My daughter Michelle bought me the paperback copy of Flags of our Fathers for Christmas and I read it last week.
This book was a great reminder of the sacrifices of those who fought in the pacific. I have studied quite a bit about the battles that took place in Europe, the Middle East, and the impact World War II had on American Home Life.
Although I have been in the play South Pacific twice, I have never really studied the detailed stories of the battles, particularly Iwo, and although I had seen the flag raising picture in a variety of settings (text books, museums, etc..) I had never been curious enough to read about it beyond a few paragraphs.
My own grandfather was a Marine in the South Pacific during world war II and my husbands Father served on Guam as a communications specialist. Reading the book made me want to do some more research about the events they were a part of during the war.
One of the most significant stories in the book was way after the war, when the author James Bradley was dissing America and sharing the conventional wisdom that prevailed during the 70’s at the supper table with his father on Thanksgiving day. He made a few disparaging remarks to his father about Americas treatment of the Japanese during the war. He said his father did not even respond, and just passed him some turkey.
In some ways I was angry that his father did not set the record straight to his loud mouthed son, but I could understand a Fathers desire to keep the peace at the supper table, if only as a tribute to his wife, who probably spent the whole day cooking and did not want a political fight to ruin a meal, but also perhaps because Mr. Bradley had a deep understanding that “a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still”.
Convincing a hot headed youth that he does not have all the facts of a story is a reality most parents have to face when attempting to educate and teach.
I read somewhere of a boy who felt that his father did not know anything when he was 18, and when he returned home at 22 he was surprised to discover how much his father had learned in four years.
I would highly recomend this book to anyone to read, and plan to purchase the movie when it comes out on DVD next month.
Jenny Hatch