Qualche anno fa ho partecipato ad un corso di fotografia digitale e il docente mi ha fatto riflettere molto sul tipo di sguardo che un fotografo dovrebbe adottare per ogni genere di foto (panorama, ritratto, ecc.), portando dei validi esempi che non conoscevo.

Ora ogni volta che fotografo qualcosa, non posso fare a meno di pensare a chi ha fatto veramente della fotografia un’arte; nulla di presuntuoso da parte mia, ma è certo che se si conoscono i “punti di vista” di chi sa fotografare, magari alla lunga qualcosa si può migliorare ed io di strada ne ho molta da fare.

Ecco perchè ho voluto tenermi archiviata una piccola ricerca sui grandi artisti del passato, che hanno saputo utilizzare la fotografia per esprimere un loro pensiero, utilizzando sicuramente anche strumenti che oggi si potrebbero definire pionieristici.

Le immagini e le biografie sono tratte dai siti proprietari
a solo scopo illustrativo e senza lucro alcuno.

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Richard Avedon (sito ufficiale)

Una delle sue opere più famose è la “The American West “, una raccolta di foto di persone comuni di strada, rigorosamente in bianco e nero, pubblicata in due colori nero / grigio.

Alcun esempi:

Alcuni comuni “Minatori”:

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Andreas Deffner (sito ufficiale)

La sua opera più famosa è stata “White, too white”, una rassegna fotografica di persone indiane albine:

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Irving Penn

E’ famoso per le immagini di moda e di ritratto.

Pablo Picasso 1957

Truman Capote 1965

John Osborne 1958

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Annie Leibovitz

Cristo impacchettato.

John Lennon

Woopy Goldberg

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Philippe Halsman

Tra le sue maggiori opere ci solo le famose foto con Salvador Dalì come soggetto.

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Anne Geddes (sito ufficiale)

La sua fama è stata l’idea di fotografare i bambini neonati in posizioni particolari, un’idea che l’ha resa famosa nel mondo intero, anche non fotografico.

Questa è una piccola galleria di miniature, sotto ci sono alcune sue opere più famose.

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Robert Capa

Bravissimo fotografo, definito anche “fotografo soldato”, che seppe immortalare alcuni momenti storici dei vari conflitti mondiali (una piccola raccolta fotografica).

La sua foto più famosa, Cordoba 1936.

"Leggermente fuori fuoco", sbarco in Normandia.

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Gjon Mili

Ha scoperto l’effetto luce nelle fotografie, famose le sue foto con la partecipazione di Picasso mentre dipinge le sue opere con una torcia elettrica.

La sua tecnica è di dipingere con la luce la pellicola, lasciando il soggetto al buio, aprendo l’obbiettivo e facendo disegnare qualcosa con una fonte luminosa, alla fine un colpo di flash per fissare il tutto.

Picasso che dipinge il minotauro con la luce.

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Robert Doisneau (sito ufficiale)

Il suo nome viene ricordato soprattutto per le foto riguardanti la vita di strada della capitale francese, caratterizzate da una sincera e umoristica rappresentazione della società e dell’ambiente parigino.

Doisneau amava immortalare la cultura dei bambini della strada e dei loro giochi, arrivando a conferire alle loro attività, seppur infantili, rispetto e serietà.

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Steve Mc Curry

Definito il fotografo dell’anima, famosissima la sua foto di copertina del National Geographic di una ragazzina afgana di circa 14 anni conosciuta casualmente in un campo profughi afgano nel 1985, ritornata in auge nel 2001, quando scoprì la ragazza cresciuta (“Passaggio in Italia“).

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August Sander

Ha saputo immortalare i mestieri della sua epoca.

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Henri Cartier Bresson

Si può definire uno dei pionieri della fotografia, dedicava ore per ottenere uno scatto, con una buona macchina Leica-I-1, ma non certo speciale (una piccola rassegna).

Henri Matisse al lavoro

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James Balog 

Un fotografo che ha sempre amato giocare con la natura

Utilizzando più foto per questo grandissimo albero.

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Maurizio Galimberti (sito ufficiale)

Un fotografo contemporaneo che ha saputo inventarsi uno stile suo, utilizzando esclusivamente la Polaroid e formando un’immagine mosaico (una rassegna fotografica).

Mario Monicelli

Isabella Ferrari

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Due fotografi che hanno rappresentato una svolta storica nel conflitto mondiale, entrambi sono stati capaci di riprodurre dei momenti importanti ed unici, anche se in realtà non erano presenti fisicamente all’accaduto:

Joe Rosenthal

Nella battaglia di Iwo Jima la vera bandiera non è mai stata fotografata e questa è una sostituzione della prima

Yevgeny Khaldei

Il bombardamento rappresentato e la caduta di Berlino erano del giorno prima, ma mancava la bandiera e lui stesso l’ha ricostruita sul tetto, usando della stoffa rossa e della carta bianca per la falce e martello.

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John Paul Caponigro (sito ufficiale)

Artista di fama internazionale, John Paul Caponigro è l’autore di “Adobe Photoshop Master Class” (Adobe Press); un secondo volume, “The Power of Color” (Focal), è in via di pubblicazione. Caponigro tiene workshop in tutto il mondo, inclusi seminari sul colore, è considerato il maestro del Photoshop.

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Uliano Lucas (sito ufficiale)

Fotografo milanese, si è affermato come fotografo intorno agli anni ’70, quando documentò le lotte operaie e studentesche a Torino e Milano. Figlio di operai, ha fatto dell’impegno sociale un tema di fondo della sua opera, dal forte contenuto simbolico.

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Una rassegna di artisti, per mia futura memoria.

Bye  

I’ve still been a little shell-shocked lately after the grueling test season ended.  I’ll be trying for more original material for later this week, possibly before Thanksgiving. 

This week I’ve been watching the incredible series WWII in HD on the History Channel.  This series is a compilation of newly-discovered color footage of the Second World War, enhanced and spliced with High-Definition graphics to create a unique visual experience.  First-hand accounts are narrated throughout the series in each theater of the war.  Though it may be too strong for your students, definitely take a look for yourself, especially on an HD TV. 

One of the people highlighted on this show is Time/Life war correspondent Robert Sherrod.  He was with the Marines that met stiff Japanese resistence in Tarawa, Saipan and Iwo Jima.  The Marines that filmed the Tarawa operation spliced together a documentary film, With the Marines at Tarawa.  Under the Hays code for film decency, the film was considered too graphic for major Hollywood distribution.  Sherrod persuaded President Franklin Roosevelt that the American public needed to see this film, so that they understood the full price of war.  Roosevelt consented, and the film gained a nationwide release. 

It won the 1945 Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject, and it galvanized the war effort, which had flagged after the casualty counts at Tarawa were released.  Attached above is the actual documentary, which gives you a unique look at World War II that many people today think wasn’t available at the time. 

Americans in 1944 saw graphic images of war, just as Americans in 1968 saw images of Vietnam.  Yet the outcome was altogether different.  I leave it to you to debate why.

WARNING: This film is EXTREMELY GRAPHIC in nature.  DO NOT SHOW this film in your classroom unless you have WRITTEN CLEARANCE from an administrator. 

A HISTORY LESSON OF FREEDOM AND SACRIFICE

A story about the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington DC was emailed to me. On Veteran’s Day, let’s remember and thank those who commit their lives selflessly for our freedom. (Copies of the photos below are from this website.)

The famous photograph by Joe Rothenstal.

