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thedrifter
07-11-04, 09:29 AM
Spielberg to film story of Iwo Jima soldiers
By Hugh Davies
(Filed: 10/07/2004)


The iconic image of six US soldiers raising the Stars and Stripes over the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in 1945 is to be brought back to the cinema by Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood.

Spielberg has recruited Eastwood to direct the film of the bestselling book Flags of Our Fathers.

The book, written by James Bradley, tells the story of the six soldiers, one of whom was the author's father, before and after that day in February 1945.

The photograph was a staged repetition of their action and won Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal the 1945 Pulitzer Prize. The image became an emblem of America's triumph in the Pacific over the Japanese.

Described by Admiral Chester Nimitz as a conflict in which "uncommon valour was a common virtue", 70,000 US Marines routed 23,000 Japanese in 36 days, leaving 6,821 American dead and 19,217 wounded. Only 1,083 Japanese survived.

The battle was first brought to the cinema in Sands of Iwo Jima, the 1949 film starring John Wayne, and then in The Outsider in 1962, with Tony Curtis.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/10/wiwo10.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/07/10/ixworld.html


Ellie

yellowwing
07-11-04, 09:52 AM
"Sands of Iwo Jima" - hey, I saw that in boot camp! I wonder who they will get to play Ira Hayes?

CPLRapoza
07-11-04, 01:18 PM
I think the same guy who played Ben Yazi in Windtalkers.

radio relay
07-11-04, 03:57 PM
Didn't know there were "soldiers" on Iwo Jima.

As I understand it, urban legand has it that Spielberg, intended to make a three movie "trilogy" as a tribute to the WWII generation. Each is meant to depict one of the three major campaigns of the war, from his point of view. That being, the Holocost, the war in Europe, and the war in the Pacific. "Shindler's List", and "Saving Private Ryan", covered the first two parts of his tribute, and some have suggested that "Empire Of The Sun" was his third. However, there has been a lot of pressure on him to do an Iwo Jima movie, too.

I just hope he does it justice, and honors every one of those Marines, and Corpsmen, and Sailors, who were there at the battle which defined the Marine Corps for the next thousand years!

If anyone has not yet read "Flags Of Our Fathers", get it right away. It's the best book I ever read, hands down!

MillRatUSMC
07-11-04, 05:49 PM
Why are the first Flag raisers omitted from history?
From a Marine who was there and survived.
When they first saw a little color a top Mt. Suribachi all hades broke loose.
Many weren't even aware of the second but most famous of the two.
They stand immortal because we not able to recognize any of those Flag raisers.
In 1945 many parents, wives and girlfriends could indentify with those images in that photo.
One mother ID her son, while another was indentify as the Marine holding the pole at its base.
Time proved her correct.
We as Marine also indentify with the image of the second flag raisers but we MUST give the first flag raisers their due.
Many of the first flag raisers went to their grave bittered because they were never acknowledge by the Nation that send them to Iwo Jima.
Two films have already been made of the second flag raising.
What new can Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood bring to the screen?
It could have better graphics and it might instill in anknowing public that "uncommon valour was a common virtue" by many Marines and the Corpsmen of the three division that were there.

<MARQUEE BEHAVIOR=scroll DIRECTION=left LOOP=infinite>The meaning of professionalism: P-People, R-Responsibility, O-Objective, F-Focus, E-Expectations, S-Standards, S-Safety, I- Integrity, O-Obligation, N-Knowledge, A-Accountability, L-Leadership, I-Inspire, S-Simplicity, M-Mission</MARQUEE>

http://www.geocities.com/millrat_99/cmem.html
My new and improved site on the Community Veterans Memorial.

"The saddest part of the job that I have undertaken is that the armed services by their nature, represent the last resort,
when rational solutions to the country's problems have failed."
~ Lt. Cmdr. Harry Mossman US Navy ~
Remains recover in 1992 and indentified recently.

"A man or woman is measured
by the footprint,
he or she leaves behind".

