Antigo native and author James Bradley says the recent revelations about his father in the famous Iwo Jima picture can be explained by the confusion of war.
Bradley has penned four books, the first a New York Times bestseller, "Flags of Our Fathers", the story of his father John Bradley's actions that day at Iwo Jima. Further analysis by historians and others discovered Bradley was not in the the most well-known flag raising.
Turns out corpsman John Bradley was involved in the first flag raising on Mount Suribachi, but was not involved in the famous photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal, a second raising several minutes after the first flag raising. Bradley says the first flag raising was met with loud approval by the soldiers and ships nearby, while the second, larger flag raising was a quick reinactment...
"...when the second flag was raised, it turns out some of the first flag raisers weren't on the mountain any more. When the first flag was put up, some of the guys that raised the second flag were down below. There was a tremendous amount of confusion. Nobody thought this(second raising) was important. They thought the first flag raising was important because all the ships off shore tooted and everybody shouted. The second one was a replacement flag. The second flag raising was not even recorded in the Marines record of what happened that day...."
James Bradley says President Franklin Roosevelt, after seeing Rosenthal's inspiring picture in the New York Times, ordered the military to help raise money for the war effort with the flag raisers. His father was recovering from wounds received in action, and was approached by military brass if he was a flag raiser. Bradley says not knowing much about the hoopla Rosenthal's picture had made said he was a flag raiser. He was then in the tour to raise money and was in "The Sands of Iwo Jima" with John Wayne.
After his service was done, Bradley moved to Antigo where he founded a funeral home that is still in operation. James Bradley said his father didn't talk much of Iwo Jima or the picture, saying the real heroes died in battle. John Bradley did grant one interview to a Chicago newspaper but that was it.
James Bradley says he's working on another book as a follow up to Flags of our Fathers which will include the new information.
Bradley was the guest speaker of the Koller Library in Manitowish Waters author series.