The USMC memorial. The inscription reads, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”

_________________________________________________________________________

Here is the story as told by a man who met and heard James Bradley, the son of John Bradley, one of the figures cast in the statute:

6 Boys and 13 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.’

(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
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.’

Arizona.. Ira Hayes was one who 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 carried the pain
home with him and eventually 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. 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 Soup.

‘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 caregiver. In Iwo Jima he

probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died

in 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.

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 current War on Terrorism 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.

STOP and thank God for being alive and being
free at someone else’s sacrifice.

God Bless You and God Bless America.
….

One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th
grade students in DC that is not mentioned here is . . that
if you look at the statue very closely and count the number
of ‘hands’ raising the flag, there are 13. When the
man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he
simply said the 13th hand was the hand of
God.

Great story – worth your time – worth every American’s time.

____________________________________________________________

Thanks to all of our veterans.

This was once quite a day to celebrate when I was a youngster.  I can remember running around town on my bicycle and seeing all the veterans from the Spanish American War up to WW ll lining up for the parade through town.  It was exciting yet solemn.

This photo I took at an reenactment at Lebanon, ME this year.  The old soldier was looking at the exhibit of photos and drawings of the battle of Iwo Jima while the screen was showing photos of the event.  I knew the photo was there when I entered the building.  I had only a moment to take the snap, then it was gone. But this says it all to me.  The old man with the motion to show life is still moving within him and yet the history of his life has been frozen for all time in the still photographs around him.  And then the whole episode is over and gone.  I left at that point.  No photo I took after that would be as good or say silently as much.

Some would say that it not surprising that the United States Marine Corps was born in a bar– a tavern actually. On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress formed the Continental Marines. Captain Samuel Nicholas was commissioned as the first officer in the Corps on November 28, 1775 and set up the first recruiting post in a tavern. Tun Tavern in Philadelphia is widely regarded as the birth place of the Marines although Marine historian Edwin Simmons believes the first recruiting station was set up at the Conestoga Waggon Tavern. Whatever the facts may be, Tun Tavern holds the coveted place in Marine legend.

By December 1775, five companies of about 300 marines were raised. The first Marines were armed but had no uniforms in the beginning. The new Marines had their first fight in the Caribbean and joined Washington’s troops in Trenton, NJ in December 1776. Two black men were among these first Marines. While the Marines arrived too late to affect the battle at Trenton, they participated in the decisive victory at Princeton.

Since then, the United States Marines, whose motto is Semper Fidelis, or “always faithful,” have participated in every war and conflict the United States has seen. Along the way a couple of nicknames have been picked up. Now accepted by Webster as a synonym for Marine, the term “Leatherneck” was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British Marines. Legend has it that the collar was useful in deflecting sword blows.

It was in World War I that Marines fought their celebrated battle at Belleau Wood, then the largest in the history of the Corps. There, the Marines’ reputation in modern history was created. Rallying under the battle cries of, “Retreat? Hell, we just got here!” the Marines drove German forces from the area. While its previous expeditionary experience had not earned it much acclaim in the Western world, the Marines’ fierceness and toughness earned them the respect of the Germans, who rated them of storm-trooper quality.

1st Lt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC, reported on July 19, 1918 in Belleau Wood to his commanders, “I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold.” Marines and American media reported that Germans had nicknamed them “Teufelhunden” or “Devil Dogs.” The name stuck.

Whatever the term, Marines have been seen as among the military elites of the world. At Iwo Jima, the largest all-Marine battle in history. Admiral Nimitz’s ringing characterization of Marines fighting on Iwo Jima was applied to the entire Marine Corps in World War II: “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Major General Frank E. Lowe, U. S. Army said in Korea, January 26, 1952, said, “The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of Marines. Lord, how they could fight!” “There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines,” said Army General William Thornson. “Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion.” President Ronald Reagan once said, “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.”

On November 10 of this year, the Marines celebrate 234 years of American Warrior tradition. Currently, Marines are doing what they have always done—serving in harm’s way so that Americans can enjoy freedom. As one anonymous Marine in Iraq said, “America is not at war. The United States Marine Corps is at war. America is at the mall.” Semper Fi, Marines. Happy Birthday.

Bishop David Epps is Chaplain of the Clyde Thomason Detachment #1325 of the Marine Corps League serving Coweta and Fayette counties. Epps served as an enlisted Marine from 1970-1973.

Flags of our Fathers

The battle of Iwo Jima has been viewed as one of the fiercest battles that ground units fought in World War II. The war began with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Franklin Roosevelt responded to the people by saying, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” In 1941, Japan had a very “experienced army and immense navy.” The strategy of Japan was to destroy the United States navy ability so Japan could continue its expansion. The United States now had the challenge of defeating the two most dominant world powers that were trying to expand its Communism government. The Japanese looked to be unstoppable. A critical crisis arose when the United States discovered that the Japanese had placed an airstrip on Guadalcanal that endangered Australia and the allies in the South Pacific.

In the fall of 1942, that perception changed with the Marine’s victory at Guadalcanal, which was the first American land battle of World War II. The United States plan to defeat Japan was known as island hopping. The first island invaded by the Marines was Guadalcanal and the second was Bougainville. It wasn’t until 1943 that the six soldiers who raised the flag would be brought together in E Company. The invasion of Iwo Jima was the first mission that these soldiers would fight with each other. On a military map, you would see the shape of Iwo Jima landscape as white. But the white would be almost completely filled by black dots that represented weapons that would fire at them as they entered Green Beach. The Japanese had almost every deadly weapon available. They had “coastal defense guns, dual-mount dual purpose guns, covered artillery emplacements, rifle pits, foxholes, anti tank guns, machine guns, blockhouses, pill boxes, and earth covered structures.” The reason that it was so heavily guarded is because the Japanese looked at Iwo Jima as homeland.

The island goes far back in the tradition of Japanese culture as being the island of holy realm. In the minds of the Japanese, the Americans might as well have been invading the homeland. The strategy by the United States to overcome the weaponry that was instilled on the island, Iwo Jima was bombed continuously for seventy-two consecutive days creating a record for the most bombed target in the Pacific War. The problem with the air attacks was that the result was the opposite of what to be expected. Reconnaissance photos showed that at the beginning of the bombing, 450 defensive installations were in place. After the bombing, it had been increased to 750. The strategy that would be used by the ground troops at Iwo Jima can be credited to a Marine officer of World War I, Holland M. “Howlin Mad” Smith. This veteran came up with the idea that “American boys must be trained to master more exacting combat skills, including the concept of amphibious warfare… once on land the Marines, armed with rifles, grenades, and flamethrowers, would destroy a well-entrenched enemy.” That is exactly what happened in the battle of Iwo Jima.

The battle was extremely challenging because of the mindset that the Japanese troops were brainwashed with. The Japanese were encompassed by tradition. The code of honor ran deep within the veins of all Japanese soldiers. This tradition is traced back to the code of “way of the warrior” in the samurai society. The Japanese military took this code and applied it by portraying “death in battle as honor to the family and a heroic act on the part of the individual.” General Tadamichi Kuribayashi was in charge of Japanese troops at Iwo Jima. Documents have shown that he knew Americans would win the battle. He also knew that Tarawa and Bougainville had killed many American soldiers and had caused American people to question the military’s ability to win the war. This led to General Kuribayashi ordering his Japanese troops to “kill ten Americans before you die.” This book focused on the heroic Marine soldiers that placed the second American flag on top of Mount Suribachi that was photographed symbolizing “our country’s conquest of that volcanic island, even though the fighting would rage for another month.” What it may look may not be what it is.