"They were the best you had, America,
and you turned your back on them".
~ Joe Galloway ~ Speaking about Vietnam Veterans

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

MillRatUSMC
07-11-04, 06:08 PM
Even the spellchecker didn't catch my bad grammer and a couple of mis-spelled words, here my correction...sorry

Why are the first Flag raisers omitted from history?
From a Marine who was there and survived.
When they first saw a little color a top Mt. Suribachi all hades broke loose.
Many weren't even aware of the second but most famous of the two.
The second flag raisers stand immortal because we not able to recognize any of them.
In 1945 many parents, wives and girlfriends could indentify with the images in that photo.
One mother ID her son, while another was indentify as the Marine holding the pole at its base.
Time proved her correct.
We as Marines also indentify with the image of the second flag raisers but we MUST give the first flag raisers their due.
Many of the first flag raisers went to their grave bittered because they were never acknowledge by the Nation that send them to Iwo Jima.
Two films have already been made of the second flag raising.
What new can Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood bring to the screen?
It could have better graphics and it might instill in unknowing public that "uncommon valour was a common virtue" by many Marines and the Corpsmen of the three division that were there.

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

radio relay
07-11-04, 06:10 PM
Yeah, it's a shame that the first flag didn't get it's due, and I do indeed sympithize with them.

However, a picture is worth a thousand words. That picture of the second flag raising was so spectacular, it trully grabbed the people back home. The image of an American flag being hoisted in the thick of such a terrible fight, by victorious Marines, representing a cross section of of America (at the time), was such a powerful inspiration to the whole country that even after the war, when the Iwo Jima Memorial was built, it served for fifty years as "the" memorial to WWII.

Only one of the surviving flag raisers (from the second flag raising) ever tried (unsuccessfully) to cash in on the fame, from having been in the photograph (Rene Gagne). The other two never wanted to be recognised for it. It fact, Bradley, shunned recognition to the point that he never even let his family know he had earned a Navy Cross on Iwo Jima. Of course, we know the sad fate of Ira Hayes.

How may times has it happened, anyway? I'm speaking of one event of a firefight, or battle, overshadowing some other event in the same action, which was either more heroic, or equally heroic. One was seen. Another was not. One gets recognition. The other doesn't... Luck of the draw?

Life's a b!tch. Then she has puppies.:marine:

dgallagher
07-11-04, 08:34 PM
"Flags of our Fathers" was a great book, well thought out and extremly well written. It covers the lives of the 6 'boys' in the photo. John 'Doc' Bradley, as written by his son avoided the limelight and concenterated on his family. He often said the real heros of Iwo Jima are the Marines who didn't return.

I hope they stick to the text of the book, and at least use actors sympathetic to the military (not Sean Penn).

Semper fi
Donny

radio relay
07-11-04, 08:59 PM
this is great

MillRatUSMC
07-11-04, 11:47 PM
The term "soldiers" might come to the author of the article from;
"Soldiers of the Sea"
Gunny Gaines has a good article on "Soldiers of the Sea";
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/dickg/soldier.html
Are we both "Soldier" and "Sailor"?
Yet by the duties first assigned to Marines aboard sailing ships, they were different and used by the ship's captain to enforcing rules and regulations.
We would never refer to ourselves as "soldiers" and we would always use a capital "M" in the word Marine or Marines.
We have a long history of service to the Nation as Marines but we have been known as "Soldiers of the Sea"...

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

namgrunt
07-12-04, 01:33 AM
If memory serves, there were US Army personnel on Iwo Jima. They were Army Air Corps pilots and ground mechanics. I don't believe they were mentioned in Brady's book "Flags of Our Fathers". They didn't take part in the mud-Marine ground action, but were subjected to Japanese marauders attacking at night. The Corps was the major combatant on the ground, where it counted most at the outset.

The following quote demonstrated Army involvement, both during the campaign, and after the island was declared secure. It was found at:
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/7338/usmc.html

Finally on March 26, following a banzai attack against troops and air corps personnel near the beaches, the island was declared secure. The U.S. Army's 147th Infantry Regiment assumed ground control of the island on April 4, relieving the largest body of Marines committed in combat in one operation during World War II.

Semper Fi!

benny rutledge
07-21-04, 10:12 AM
Spielberg would be remiss if he doesn't roll BOTH books into this Movie effort."Flags of our Fathers "is indeed one of the finest Novels ever written.Bradley himself said he couldn't write "Flags" without going on to write "Flyboys".The events on nearby sister island of Chi Chi Jima were incredible,shocking and disgusting.Iwa Jima was needed for it's Airfields.Chi Chi Jima was the Radio link in the Pacific for both the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army.The invasion of Iwo Jima and the Bombardment of Chi Chi Jima were simultaneous events.As Paul Harvey would say "The rest of the story"lies in the pages of "Flyboys"you can't read "Flags"and not read "Flyboys" To you Veterans of the Pacific you have my undying respect and admiration....Semper Fi !!!!!