Flags of our Fathers (Collin Ford)

Flags of our Fathers
James Bradley
Bantam Books
384 pages
I found this book at the school library.
Summary- Flags of Our Fathers is a book based on one of the most historic moments in American history. It tells the powerful story of the journey of the six men who raised the American flag after American forces took Iwo Jima, Japan, during World War II. One of those men was John Bradley, the authors father. John Bradley never told his family about his experiences on Iwo Jima, but after his death a box of letters and the famous photograph of the six men raising the flag were found among his personal assets. James Bradley used these documents to retrace his fathers and all the other men in his company’s footsteps during one of the most gruesome battles of World War II. However, Flags of Our Fathers also shows what the soldiers lives were like after they returned home. The fame of being in one of the most historic pictures mixed with the belief that they were leaving their fellow soldiers behind were tragic on the three of the six men that raised the flag who made it off Iwo Jima alive. When ever James asked his father about what happened on Iwo Jima, he simply replied “The real heroes of Iwo Jima were the guys that never came back.”
Audience- The audience for this book would be anyone who likes military history because of its powerful storyline of one of the most historic battles in American history.
Writing Style- The author uses a descriptive writing style to capture the true essence of the story.
“The fate of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries was being forged in blood on the island of Iwo Jima and others like it in the Pacific, as well as in North Africa, parts of Asia, and virtually all of Europe,” (Bradley 1)
Passages-
“Not many Americans make it to Iwo Jima these days. It is a dry wasteland of black volcanic ash that reeks of sulfur,” (Bradley 6)
I picked this passage because it shows how something so important and crucial to victory back during World War II is almost nothing now.
“I wanted to know them as Marines, as fighting men who were also comrades. But I also wanted to know them as boys, ordinary kids before they became warriors,” (Bradley 7)
I picked this passage because it makes me think of my grandfather who was drafted in WWII, and instantly turned from a boy into a soldier.
“ Death became demystified, an occupational hazzard. The Marines quickly saw that even heroes can die,” (Bradley 192)
I chose this passage because it shows the physiological effect on the Marines and how they saw death as an everyday occurrence.
My Relationship-
I read this book for the first time in eighth grade, and I had a very hard time understanding it. I didn’t understand the view point of the book, and it was too long for me to get into. However, last summer I saw the movie which made the book much easier to understand this time around. I actually enjoy this book and I own the movie. This has turned out to be one of my favorite war novels of all time.