This not only represents the flag rising but the invasion itself. American intelligence had evaluated the island as having only 13,000 Japanese troops. In reality, there were 22,000 Japanese soldiers. The only way to invade the island was a 2 mile beach located at the Southeast shoreline. It ended up being a killing field that the American forces would have to funnel through to enter the interior of the island. The Marines had no knowledge of the intricacy of the underground fortress. The Japanese mining engineers had created thirty to fifty feet deep tunnels that had “ventilation, food and water, and other supplies.” There were also escape exits and even hospitals complete with surgical equipment and operating tables. One hospital could treat four hundred men on stone beds carved into the rock walls. This underground system made for “one of the most highly fortified islands in World War II.” This seems almost ironic for an island that is only five and half miles long and two miles wide. The book states that “a car driving sixty miles an hour could cover its length in five and a half minutes.”

The Marines had to sacrifice their lives through a month of severe warfare. The first wave in the invasion started at 9:05 A.M. The vehicles that arrived were slowed down from the deep sand so the soldiers had to carry on in front of them. It was calm and quiet when the Marines first started filling the beach. It wasn’t until 20 minutes after the first wave landed that the first Japanese fire was heard. Blockhouses with machine guns were set up all along the ground facing the ocean. Not only were machine guns hitting the exposed soldiers on the beach but Suribachi was being used to fire “mortors, heavy artillery shells, and machine gun rounds.” Easy Company’s leader recalls the beginning attack by saying, “I was watching an Amtrak to the side of us as we went in, then there was this enormous blast and it disappeared… everything just vaporized.” Soldiers tried frantically to dig trenches for cover but the sand presented no protection. One Marine stated, “More and more boats kept landing with more guys coming onto the beach. You had to just push the guy in front of you. It was like pushing him to his death.” The first wave was described as, “not getting hit was like running through rain and not getting wet.”

The Marines didn’t hesitate and continued to advance the entrenched position. The leadership played a major role in the ability to push forward. Mike Strank was squad leader and maintained composure at all times. Lloyd Thompson recalls seeing Mike Strank, “sitting upright, emptying the sand out of his boots. Just as if nothing was happening.” He would continuously be yelling things like, “Don’t bunch up! Don’t be like a bunch of bananas!” By day four of the battle, 644 Marines had been killed and 4,169 had been injured. Mount Suribachi was finally being neutralized. The first flag that was brought to the top of the mountain was only fifty-four feet by twenty eight inches. A forty man patrol began the climb to the top of Mount Suribachi. At 10:20 A.M, five men “thrust the pole upright in the gusty wind, the first foreign flag ever to fly over Japanese soil.” The second flag was placed as a replacement flag. The only difference was that Joe Rosenthal captured the ideal picture to give confidence in the war. The original flag was brought down the mountain and presented to Colonel Johnson, who put it in the battalion safe. The six flag holders didn’t even know the impact that had been caused back on the homefront. The first flag was placed by Hansen, Thomas, and Schrier that became the symbol of victory for the Marines on the island.

The flag placed by these soldiers was “the first flag ever planted in four thousand years on the soil of Japan.” The book was written by the son of one of the flag raisers, John Bradley. The photograph taken of these six soldiers became of the most famous photographs to depict World War II. The picture was taken on a 550 foot volcanic crater called Mount Suribachi that was surrounded below by the “black volcanic sands” that made up the beach. The photograph actually falsely represented the status of fighting on Iwo Jima. The photo gave the impression that the island had been conquered but in reality, the worst was far from over. Japanese snipers were still frequently firing upon the soldiers, Mike Strank was killed by a U.S destroyer, Japanese soldiers were using suicide raids, and 20,000 Japanese defenders were still fighting. Captured Marines were commonly tortured in ways that would sicken the minds of any who would see the remains of the body. Admiral Chester Nimitz also gave the American people a false representation of the battle still being fought.

On March 14, he stated “all powers of government of the Japanese Empire in these islands are hereby suspended.” The truth was that Marines were still being killed. By March 21, the Marines had been constantly attack for a month. The book places it well by saying “the battle was for yards, feet, and sometimes inches… sleep deprived, undernourished, hardened to the routine of constant death, the boys shuffled forward in a trancelike state.” The magnitude behind this battle cannot be properly understood without the facts from the aftermath. It claimed the lives of 25,851 U.S casualties and almost all the 22,000 Japanese forces on the island fought to the death. 91 of these soldiers were wounded but returned to battle. Two out of every three American soldiers were killed. The battle of Iwo Jima gave out more medals of honor than any other battle in the history of American war. In one month, twenty seven medals of Honor were given to those who performed selfless heroic actions on the island.

This was one third of the total MOH given. Eighty-four Medal of Honors were given throughout the four year time span of World War II. Each one of these Marines in the photograph had to survive unspeakable odds on land that offered the soldiers no advantage. The names of these soldiers are Mike, Harlon, Franklin, Ira, Rene, and Doc. Mike Strank was the oldest of the six with two years of service experience. He was their leader and sergeant. In the photograph, Strank is the only soldier that doesn’t have his right hand on the pole. The reason for this is because it is helping a younger soldier push the pole upwards. Selfless service was intertwined with his character. Harlon Block was a seventeen year old high school athlete for the Weslaco Panthers. He became second in command behind Mike Strank. He was killed hours later. When the photograph was first brought to the public, his mother quickly identified him in the picture even before the names of the soldiers in the photograph were announced. She never faltered even when Harlon was misidentified for 18 months. It was announced that Harry Hansen was in the picture and not Harlon.

Franklin Sousley was a sixteen year old junior in high school who rushed home everyday to help his family with chores. Franklin was the last of the flag raiser to die on Iwo Jima. When his mother was told of his death, “you could hear her screaming clear across the fields at the neighbor’s farm.” Ira Hayes was an eighteen year old sophomore at Phoenix Indian School. In the military, he was quiet and steady and respected by the other Marines who fought with him. He returned from the war to fall into a habitual habit of drinking and being arrested. He didn’t find the pride of living when he was one of the few to return from his military family alive. Rene Gagnon was just fifteen years old when he enlisted. He was the first survivor to return back to the United States and was modest about his achievements throughout his life. Last is John Bradley who recently graduated high school and was working on getting his Wisconsin funeral director’s license. For the son James Bradley, the words about his father’s heroic effort in being a corpsman on the battlefield were never spoken. He would carry his memories into his sleep where his wife Elizabeth said he wept at night for four years. Not until he died and found his journals and letters were the details revealed.

Sculpture Felix de Weldon created a magnificent piece of artwork to remember the heroes, all heroes. It took the sculpture six years to make a much larger replication of the six basic figures. When completed, the statue was 110 feet tall and weighed 100 tons. The cost was $850,000 which all of that was through donations. I would like to end with the conversation between John Bradley and his son James Bradley: “’Dad!’ I exclaimed. ‘Look! Theres your picture! My teacher says you’re a hero and she wants you to speak to my class. Will you give a speech?’ My father didn’t answer me right away. He closed the door and walked me gently over to the kitchen table. He sat down across from me. He took my textbook and looked at the photograph. Then he gently closed the book. After a moment he said, “I can’t talk to your class. I’ve forgotten everything’… He said ‘I want you to always remember something. The heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who didn’t come back.” After reading the book I realized the great character that is embedded within the United States. It is because of these individuals who sacrifice their life that freedom is possible. The qualities that make up a hero are sacrifice, determination, loyalty, courage, dedication, perseverance, fortitude, and bravery. Every one of these six soldiers fit into this category, they are heroes.

