down the trench. Pursuing them, he came upon a heavy machinegun which was still creating havoc in the American ranks. With rifle fire and a grenade he wiped out this position. By this time the Japanese were in complete rout and American forces were swarming over the hill. Pfc. Craft continued down the central trench to the mouth of a cave where many of the enemy had taken cover. A satchel charge was brought to him, and he tossed it into the cave. It failed to explode. With great daring, the intrepid fighter retrieved the charge from the cave, relighted the fuse and threw it back, sealing up the Japs in a tomb. In the local action, against tremendously superior forces heavily armed with rifles, machineguns, mortars, and grenades, Pfc. Craft killed at least 25 of the enemy; but his contribution to the campaign on Okinawa was of much more far-reaching consequence for Hen Hill was the key to the entire defense line, which rapidly crumbled after his utterly fearless and heroic attack.
*SMITH, FURMAN L.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, 135th Infantry, 34th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Lanuvio, Italy, 31 May 1944. Entered service at: Central, S.C. Birth: Six Miles, S.C. G.O. No.: 6, 24 January 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. In its attack on a strong point, an infantry company was held up by intense enemy fire. The group to which Pvt. Smith belonged was far in the lead when attacked by a force of 80 Germans. The squad leader and 1 other man were seriously wounded and other members of the group withdrew to the company position, but Pvt. Smith refused to leave his wounded comrades. He placed them in the shelter of shell craters and then alone faced a strong enemy counterattack, temporarily checking it by his accurate rifle fire at close range, killing and wounding many of the foe. Against overwhelming odds, he stood his ground until shot down and killed, rifle in hand.
HERNANDEZ, RODOLFO P.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company G, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. Place and date: Near Wontong-ni, Korea, 31 May 1951. Entered service at: Fowler, Calif. Born: 14 April 1931, Colton, Calif. G.O. No.: 40, 21 April 1962. Citation: Cpl. Hernandez, a member of Company G, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. His platoon, in defensive positions on Hill 420, came under ruthless attack by a numerically superior and fanatical hostile force, accompanied by heavy artillery, mortar, and machine gun fire which inflicted numerous casualties on the platoon. His comrades were forced to withdraw due to lack of ammunition but Cpl. Hernandez, although wounded in an exchange of grenades, continued to deliver deadly fire into the ranks of the onrushing assailants until a ruptured cartridge rendered his rifle inoperative. Immediately leaving his position, Cpl. Hernandez rushed the enemy armed only with rifle and bayonet. Fearlessly engaging the foe, he killed 6 of the enemy before falling unconscious from grenade, bayonet, and bullet wounds but his heroic action momentarily halted the enemy advance and enabled his unit to counterattack and retake the lost ground. The indomitable fighting spirit, outstanding courage, and tenacious devotion to duty clearly demonstrated by Cpl. Hernandez reflect the highest credit upon himself, the infantry, and the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for May 31, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
31 May
1908: The Glenn H. Curtiss Manufacturing Company at Hammondsport announced that it would accept orders for and deliver flying machines in 60 days at $5,000 a plane. (12)
1922: Maj Oscar Westover and Lt C. F. Bond won the National Balloon Race by traveling 866.5 miles from the starting point at Milwaukee.
