This Day In History

U.S. President History for March 14

1923 - President Harding becomes the first U.S. President to file an income tax report.
1943 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to fly in an airplane while in office.
1996 - U.S. President Bill Clinton committed $100 million for an anti-terrorism pact with Israel to track down and root out Islamic militants.

Flags of Our Fathers Reviewed

Last night after I finished reading Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley and turned out the light, I laid wide-eyed and awake in my warm comfortable bed and wondered if I could have endured what the Marines who conquered Iwo Jima endured. As I lay staring at the orange glow of my alarm clock, I imagined that first night on Iwo for those young Marines and Navy corpsmen, most barely over 20. Huddled in fox holes and shell craters, red flares casting eerie shadows in all directions, always the very real fear of Japanese infiltrators appearing out of nowhere to bayonet you in your sleep or worse drag you back to their underground lair to do unspeakable torture. And the sunrise wouldn't bring relief, but mortars, artillery shells, and machine guns. Yet the Marines trudged forward, with little or no cover, toward a hidden enemy that poured out death from all directions. Iwo Jima was an ugly eight square-mile hunk of volcanic rock with little vegetation, craggy ravines, razor sharp rock formations, and black sand. As one Iwo veteran put it, "It looked like hell with the fires out." Somehow, the Marines conquered this hell, but at a cost greater than any military victory in US history. And as I pondered all of this as I drifted off to sleep, I thought, "Could I have done that?"

Flags of Our Fathers is at once stirring and sobering. The story of the six men who raised the replacement flag on Mt. Surabachi has all the elements of a Shakespearean comedy, history, and tragedy rolled into one narrative. Bradley tells a brief biography of the six men, all from very different circumstances and backgrounds from all parts of the country. Mike Strank of Pennsylvania, the son of Czechoslovakian immigrants; Harlon Block, a Seventh-Day Adventist high school football star from Texas; Franklin Sousley, a good old boy from the backwoods of Kentucky; Rene Gagnon who worked with his single mother in a textile mill as a teenager in French-influenced New Hampshire; John Bradley the quiet, serious and devoted Catholic son of middle-class Wisconsin parents; Ira Hayes, the aloof Pima Indian from Arizona.

The descriptions of the battle are raw and told with vivid and unsettling detail. For every story of stirring heroism in the face of withering enemy fire, corpsmen rushing to the aid of the wounded through sheets of hot lead and Marines drawing enemy fire away from their buddies, there is one of cruel and seemingly random tragedy. Two buddies in the same shell crater and suddenly one is blown to pieces by a mortar shell. The Japanese were dug into the terrain itself, practically invisible to the slowly advancing Americans. Some Marines said it was like fighting the island itself. They saw very little sign of progress. The Japanese would pull their dead back into their blockhouses and caves leaving no evidence of success for the Marines. The author pulls no punches and through quotes from survivors and his own research describes the battle as it was fought--brutal and without mercy.

The flag raising event is the central event of the book, obviously, and serves as a catalyst to shift gears from military operations to the surreal turn the lives of the three remaining flag-raisers took upon returning to the states. The chance photo had been embraced by the American populace as a symbol not only for the courage and bravery displayed by "our boys over there", but as an icon of fundamental American values. The photo was the centerpiece of a war bond drive to raise funds to continue the war and the living flag-raisers were to play a central part in it. They adjusted with varying levels of success to the stark contrasts between the bloody battlefield they just left and the throngs of adoring crowds and star treatment on the war bond tour.

When a photograph becomes an icon, the individuals in it cease to be individuals and are lost to history as symbols of a time or event. Flags of Our Fathers brings these six men back from history as young, vibrant men who knew they had a job to do and did it in some of the worst conditions imaginable. They fought for their country, but fought harder for each other. They were individuals with families, three of which would never see them again. The survivors didn't want to be called heroes. But if they weren't heroes, then such men don't exist.

Highly reccommend
Also reccommend: Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose

Shifting Sands of the MIddle East

Here is a pretty cool map animation that shows the various Middle Eastern empires over the centuries. Enjoy.

First In the Hearts of His Countrymen?

This was a persuasive essay I wrote for an academic planning class I took a while back. Even in academic planning class I have to turn it into a history assignment. I may be ill. I hope it persuades you.