Source

Bradley, J. (2001). Flags of our Fathers. New York: Laurel-Leaf.

EPIC WIN

(Iwo Jima)

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Colonel Ripley with members of TFP Student Action.

A Story of Exceptional Valor and Faith

by Cesar Franco

An old adage states that you only meet two great people in a lifetime. After visiting Col. John W. Ripley, I can say I met my first one.

As Col. Ripley politely invited my colleagues from Tradition, Family and Property Student Action and me into his office on October 31, I felt tremendously honored to meet one of America’s greatest living war heroes — a man who served on active duty for thirty five years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Before serving two tours in Vietnam, he completed scuba, Ranger, airborne and jump master training. He was also an Exchange Officer to the British Royal Marines, during which time he participated in a Northern Malaysian campaign with the famous Gurkha Rifles.

One Marine Cripples North Vietnamese Invasion

Diorama depicting Colonel John Ripley’s exploits in Dong Ha. It is located in Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Col. Ripley is most famous for blowing up the bridge at Dong Ha in Vietnam. He accomplished this act of epic heroism after three days of intense combat, without any food or sleep. A few sips of water from his canteen provided his only sustinence. This superhuman feat crippled the 1972 North Vietnamese Easter invasion which ended in defeat. Thus, the government honored Col. Ripley’s leadership, heroism and self-sacrifice at Dong Ha with a Navy Cross, America’s second highest military decoration.

Members of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition Family and Property (TFP) present Colonel John Ripley with a rosary. "This rosary will not collect dust," said Colonel Ripley in response to this gift.

Col. Ripley is also a man of faith. He attributes the destruction of the Dong Ha bridge to the grace of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. He related how he felt all physical strength evaporate while placing explosives under the bridge. To continue, he composed a simple rhyming prayer: “Jesus, Mary, get me there… Jesus, Mary, get me there…” He repeatedly said this prayer on the bridge and a supernatural assistance came to his aid at a much-needed time. He stated: “This aid was tangible. It was all-consuming.” His mission would have been impossible without it.

After this operation, Colonel Ripley’s mission was far from over. Unlike Hollywood movies, in which a bridge blows up and everyone lives happily ever after, the North Vietnamese found an alternate route. During the next days of fighting, Life Magazine published a famous picture of Colonel Ripley running as a mortar round blows up nearby. He showed us this amazing photograph during our meeting and many other war relics.

Chivalrous Behavior for a Fallen Soldier

Pointing to his picture, he recounted its exciting story. As the enemy approached within yards, he loaded the dead bodies of five news correspondents into an armored personnel carrier, putting himself in harm’s way. Then the armored personnel carrier left without him.

He was stranded with the limp, lifeless body of his radio man. As the enemy drew closer, he refused to run for cover. Like the knights of old, he preferred to die rather then abandon his fellow soldier’s body. He would not leave his radio man behind even though he was in clear view of the advancing enemy.

He picked up the body of his radio man and walked away very slowly, expecting a bullet to hit him at any moment. Suddenly, some South Vietnamese bodyguards or “cowboys,” as he called them, popped up over a ledge about 100 meters away and addressed him by his Vietnamese nickname, which meant “Captain Crazy.” They told him to duck while they sprayed cover fire allowing him to make a desperate 100-meter dash for safety. Smiling, Colonel Ripley recalled how he ran those 100 meters in 3 seconds!

The Four Bullets

TFP member holds the three bullets that nearly took the life of Colonel Ripley. The fourth one he found on the Island of Iwo Jima.

While showing us some of his war relics, he pulled something out of his pocket. It was a brass-colored safety pin that connected four bullets. Grinning, he said: “I am personally acquainted with three of these.” One bullet pierced through the deck of the chopper in which he was flying and struck a magazine clip on his ammo belt, barely stopping its entry into his abdomen!

“When I’m having a bad day,” he said, “I pull these out of my pocket and say to myself, no, it’s not that bad… I’m not having such a bad day.”

He also showed us a neatly arranged collection of stamps he had acquired from a captured North Vietnamese postal worker.

What Is True Leadership?

The most interesting part of our meeting was when Colonel Ripley explained the essence of a true leader is one who sets the example and shows his troops how to act, rather than tell them what to do from a desk and ask them to report back. Colonel Ripley is one such leader. He never shied away from action, but always preferred to be on the front lines with his men.

In addition to being deadly on the battlefield, this tough marine is also lethal in the realm of ideas. After hearing about

TFP member John Miller debates the Traditional Marriage issue with a student at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut California.

the TFP Student Action debates on university campuses, he described the wonderful time he had appearing on Crossfire to debate a female Air Force general defending the need for women in the military. She could not stand up against the bulletproof logic of Colonel Ripley’s real life combat experience.

Tribute, Respect and Admiration

Colonel Ripley deserves our tribute, respect and admiration.

He taught us that to be a true leader one must have faith in God and Our Lady. He explained how being a leader means setting the example. Moreover, his heroic actions at Dong Ha speak even louder than his words.

It was truly an honor and privilege to meet this model soldier, a man with profound zeal for the Catholic Church and high ideals for which he is willing to give his life. My TFP colleagues and I will never forget him.

Aircraft over Saratoga

Note: This is the first in a series on the early aircraft carriers.  Two others will follow on the British and Japanese carriers.  My dad was a Chief Petty Officer in Naval Aviation.  As such I grew up around Naval Air Stations, Squadrons and of course Aircraft Carriers.  My dad retired off of the USS Hancock CVA-19 in 1974.  I spent two weeks underway on USS Coral Sea CV-43 as a NJROTC Cadet in the summer of 1976.  It was an experience that I will never forget.  While on the Cruiser USS Hue City CG-66 we deployed with the USS John F Kennedy CV-67 for Operation Enduring Freedom.  There is something about the power and majesty of the modern carriers at the same time there is a sense of timelessness in the first aircraft carriers.  Three of the first four American ships were converted from other platforms.  As a kid, a young adult and even now I am fascinated by all things Navy, especially ships that made history.  Here is my look at the first American Aircraft Carriers.

The United States did not invent the aircraft carrier although Eugene Ely flew an aircraft onto and off of the Armored Cruiser USS Pennsylvania on January 18^th 1911.  It was the British Royal Navy which first built and operated aircraft carriers beginning with the HMS Furious which had been converted from a light Battle Cruiser.  The Royal Navy would covert the sister ships of the Furious, the Glorious and Courageous as well as the auxiliary ship the Argus before building their first carrier that was designed from the keel up, the HMS Hermes.     With the British building carriers and the Japanese following suit the United States began a program of aircraft carrier production and operation unmatched in history.

USS Langley CV-1 The “Covered Wagon”

The first US carrier was the USS Langley, CV-1.  Langley was converted from the collier USS Jupiter beginning in July 1919.  She was commissioned as USS Langley CV-1 on 21 April 1920.  Displacing 15,150 tons fully loaded Langley embarked 34 aircraft and had a maximum speed of 15.5 knots.  Langley was primitive but groundbreaking.  She was the first carrier equipped with catapults and on 18 November 1922 achieved the first catapult takeoff by an aircraft.  She served as an invaluable training platform for Naval Aviators and helped provide the fleet with highly skilled flight crews that would operate from the USS Lexington and USS Saratoga.

Langley after conversion to AV-3

Nicknamed the “Covered Wagon” she served initially in the Atlantic until November of 1924 when she was transferred to the Pacific Battle Force.  She served as a carrier in the Pacific until 1936 when she was converted into a Seaplane Tender AV-3 and assigned to the Pacific in September 1939 based in Manila.  She was in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked and was sent south to Australia.  She was assigned to the ABDA forces defending the Netherlands East Indies and was sunk by her escorts after being bombed and disabled by Japanese aircraft while delivering fighter aircraft to Java with the loss of 16 sailors.