1930: Capt Arthur H. Page (USMC) won the last Curtiss Marine Trophy Race, an annual event for service seaplanes, in an F6C-3 Curtiss fighter with a speed of 164.08 MPH. (24)
1944: The experimental VB-7 vertical bomb, with television sighting, launched for the first time. (24)
1945: The last of 18,188 B-24 Liberators and Liberator variants delivered to the US AAF. This "workhorse" was produced in larger numbers than any other American aircraft and employed on more operational fronts than any other Allied or enemy bomber in World War II. (4)
1951: KOREAN WAR/Operation STRANGLE. FEAF launched an attempt to paralyze enemy transportation between the 39th parallel and the front lines. By late July, FEAF knew the interdiction of North Korean supply and communication lines, while substantial, had failed to isolate North Korean forces. In late December, however, General Weyland announced that the STRANGLE operations had shattered the North Korean rail-transportation net. The bombing effort destroyed or damaged 40,000 trucks and prevented a Red Chinese buildup for future offensive operations. (17)
1956: The 4080 SRW at Turner AFB, Ga., received the first RB-57, a D-model (number 53-3973) reconnaissance version of the British-designed B-57 Canberra light bomber. (1)
1967: MACKAY TROPHY. Maj John H. Casteel and his crew from the 902 AREFS at ClintonSherman AFB, Okla., began a routine KC-135 mission to refuel two F-104s over the Gulf of Tonkin. Before the flight ended, however, the tanker saved six Navy carrier aircraft. During the operation, Casteel refueled an A-3 tanker while it refueled a F-8, an event that later earned the crew the ninth Mackay Trophy. (1) The Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) achieved its initial operating capability to give SAC the ability to launch ICBMs from airborne command posts. (6) The USAF completed its phase out of Atlas E, Atlas F, and Titan I missiles. (16)
1978: Operation ZAIRE II. On 31 May through 16 June, another 61 C-141 and 11 C-5 missions moved a Pan-African peacekeeping force to Zaire and took the French and Belgian forces, with 1,619 tons of cargo and 1,225 passengers back to Europe. (2) (16) (18)
1991: Complying with the 1987 INF Treaty, the USAF inactivated the 501 TMW at RAF Greenham Common, UK. The wing was the first GLCM wing to activate in Europe, the first to become operational, and the last to inactivate. (26)
1996: The USAF awarded C-17 multi-year contracts to McDonnell Douglas and Pratt and Whitney for 80 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and engines over seven years. The contracts, valued at $16.2 billion, were the longest and the largest multi-year contracts ever entered into by the government to date. That acquisition gave the USAF 120 C-17s and enabled the retirement of C-141s from the USAF inventory. (21)
2001: An AFFTC aircrew from Edwards AFB launched the first live JASSM from a B-52H over the White Sands Missile Range. The weapon destroyed a concrete bunker from a range of 195 miles. (3)
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Thanks to Al
Monday Morning Honor--Memorial Day
On Memorial Day we honor the memory of those who have died while in the military service of the United States of America. It is also fitting that we remember all those who have died for the cause of freedom, whatever country they are from; for we are indeed all one family and we share each other's common destiny on this planet that God created for us all. Likewise, we think of those who died believing they were fighting for freedom, though the political leaders in their command may have had other intentions in mind. Our thoughts also turn to those who died defending the cause of truth and virtue, whether or not they donned the uniform of their respective countries; and we think not only of those who thus sacrificed in our generation, but in generations past, all the way back to our first parents in the garden of Eden.
There have been many heroes down through the ages, both celebrated as well as unknown, who have given their all for the sake of a better world. Their combined efforts have given us what we have today, laying the foundation for us so that we now are on the brink of achieving the most ideal society attainable by mankind. May we go forward, building on the legacy they left behind, drawing from the courage they exhibited, to bring to fruition a society of freedom and peace for which they helped labor.
The enemies of freedom and civility have provided us with obstacles that have made us strong. Today we honor the many lives that have been lost in the battles that have been fought that peace and freedom might prevail. Today, we also recognize that there may yet be many lives lost, for not only are we closer to achieving the ideal society, but the enemies of freedom have also never been closer to achieving their goal of a counterfeit society of peace -- one of compulsion at the point of a sword. As current conflicts comes to a head, there will yet be many who will lay down their lives in defense of truth and virtue.
May we be faithful to the legacy we have been given, so that truth and freedom may prevail.
He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.
And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?
A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.
It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.
By A. Lawrence Vaincourt
Submitted by Stan Beard:
Last year on Memorial Day, I was incredibly moved by a rendition of Taps shown on TV as it was played at Arlington National Cemetery. Quick to rewind the TV, and simply record it on my phone while playing it back, that is the first minute you hear of this audio.
Imperfect as it is in the recording, I believe its pace, its intonation, its heart is perfect. I was moved to compose an accompanying orchestration to express my gratitude to those whose sacrifice we remember on this Memorial Day weekend. I envision multiple buglers across a stage, auditorium, or amphitheater; each calling and repeating their homage in Gabrielli antiphonal fashion.
