May 24, 2013
It is the two weeks of craziness at Parrish Medical Center known as the annual Circle of Giving campaign. Each year, the Care Partners of the hospital split into five teams and compete to raise funds for worthwhile projects that benefit the hospital and our community.
Wednesday, I stopped by a used book sale being offered by the Purple team. I was looking for some summer reading material and the sign said all the paper back books were a dollar, so I looked through them. I picked up and put down and pick up again Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. I am having a hard time putting it down.
The book is about the “flag raisers” of Iwo Jima, captured in the photograph above. James Bradley is the son of one of them, John Bradley. He writes, “History turned all its focus, for 1/400th of a second, on them. It froze them in an elegant instant of battle: froze them in a camera lens as they hoisted an American flag on a makeshift pole. Their collective image, blurred and indistinct yet unforgettable, become the most recognized, the most reproduced, in the history of photography.” (Flags of Our Fathers, p. 4)
The book tells the stories of these 6 young men from different parts of the United States, what their childhood days were like, how they entered the war and how they arrived at that historic moment. It is a story that has become well known to the millions who have read the book or seen the Academy Award-winning movie. I have done neither, so please don’t tell me how it goes because I will not appreciate it.
What I do appreciate so far is how Mr. Bradley weaves the tale of these ordinary young men who became the epitome of heroism to generations of Americans. On this Memorial Day weekend, in whatever way you can in between the bites of your hotdogs or hamburgers or potato salad, find a way to honor those who have so honored us with their service.
Blessings,
Jerald
Disclaimer: Thoughts and ideas presented in this post are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Parrish Medical Center.