USS Lexington CV-2

The second two American Aircraft Carriers were also conversions.  Unlike Langley the Lexington and Saratoga were converted from a new class of large and powerful battle cruisers whose construction had been canceled by the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty.  Commissioned on December 14^th 1927 Lexington was 880 feet long and displaced 38,746 tons.  Saratoga was commissioned on November 16^th of the same year and of similar dimensions and displacement.  Both of these ships could steam at 33.25+ knots and had a complement of 90 aircraft.  They were armed with eight 8” guns mounted in 4 turrets at the behest of more traditionally minded officers who felt that the armament might be needed for surface actions.

USS Saratoga CV-3

They were the largest American carriers built until the Midway class appeared inin late 1945 and early 1946.  Of other nations pre-war carriers only the Japanese Navy’s Akagi and Kaga, converted from a battle cruiser and battle ship for the same reason as a the Lexington’s were comparable in size, air group capacity, protection and speed. Saratoga’s 8”battery would be replaced by twin 5” 38 caliber mounts in 1942.

Lexington Burning and Sinking

Both ships were used to help develop carrier doctrine and the concept of the carrier task force. Future leaders of Naval Aviation including Marc A. Mitscher trained aboard or flew from these ships.  Of particular note was that during Fleet Problem XIX in 1938 Saratoga launched a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor from a point 100 miles off Oahu, setting a pattern that the Japanese copied in December 1941.

Saratoga 1945

During World War II both helped hold the line after Pearl Harbor along with Enterprise, Yorktown and Hornet. Lexington was the flagship of TF-11 during as series of raids on Japanese outposts in the Solomons.  TF-11 joined Admiral Frank “Jack” Fletcher’s TF-17 at the Battle of Coral Sea, the first Naval Battle fought outside of eyesight of the respective forces. Lexington’s aircraft helped sink the Japanese light carrier Shoho on May 7^th 1942 and heavily damage the fleet carrier Shokaku the following day. However aircraft from Shokaku and Zuikaku hit Lexington with two torpedoes and 3 bomb hits which her damage control parties seemed to have under control when vapors from ruptured aviation fuel lines were ignited resulting in a series of explosions which ignited uncontrollable fires. Her crew was evacuated by escorts and she was torpedoed by the destroyer USS Phelps.

Saratoga served throughout the war. She engaged in patrols after Pearl Harbor and while enroute to joining Enterprise was hit by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-16. After repairs she was rushed to Hawaii to join the American Task Forces at Midway but arrived in Hawaii the day after the battle.  Following this Saratoga operated in the Central Pacific in the first offensive at Guadalcanal.  She participated in the landings as the flagship of Admiral Fletcher and then at the Battle of Eastern Solomons sank the Japanese light carrier Ryujo and damaged the seaplane carrier Chitose.  Following this battle she was hit by a torpedo from the I-26. After repairs she again went to the Solomons joined by the light carrier USS Princeton.  On November 5^th the two carriers conducted a brilliant strike on Japanese ships and aircraft facilities at Rabaul which were threatening the landings at Bougainville.

Saratoga September 1943

Following these operations Saratoga operated in the Gilberts and then with the British in the Indian Ocean.  She then was used as a training carrier for new pilots and aircrews at Pearl Harbor before being brought to Iwo Jima to operate night fighters against Kamikaze raids.  While conducting these operations she was attacked by Japanese aircraft in which 6 Japanese aircraft score 5 hits on her in 3 minutes.  Her forward flight deck was wrecked and she suffered great damage below decks and she lost 123 sailors.

Saratoga burning after Kamikaze hits in 1945

Following repairs she resumed training duties and after the defeat of Japan was involved in Operation Magic Carpet to bring Servicemen back from overseas.  Surplus to Navy needs at the end of the war Saratoga was sunk in Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll by an underwater atomic blast in the “Baker” bomb test a mere 500 yards from her position. She sank 7 hours later.

The End of an Era- Saratoga goes down at Bikini

(click for gallery)

This is Nathan.

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Nathan is a professional LEGO sculpture artist.

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Pretty sweet, huh? Well, check out what I just found on his site.

O SNAP! (click for gallery)

How friggin’ sweet is that!? I totally wanna build one of those.

James Bradley

If you haven’t heard by now, the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual dinner tonight.  At this dinner, we welcome James Bradley as our key note speaker.

Here is a little background information about our esteemed guest…

James Bradley wrote the book Flags of our Fathers.   The book was a New York Times bestseller, and was taken from print and made into film by Academy Award winning actor and director, Clint Eastwood.  The book is an amazing read as it takes a before, during and after approach of the events that occured during WWII.  This panoramic view takes readers inside the story of one of the most famous pictures in U.S. history.

James Bradley’s father was one of the six men who raised the flag in Iwo

Plaque for James Bradley's father overlooking the "Sands of Iwo Jima"

Jima.  This photo of six men in 1945 holding up the American flag made them icons and the picture became the most reproduced photograph in history.

Besides  a best-selling author, a riveting speaker and a scholar, James Bradley is a historian. Bradley spent a great deal of time studying and researching WWII on the Pacific.  Along with Flags of our Fathers, he wrote Flyboys and will soon release his third book, The Imperial Cruise.

In his speeches, Bradley addresses and embraces doing the impossible.   James Bradley’s talks about the men and women who dedicate their lives to taking the road less traveled every day.  No matter your line of work, he pays tribute to those who use their lives as a testament to how you should live.

Prepare to be moved and motivated by this man as he makes his way to Sioux City today to attend and speak at our annual dinner.

photos courtesy of  www.jamesbradley.com

-Ian, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce Intern

September 11th has become almost a universal day in some respects for remembering.  In some cases it is more painful frothan it is for others.  I cannot imagine the horror of losing a loved one in war no matter how it happened.  Days like today remind you that it touches many.  A couple of years ago I wrote my own memorial and have since then only glanced over the day when it comes.

Today however was different.  Today reminded me of a statement Mormon in Alma 43:

46 And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.

47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.

In other words they would not have gone to war except that the Lamanites, through Nephites who resented the leaders of their society, continually agitated for war. This meant that they felt they were fighting because they had no choice so they would not allow themselves to be subject to people who would take away their freedom.

This then leads me to my movie selection today.

I have a great deal of interest in Japanese culture and one area I was never really sure of was the state of Japanese soldiers in World War 2.  So for interest sake I decided to watch Letters From Iwo Jima.

It was a haunting tale.  I was left both amazed and horrified by the picture.  Done all in Japanese except for very specific parts it shows the Japanese soldiers preparing and fighting the battle of Iwo Jima.  It is a counter part movie for Faith of Our Fathers which is the American side of the battle.  Clint Eastwood was producer of both pictures.

Letters had me amazed at the mentality of the Japanese command structure.  How often it became so rigid it could not cope with anything changing too much.  Along with that you bring into it their own propaganda about the American forces, convincing their own people they were blood thirsty, rash, amateurs.  Then you spice it with their Samurai code of no surrender and honour.  The Japanese soldiers, for the most part, fought to the death and when they felt they were dishonoured they would commit suicide.  A typical Japanese manouver when being defeated was the Banzai charge which they would rush head long into the enemy looking to do as much damage as possible before dying.

It worked generally about as well as the British equivalent at the Somme in World War 1.