A few of you may have heard it last year. I discovered today that it still rang true for me.
It's been a long haul through the past year. Yet, if you're listening, you survived.
So once again, this is my tribute to those who gave their all when country would call. And to those whose innocent lives were cut short this past year by an unseen virus.
Turn it up, excuse the noisy recording and the synthesized accompaniment; but know that it is to honor all who've gone before us.
(Listen to attachment)
The Things They Carried (from the book of the same name by Tim O'Brien):
They carried P-38 can openers and heat tabs, watches and dog tags, insect repellent, gum,
cigarettes, Zippo lighters, salt tablets, compress bandages, ponchos, Kool-Aid, two or three canteens of water, iodine tablets, sterno, LRRP-rations, and C-rations stuffed in socks.
They carried standard fatigues, jungle fatigues, jungle boots, bush hats, flak jackets and steel pots.
They carried the M-16, trip flares and Claymore mines, M-60 machine guns, the M-79 grenade launcher, M-14's, CAR-15's, Stoners, Swedish K's, 66mm LAWS, shotguns, .45 caliber pistols, silencers, the sound of bullets, rockets, and choppers, and sometimes the sound of silence.
They carried C-4 plastic explosives, an assortment of hand grenades, PRC-25 radios with 25 foot wip antennas
and their heavy batteries, knives and machetes.
Some carried napalm, CBU's and large bombs; some risked their lives to rescue others.
Some escaped the fear, but dealt with the death and damage.
Some made very hard decisions, and some just tried to survive.
They carried malaria, dysentery, ringworms and leeches.
They carried the land itself as it hardened on their boots.
They carried stationery, pencils, and pictures of their loved ones—real and imagined.
They carried love for people in the real world and love for one another.
And sometimes they disguised that love: "Don't mean nothin'!"
They carried memories for the most part, they carried themselves with poise and a kind of dignity.
Now and then, there were times when panic set in, and people squealed or wanted to, but couldn't; when they twitched and made moaning sounds and covered their heads and said "Dear God" and hugged the earth and fired their weapons blindly and cringed and begged for the noise to stop and went wild and made promises to themselves and God and their parents, hoping not to die.
They carried the traditions of the United States military, and memories and images of those who served before them.
They carried grief, terror, longing and their reputations.
They carried the soldier's greatest fear: the embarrassment of dishonor.
They crawled into tunnels, walked point, and advanced under fire, so as not to die of embarrassment.
They were afraid of dying, but too afraid to show it.
They carried the emotional baggage of men and women who might die at any moment.
They carried the weight of the world. and the weight of every free citizen of America.
And they carried each other.
A Tale of Six Boys
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."
(James Bradley 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 has since 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, D.C., 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 generals 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.
(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. Boys 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 walked 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 died dead drunk, face down 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. 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. The 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, 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 caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in 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.
We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice. Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War II and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our freedom. Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also pray for those still in murderous unrest around the world.
Thank God for being alive and being free at someone else's sacrifice, because everyday you wake up free, IS a great day.
A poem from the film, We Were Soldiers...
To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord
No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord
Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
Through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord
Honoring The Fallen by David G. Bancroft
I cannot help but think of those,
Whose anxious wait ended with a knock,
The wrenching ache felt deep down to the toes,
Knowing there was no more ticking for this clock,
Their brave loved ones served for our country's sake,
Be it yesterday, today, and time yet known,
Giving it birth and to protect … not take,
Their ultimate sacrifice shown,
The blinding tears of TAPS being played,
The overwhelming sadness of the colors given,
The proud thought of the difference made,
The final salute to the fallen . . . now in heaven,
And while there is a special day,
That we honor the memory of the gift they gave,
It should go well beyond a national thought in May,
Like every time when seeing the flag wave!
Enjoy the day off if you have it BUT take time to remember those for whom the day is dedicated.
Al
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks that nothing is worth war, is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. "—John Stuart Mill (1868)
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