A Gallup poll conducted in February of 2005 asked people who they thought the greatest U.S. President was. The results were surprising to say the least. Finishing at the top was Ronald Reagan, followed by Bill Clinton, Lincoln, FDR, and then JFK rounding out the top five. The current President placed sixth. Where did George Washington place? A disappointing seventh, barely ahead of Jimmy Carter! CSPAN did a survey of historians as to who the greatest President was and the results were quite different (American Presidents: Life Portraits n. pag.). Lincoln finished at the top, followed by FDR and then Washington; a far more reasonable ranking. What does this say about how we view history in this country? The Gallup poll indicates an “out of site, out of mind” attitude. Wartime Presidents not withstanding, the public favored more recent Presidents. But, how could our first President, the Founding Father, whose face we see everyday on our currency, have placed so low? Though his face in familiar, his accomplishments are not so, sadly. Despite the lack of familiarity and though he is often passed over for those in office during wartime, George Washington is our greatest President.

George Washington established the roll of the executive branch of the government. Prior to the government of the newly independent colonies, there had never been such an office as President. Though the duties of the President were outlined in the Constitution, how those duties were to be applied and to what affect was a matter of question. Washington left the powers of legislating to the legislators and, instead, concerned himself, as President, primarily with foreign affairs. He held firmly to the belief that the young nation should avoid entangling itself with foreign allegiances (The White House n. pag.).

Washington believed in a strong Federal government and was prepared to exercise the power and authority of the Federal government over the states in order to preserve the union. After Shay’s Rebellion in 1787 he believed that a new constitution would be needed that would allow a standing army to prevent such incidents (under the Articles of the Confederation, a standing army was prohibited) (Encyclopedia Britannica n. pag.). In 1794 he raised up 12,000 militia to quell an uprising in Pennsylvania over the collection of an excise tax on whiskey (National Park Service n. pag.). The “Whiskey Rebellion,” as it came to be known, was one of the first major crises that threatened the young nation and Washington’s decisive leadership was able to suppress it.

After his tremendous leadership as the commander of the Revolutionary Army, Washington’s popularity was fantastic. Many in the colonies, especially those in the army, wanted to make him King. Though it was his for the taking, he refused to accept it saying, “I didn’t fight George III to become George I.” (George F. Smith n. pag.).

In conclusion, George Washington was our greatest President because he defined the office, used the power of the Federal government to preserve the Union, and refused to be named King. He was a man of unquestionable character and leadership who held fast to his vision of a land that would be free. All of these things make George Washington our best and inexplicably overlooked President.

Works Cited

American Presidents: Life Portraits. “CSPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership.”
American Presidents.org. 26 March 2005 <http://www.americanpresidents.org/survey>

National Park Service. “The Whiskey Rebellion.” NPS.gov. 26 March 2005
<http://www.nps.gov/frhi/whiskreb.htm>

Smith, George F. “The Man Who Could Have Been King.”
freedom.orlingrabbe.com. 26 March 2005

The White House. “Biography of George Washington.” Whitehouse.gov. 26 March
2005 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html>

“Washington, George.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005. Encyclopædia Britannica
Premium Service 26 March 2005 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=24513>

Open the Archives

While sweeping up the Halls last night, I stumbled across this box of old film reels from the National Archives. It's a whole bunch of newsreels from WWII as well as some about the history of NASA and Department of the Interior motion pictures that ran during the Depression. It's a pretty nifty way to get in touch with Americas past the way my grandparents got in touch with it's present. There weren't a bucketload of 24 hour news channels back in those days. Unfortunately the Halls do not posess the technology to post any of the films here, but fortunately Google Video has been kind enough to host them here.

Also, the National Archives and Records Administration has some pretty cool things worth checking out on their website, including many pictures from WWII (like the one above), helps for researching a geaneology or family history, and resources if you're just brushing up on your knowledge of the Declaration of Independence. It's a very cool and essential stop for the history buff. Please check them out and enjoy the videos. Until next time........................

Flags of Our Fathers

In October, director Clint Eastwood will release Flags of Our Fathers, based on the James Brady book of the same name. The movie, and book, tells the story of the five Marines and one Navy corpsman who hoisted the flag on Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II. The photograph of the raising of the flag, taken by Joe Rosenthal, became an American icon and won Rosenthal the Pulitzer Prize in 1945. Rosenthal died just this past week at the age of 94 in Novato, CA.

Unfortunately, the subjects of his photograph did not enjoy similarly long lifetimes; three of them died during the war and the other three either struggled with living up to the legacy of that image or rarely spoke of it again. The author of the book, Flags of Our Fathers, was the son of one of these men and never knew his father was one of the men in the picture until after his death. The book is his journey to find out who his father was as well as the Battle of Iwo Jima itself.

Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest of many bloody battles against the entrenched Japanese during the United States' island hopping campaign in the Pacific during WWII. Iwo Jima was to serve as a weighstation for bombers returning from missions over the Japanese home islands. The Japanese defended the eight-square mile island with about 22,000 defenders dug deep into bunkers and caves that covered the volcanic atoll's surface. The fighting was fierce, as Marines probed the caves with grenades and flamethrowers to root out the determined defenders. Nearly 7000 Marines were killed and all but about 1000 of the Japanese soldiers were killed. One quarter of all Medals of Honor issued to Marines during WWII were given to those who fought on Iwo Jima. The battle did not end at the raising of the flag, however. The island was not declared to be secure until 31 days later.

I havn't read Bradley's book, but I've been anxiously awaiting this movie for some time. I've enjoyed Clint Eastwood's last few films and am confident that he can deal with as weighty a subject as this quite deftly. From what I have read about the film, it will cover the battle and also follow the men back home for the War Bond/publicity drive that followed. Few war movies ever take us back home where the warrior has to cope with the mundane activities of everyday life. It will be interesting to see this perspective for a change. I can think of a couple movies that deal with the theme of the returning soldier, Born on the Fourth of July and The Best Years of Our Lives, neither of which I have seen. At any rate, given the real life facts surrounding these men, I'm not sure we're looking at a real uplifting film. War is hell, and for those that fight it it doesn't end when they get home. They live the rest of their lives with the sights, sounds, and even smells of the terrible things they witnessed.

In January, Eastwood (and Stephen Speilberg who is producing) will release Red Sun, Black Sand (or Letters From Iwo Jima, as it is being called in Japan) as a companion to Flags of Our Fathers. This film will look at the same battle but from the perspective of the Japanese. Should be interesting to see how this is treated. Hopefully, it won't downplay the fanaticism of many, or most, of the Japanese.

We havn't had any good WWII movies come out for a while, so I'm pretty excited about these two. Here is a combined trailer released in Japan. Until next time....

Update: I just bought Flag of Our Fathers today and plan on reading it before the movie comes out. I'll give a review when I do.

Update #2: I mentioned that there haven't been any good WWII movies out for a while, but I'm wrong. Last year The Great Raid which is an excellent movie about the true story of the most successful rescue operation in US history in the Phillippines, and 2004 had Der Untergang (The Downfall) about the last days in Hitler's bunker. This was an incredible German-made movie with an amazing performance by Bruno Ganz as Hitler. Quite chilling. Both of these are well worth seeing.

The World Turned Upside Down

Two hundred and thirty years ago this coming Sunday, a group of courageous men met in Philidelphia and changed history by declaring their independence from Great Britain. Yes, you read that right. Independence was declared on the Second of July. On June 7th, 1776, Richard Henry Lee proposed to the Second Continental Congress a resolution for the colonies to declare independence from Great Britain. The resolution, which is known as the Lee Resolution, was passed by the Congress on July 2. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3rd:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore.

Two days after the Lee Resolution was passed, the Congress approved the Declaration of Independence which Thomas Jefferson had drafted, with minor assistance from the other four members of the Committee of Five. This is what we celebrate annually, in much the way that John Adams predicted.

Over the next seven years George Washington, not a signer of the Declaration, would lead the Continental Army and state militias in a struggle that would appear to any clear thinking observer to be unwinnable. Washington and his men battled the world's most powerful military, harsh climates, and his own Congress up and down the eastern coast of America and finally to a little penisula jutting out into Chesapeake Bay: Yorktown. Even after the defeat of Cornwallis there in 1781, where the British band played "The World Turned Upside Down" during the surrender, it took two more years before the Treaty of Paris was finally signed; Britain finally recognizing the colonies as no longer under her grasp. It was the first time in recorded history that a colony threw off rule of it's mother country and founded a brand new form of government.

So, let's celebrate as John Adams predicted, even if we are two days late. And don't forget the words of another wise man:

I normally don't have a burger, a brat, and a steak, but it is the Fourth of July. And I'm going to need the energy if I'm going to be blowing crap up. It's what the Founding Fathers would want.

-Jim Gaffigan

Until next time..............................

P.S.

I would encourage you to actually read the Declaration of Independence. We all know what it is and maybe a few of us can recite the first seveb words of the preamble (We hold these truths to be self-evident), but do any of us really know what it says? Probably not. It will be a good exercise in American civics and you may even get a little better idea about why the founders felt such an historic and risky proposition was necessary. It isn't long and we owe it to those who fought and died for it to know what it says.