The key point in the picture comes when the Japanese capture an American soldier and one of the commanders, who speaks English, builds up a relationship with the dying soldier, eventually after the soldier dies he reads a letter the American received from his mother to the rest of his troops.  The Japanese soldiers are moved when they see the similarity of their opponent in themselves, as scared people seeking to do their duty to the their country.  Just as these soldiers were trying to do.

It is unfortunate reminder as to why Christ needs to be the peacemaker for us all.  Because we demonize others for our benefit, be it personal, political or even religious.  As I reflect on this picture it stirs in me compassion for my Muslim brothers and sisters who are treated as if they are all at fault for the choices of the few.  It reminds me that lack of understanding, experience and propaganda have been the tools for Satan to stir up war and contention from ancient days until now.   How sad it is to think how many millions died in World War 2 because of these tools.

I for one wonder at the mercy of God for his wayward children.

And let us also not forget that Mormons are not immune to this as our own tragedy happened on this day in Mountain Meadows.

It is a good time to pray for peace.

I am sure that you must have heard of the word. Art for art’s sake. Let me put it better. Bad art for art’s sake. Why do people purchase art which serve no purpose? I was reading in the papers recently of the purchase of the works of a fellow named Bansky by the Hollywood celebrities, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt for sums exceeding three hundred thousand dollars. I had thought to myself. That Money ought to have gone to charity.Jolie is a spokesperson for the UN on humanitarian matters. That money could have purchased books and computers for disadvantaged kids in a desolate village in Africa or built houses for the poor in Thailand or Cambodia.

There is no sensation or enjoyment in owning a work of art. After 20 minutes of holding a Van Gogh or Rembrandt, one loses any perception of the meaning behind the work. It simply becomes an object to be owned and possessed. To be hung on the wall and admired. The essence is simply in the fact that it exists and looks beautiful. Can one eat it? Can one converse with it? There is an artist known as Damien Hirst who soaks dead sheep in chemicals and passes them off as art. He exhibits his works in major Museums around the world and people flock to admire his monstrous apparitions. Why is there no morality in art? Was the German philosopher, Nietzsche right when he said that the fight against purpose in art is always a fight against the moralizing tendency in art, against its subordination to morality? Is art altogether purposeless, aimless, senseless and futile?. Must we worship art for art’s sake?.

There are certain works of art which serve Man and morality. Remember those pictures of Princess Diana shaking hands with a leprosy patient in India? Now that is art which teaches us to be kind to the sick and not discriminate against those suffering from dreadful diseases. Or that picture of her hugging a land mine victim in Rwanda? It impacts in us the lesson that all wars are bad and that Land mines can kill and maim. Art is worth more than a thousand words. They speak louder than words can articulate. They impact in us belief in ourselves and give us reasons for believing in what is right and wrong. During the Second World War, Art played a crucial role in defeating Japan. When those pictures of the Marines raising the Stars and Stripes at Iwo Jima were published in newspapers, the morale and spirit of the American people were raised and the likelihood of the war being won became a reality. Art also helped in ending the Vietnam War. Remember the My Lai massacre?. When those pictures of the naked and screaming girl burnt by napalm were published, the war became effectively over. The Watergate tapes sunk Nixon. The image of a sweating, confused and befuddled president which appeared on television promising that there will be no whitewash at the White house cut no ice with the American public. When J.F.Kennedy promised to send men to the moon, no one believed him .But those grainy black and white images beamed back to earth coupled with the symbolic words of “one step for a man, a giant leap for mankind” showed that nothing was an impossibility. Nietzsche was right when he described Art as the great stimulus to life. It challenges us and makes us wonder and gasp at the drama, anguish and despair that dog our very existence.Man must become a master to art, not a slave. Until we learn to treat works of art as mere objects, we will never understand the mysteries of life.L’art pour l’art? Nah. I do not think so!

Along with John Woo, Quentin Tarentino made violence chic. Sure there was graphic violence in film, just watch some Peckinpah. The difference is with Tarentino the scenes of violence are dovetailed with the humorous insider jokes, the one who understands that the song playing in the background signifies something and that the composition of the scene is from this movie, all of it more concerned with style. Which is not to say that re-imagining style creates new ways of looking at a genre or an aesthetic. However, with Tarentino style is the aesthetic and violence is the tool. A movie like Kill Bill is the perfect format for such re-imagining because it plays on already generic conventions of the samurai and cowboy. Each genre uses violence as primary element and re-imagining them slightly, but still squarely withing the genre at the same time making fun of the genre and celebrating it.

With Inglorious Bastards, though, Tarentino moves into the war movie genre. Again he attempts to rework a genre but this time his efforts are misplaced because instead of reworking the tropes of war films such as the green solder or the selfless soldier who jumps on the grenade, he injects the sadistic violence of Reservoir Dogs into World War II. Even within the work of Tarentino that kind of violence is not light hearted, but in Inglorious Bastards it is and it lends a certain approval of violence as fun. Granted the targets are Nazis and the perpetrators are Jewish, but even as Tarentino shows in Kill Bill, vengeance is complicated, filled with conflicting emotions. While Tarentino captures the cinematic sense of a group of soldiers, each with his own heterogeneous personality, any complexity he may have shown in Kill Bill is missing. Instead, the film is more like Dusk Till Dawn: pure shock for shock’s sake.  In a zombie movie that doesn’t matter, but in a war film it isn’t enough.

Tarentino brings a righteous indignation to the war against Germany, something that is often missing unless the film focuses on the Holocaust. Yet the complexity of it is lost and instead of looking at the violence in its starkest terms, as one might in looking at the war against Japan with all its savagery, the Nazis are either brilliantly cruel or just willing fools and the American soldiers are more or less untouchable. The result is a film that places the savagery in the hands of the good—the Americans—and places all questions of methods outside review. Tarentino has created a very black and white view of the war, albeit graphic and witty, which has more in common with the Sands of Iwo Jima than Flags of Our Fathers or Letters from Iwo Jima, two films that show the savagery not as a game, but something troubling.

Ultimately, Inglorious Bastards, with its re-imagining of the end of World War II is  pure Tarentino: style as substance. Inglorious Bastards is more concerned with the fun of vengeance than saying anything that we haven’t already seen in other war films.

I made a few Diptych images out of some that I took on my trip to Washington D.C. For those of you who are not sure what diptych is, you can find out what Wikipedia has to say about it here. It’s basically two images combined. These two images usually have something in common but are different in some way (perspective, color, post processing, time laps etc.)

Let me know what you think. =)

This first one is one I made for the Iwo Jima memorial.

365-250

This second one here is one I made about “Hands” and I incorporated images I took from the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial.

365-249

Flags of Our Fathers

Author: James Bradley

Page Length: 211  

Reading Level: 6

Genre: Realistic Fiction     

PLOT SUMMARY: James Bradley is the son of John Bradley, one of the six soldiers photographed raising the American flag on Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima during World War ll.  As the story begins, James and his family are placing a memorial plaque atop the mountain in 1998, in memory of their father and husband.

The book proceeds with a description of each of the “boys” who joined the armed services in the early 1940’s to serve their country, not knowing that a photograph would be taken which would made them national heroes. Details of their family backgrounds, training, and personalities before they are a part of a major military convergence on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima are written. The violent battle which lasted for over a month and had over 27,000 combined casualties is then described in detail.

The history of the famous photograph, the building of its monument, and the celebrity lives that followed the surviving soldiers and families of those who died is chronicled.   

REVIEW: John Bradley did not share the experience of his military career with his family, although they knew he was one of the six soldiers pictured in the infamous picture of the soldiers raising the flag atop Mt. Suribachi. It was after his death, that his son, James, began research on each of the other soldiers and the part they each played in the month long battle between the United States and Japan at Iwo Jima. 

Most Americans are familiar with the picture and monument, but are probably not aware of the enormous amount of lives lost in just one month’s time.  Bradley writes the book in various time spans, including points of view from the soldiers, their families and their peers. 

I found the book to be quite interesting and informative.  It could be used in both Social Studies and English classes.  At the beginning of the book, there is a disclaimer that it is fiction.  However, I believe it is as close of an actual account of these six American heroes that we will have.

AREAS FOR TEACHING: Historical Context, Character, Theme, Conflict, and Setting

RELATED BOOKS: Storm Landings: Epic Amphibious Battles in the Central Pacific, Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic, a Marine Corps Monograph

MOVIE, MUSIC, ART CONNECTIONS: Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006, Japanese)

RELATED WEBSITES:

www.randomhouse.com/highschool/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553589344&view=tg 

www.theteachersguide.com/bookactivities.html 

www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/bookstore/youngreaders.html   

REVIEWED BY: Shirley Wagner

I nice story in the Charlotte Observer today about columnist Mark Washburn’s father – a World War II veteran. It speaks about their generation and the interesting lives they lived – except you’d never know because very few talked about the war after they left it.

Link to Mark Washburn’s column – http://www.charlotteobserver.com/195/story/908612.html

My own grandfather was on the Pacific front during WWII. I remember as a kid that he was actually more open than I think most were about things that went on. I would hear crazy stories about being on a submarine and squaring off against the Japanese. Some of the things he would say seemed too far fetched to ever be true. However, his stories never changed over the years and the same names and dates have stayed with him. I looked up a few facts and found them to be true. Now, more than ever, I truly believe my grandfather was a superhero – just like the rest of that generation.

Maze of Iwo Jima Flag Raising

 This card is particularly interesting to me, but I always did love WW2 history. This is displayed somewhat larger than the actual card is. Apparently the soldier had to put this card in an envelope to mail it, as it is actually a Japanese postcard. (Notice the pre-printed postage, which features a Japanese helmet with a bird perched upon it.)

 I believe most of this is readable, but just in case, I will print the text below this card. After some research, I believe Emery put the wrong year on this card. Should be 1945. ~ sekanblogger

(from) Pcf. Emery B. Schwartz  904965 – Co. A. 5th tank Bn. – 5th Marine Div. FMF – c/o F.P.O. San Fransisco

(to) Leon & Betty Hodges – 2409 E. Kellog – Wichita, Kansas

(body of text) Iwo Jima – March 18, 1944

Dear Leon & Betty,

  What have you kids been doing all the time since I’ve been gone? Alice says that Leon kept the kids amused the other night by drawing them pictures. I hope you keep drawing alot as it will come in very useful in many ways later on. On the way here a boy on the ship drew a different scene nearly every day. How are you getting along in school? Tommorrow will make one month staying in a foxhole every night. I’ve only had my shoes off three nights and things have been plenty rough all the time. I hope you study hard in school and learn a profession so you won’t have to go through this. I have to put this Japanese card in an envelope as they won’t accept it otherwise.  Love, Emery  

(for the official Marine report from Iwo Jima on March 18, see below.) Please notice the casualty count. This makes me wonder if Emery made it off the island. (X marks the end of sentence) This is only the 5th Div report, the 3rd and 4th Div were also at Iwo Jima.

SECRET                                    18 MAR 45

FROM:       5TH MAR DIV
TO  :       VAC                     INFO: EXTROPAC  X  3D AND 4TH MAR DIVS

THIS IS SECRET X DISPATCH SUMMARY FOR THE PERIOD 171700 TO 181700 FOLLOWS X
ONLY MINOR ACTIVITY OCCURRED ON THE DIVISION FRONT DURING THE NIGHT X

IN CT 26 Z OF A THERE WERE LIGHT INFILTRATION ATTEMPTS AND OCCASIONAL HAND GRENADE EXCHANGES X THE JAPS USED SMOKE AT 2210
ON THE FRONT OF LT 3/26 FOR AN UNDETERMINED PURPOSE X IN CT 28 Z O A HEAVY SMALL ARMS FIRE WAS RECEIVED ON THAT PART OF THE FRONT
OCCUPIED BY THE PIONEER BATTALION BUT NO ATTACK DEVELOPED X

AT DAWN LT 1/28 OBSERVED THAT 4 OUT OF A PARTY OF 7 JAPS IN FRONT OF THE LINES WERE WEARING MARINE UNIFORMS X DURING DAYLIGHT THE JAPS OFFERED BITTER RESISTANCE IN THE NATURALLY STRONG DEFENSIVE POSITIONS IN 234J  AND IN THE ROCKY GORGE RUNNING TO THE SEA IN 250W X

MANY CAVES WERE FOUND IN THE AREA NORTH OF THE GORGE BUT FLAME TANKS WERE QUITE SUCCESSFUL IN FLUSHING JAPS FROM THESE CAVES X THESE CAVES FURNISHED THE STRONGEST DEFENSIVE POSITION AVAILABLE TO THE JAPS COUPLED WITH THE DIFFICULT TERRAIN WHICH MADE MOVEMENT OF TANKS AND BULLDOZERS SLOW AND TORTUROUS X

THE FIRE RECEIVED TODAY WAS MAINLY SMALL ARMS MACHINE GUN AND LIMITED AMOUNTS OF LIGHT CALIBER MORTAR FIRE X THERE ARE 33 TANKS OPERATIONAL OF WHICH 5 ARE FLAME THROWERS 2 OF THESE FLAME THROWERS ARE FROM THE 4TH MAR DIV X FRONT LINES AS OF 1700 X 250W CENTER TO 234I EAST CENTER 234O CENTER TO 235K NORTHWEST TO 234E CENTER TO 240X CENTER X

CASUALTIES AS OF 1500 X KIA 84 OFFICERS 1674 ENL X WIA 246 OFFICERS 5819 ENL  X

MIA 4 OFFICERS 208 ENL X SK 17 OFFICERS 813 ENL X

TOTAL CASUALTIES 351 OFFICERS 8514 ENL X INTERRED IN DIV CEMETERY 68 OFFICERS 1729 ENL 43 UNIDENTIFIED X AWAITING INTERMENT 20 X

ENEMY CASUALTIES 10197 X POW 51 X SUPPLY 36 AIR EVACUATIONS DURING LAST 24 HOURS X 26 DISTILLATION UNITS IN OPERATION X 28150 GALLONS OF WATER PRODUCED DURING LAST 24 HOURS X 65000 GALLONS IN DIV DUMP X

FOLLOWING NUMBER OF RDS INFANTRY AMMUNITION RECEIVED DURING LAST 24 HOURS X 60MM MORTAR ILLUMINATING 672 X FRAGMENTATION HAND GRENADES 2000 X ILLUMINATING HAND GRENADES 1500 X

13TH MARINES BEGAN REEMBARKING OVER WHITE BEACH X HIGH SURF AND ROUGH SEAS INTERFERING WITH LOADING X SUPPLY SITUATION SATISFACTORY X NO CHANGE IN LOCATION OF COMMAND POSTS X

                                   RAY A. ROBINSON
                                   COLONEL, USMC
                                   CHIEF OF STAFF

Destroyed Manila

Gen Douglas MacArthur (C) &Gen Richard Sutherland (L) after retaking Luzon, Lingayen Gulf. January 09, 1945

American General Douglas MacArthur taking tour of the Bataan penninsula after his return to the Philippines to oversea war efforts against Japan

General Douglas MacArthur returning to Manila. July 1946, Manila, Philippines,

American General Douglas MacArthur looking at bodies of Japanese dead during a tour of the Bataan penninsula after his return to the Philippines February 16, 1945


American civilians being treated at Santa Catalina hospital after being freed from Japanese captivity at Santo Tomas University.

Newly liberated group of American and Filipino civilians getting fresh water in courtyard of Santo Tomas University where they had been held captive by the Japanese since 1942.

American men and equipment crossing the Pampanga River during drive towards Manila, aimed at the liberation of the Philippines from occupying Japanese forces.

Japanese soldiers standing outside the Education Building of Santo Tomas University while negotiations are underway for their safe conduct from the city in exchange for the safe return of 200 American hostages they are holding.

Free American and Filipino prisoners outside main entrance of Santo Tomas University which was used as a Japanese prison camp before Allied liberation forces entered the city.

Trio of Filipino women walk past corpse of civilian killed in the battle to retake Manila from occupying Japanese troops

An ordnance crew moving a #1000 bomb from storage. Location: US Date taken: 1943 Photographer: Dmitri Kessel

Convoy of American Army supply trucks climbing famous set of 21 switchbacks near Annan along the Burma Road supply line to China during WWII. Location: Annan, China Date taken: March 26, 1945

Battle for Okinawa, Pacific

Landing in Australia — 1942
Army – 348 1st Ordinance Company A, WWII Melbourne, Australia March 1942.

“Idaho” on a dry dock during the battle of Guam

Muddy Infantry Okinawa

Marine after Eniwetok

IOWA JIMA

USS carrier Franklin CV-13-Burningwith Heavy

aircraft carrier

japanese kamikadze

M4 Sherman, Tinian Island

M4 Sherman Flamethrower

Marines at Iwo Jima

The Trinity Site

Enola Gay

“Fat Man”

“Little Boy”

Dead on the Beach [1943]When LIFE ran this stark, haunting photograph of a beach in Papua New Guinea on September 20, 1943, the magazine felt compelled to ask in an adjacent full-page editorial, “Why print this picture, anyway, of three American boys dead upon an alien shore?” Among the reasons: “words are never enough . . . words do not exist to make us see, or know, or feel what it is like, what actually happens.” But there was more to it than that; LIFE was actually publishing in concert with government wishes. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was convinced that Americans had grown too complacent about the war, so he lifted the ban on images depicting U.S. casualties. Strock’s picture and others that followed in LIFE and elsewhere had the desired effect. The public, shocked by combat’s grim realities, was instilled with yet greater resolve to win the war.

Кi-48 Lily wreck Munda New Georgia 1943

Japanese plane wrecks Lae New Guinea 1943

A6M5 Zero-sen ATAIU-SEA Malaya 1945

A6M3 Zero-sen captured by Australian 18th Brigade troops Buna January 1943

TBM Avenger over Ushi Point Tinian 1944

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima

Yesterday’s poem was the first I’ve written for this little personal competition with which I struggled greatly. I simply could not put into words the experience of being given a box of Rainier cherries (worth $25). Nor could I quite capture the feeling of finishing my quilt – the first I’ve done (almost) entirely on my own.

Not every poem I write for this blog will be good by my standards. Yesterday’s ditty is an example of that. As much as it irritates me, if the master poets can’t write a decent poem every time, who am I to expect to do differently? But I am committed to write anyway, and to develop my ability.

It did strike me today, though, on my way home from Mr. Milne’s house, how fortunate I am that I can find something in every day to write a poem about.

The above photo is one I took today at the Milne’s – it’s the silhouette of a hornet drinking the nectar of a raspberry.

—

“Mr. Milne’s garden”

With a faraway look in his eye, he told of being shot at above Tokyo
of the airplane limping over that dark ocean
to the bloody island, Iwo Jima

he’s not a man suited for war, nor was he then, even to operate the radio —
those gnarled fingers should be stained with raspberry juice
tending to the garden
not pressed to his temples, pushing out the specters of long dead friends

but it wasn’t that kind of afternoon with Mr. Milne
except for a passing sentence, a moment of intense remembrance
no it was pleasant, spent admiring the garden
enjoying the pace of a rain-soaked afternoon
and cloudy wisps caught on mountain tops

the peace of two people plucking ripe raspberries,
admiring the tomatoes, the squash
so tenderly even the hornets didn’t mind

I’m not speaking theologically here.  I’m talking about normal, everyday failure.  Oh, how we dread it!  How we avoid it!  How we guard against it!  How we try to hide it when it happens!  Failure is so…(if my international friends will forgive the expression)…so…un-American!  It carries with it the stigma of unworthiness, and we refer to those who have failed as the “losers,” the “has-beens,” the “also-rans” and the “one-hit wonders.”  Tsk…tsk…

No wonder we don’t want to fail.  There’s little grace for the “failure” in today’s world.  Failures are written off and disowned, and many take delight in pecking them to death like chickens do with their weak and wounded.  It’s survival of the fittest, and there seems to be a measure of justice accorded when the “imposter’s” sins find him out.  Besides, what if it’s catching?  Maybe his failure is contagious!

How short-sighted of us if we hold these views.  Failure is rarely the end of the story; oftentimes it’s just the beginning.  How many people have you known who have experienced a significant failure only to rebound in a spectacular way?  Consider these examples:

• John James Audubon, whose name is now synonymous with birds and bird conservation, didn’t start traveling and painting birds until his dry-goods business failed and he had to be jailed for bankruptcy in 1819.

• Joe Rosenthal, who received the Pulitzer Prize for his stunning photograph of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima, wouldn’t have been there to make the moment immortal if the armed forces hadn’t rejected him for service because of his abysmal eyesight (one-twentieth of the average person).  Instead of going to war, he photographed it for the Associated Press.

• William Faulkner didn’t start writing seriously until after he was asked to resign from his postmaster’s job.  Within five years, he had written The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, considered to be his greatest works.

• Ulysses S. Grant failed as a farmer, as a real-estate partner, in a bid for elected office and in several key battles of the Civil War before he found his niche at the head of the Union armies.  Within a few years, he won the war and was appointed a full general -  the first since General George Washington.  Three years later, he was elected President of the United States.

Each of these men capitalized on their failures.  They learned what failure had to teach them.  They gained self-awareness and clarity around their strengths and their weaknesses, and then they used failure as motivation to operate in their strengths.  For them, failure was a fortunate fall.

When was the last time you had a fortunate fall?  Are you avoiding it because you fear the consequences?  Are you struggling in a no-win situation, because you don’t want to admit it’s a bad fit?  Are you trying to hide your lack of skill or talent or results from your peers or from your boss?  Isn’t that draining the life out of you?

When we try to be someone we aren’t, the stress and frustration accumulates until one of two things happen:

1.    We make the decision to make a change.
2.    Someone else makes that decision for us.

Wouldn’t you rather make the decision of your own initiative?  It could be the beginning of a whole new chapter in your life, a chapter of incredible self-fulfillment and achievement.  Stop focusing exclusively on the negative consequences of failure.  It has much to teach you, and it can be the catalyst for positive change.

One last note: if you know someone who is trying to be someone they are not, the kindest thing you can do for them is to hold up a mirror.  Tactfully, share what you see as the disconnect and encourage them to face the facts.  No one can be successful at everything that they do.  Help them to find that for which they were created, and you free them to reach their highest potential.