New mystery arises from iconic Iwo Jima image (added 1 paragraph at bottom)
Last edited Sun Nov 23, 2014, 09:56 AM - Edit history (1)
http://dataomaha.com/media/news/2014/iwo-jima/
BY MATTHEW HANSEN WORLD-HERALD COLUMNISTSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2014
Eric stands at the front of a classroom and points at the blown-up image of a famous photo. • He's pointing because he believes the photo has long concealed a lie. He's pointing because he believes the same photo can also be used to reveal something else.
• "Have we ever looked at this photo?" he asks the handful of people who have gathered to view his research, including a Creighton University expert on American history and a military historian. "Have we really looked at it?"
You have seen this photo, perhaps seen it depicted on stamps you licked or on the covers of magazines you read or on a 60-foot-tall bronze statue you looked up at before entering Arlington National Cemetery.
You have seen this photo because on Feb. 23, 1945, in the middle of one of the fiercest battles of World War II, a group of U.S. Marines carried a flag up the highest peak on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. As six men struggled to plant the flagpole into the ground, an Associated Press photographer, who was worried he would miss the shot, clicked his shutter without even looking through his viewfinder. You have seen this photo because it's one of the most famous photos in American history.
Eric has stared at this photo for hours. He has zoomed in on the black-and-white image until he can see the creases in the men's helmet covers and can study the unique shapes of their noses. He has combed through dozens of other photos taken that day atop Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi. He has watched a film clip of the famous flag raising so many times he has each frame memorized.
Eric is an amateur history buff, a World War II enthusiast, a 39-year-old so into the Marines that he maintains a website celebrating the history of the Marines Corps' famed 5th Division.
Added content: He is arguing that another man — a Marine who isn't even a blip on the radar of history — is in fact standing front and center in the most iconic image of World War II.
FULL feature story at link.
= new reply since forum marked as read
This is a randome issue, not an Omaha Steve issue.
Some people just get their kicks being rude.
There's always been a mystery about the flag raising, but, I had never heard of this one. It does seem obvious to me that there was a mistake in identity. Pfc Franklin Sousley, has been robbed of his place in history. As have his family. Of course, Bradley's son, won't look at the evidence. That picture with his dad's name attached to it, is his meal ticket. This story needs to be picked up by a news network, in order for the Pentagon and Marines, and Bradley's son, to take note. 
Bradley's son, has made money off the books about this historic event, and he's probably done speaking engagements. The movie, 'Flags of Our Fathers' was produced; and like I said before, he refuses to look at the evidence. Why? If he looks at the evidence, he'd then have to provide proof of his father being one of the men there. It shouldn't be shocking to think, someone would want to cash in. Surely, you've heard of people trying to collect money from the government, saying they were victim(s) of the 9/11 attacks and/or Hurricane Katrina. Some people have no shame. And some just don't care about facts. The son, is one of them.
My dad's a Vietnam veteran, so I know about the sacrifices all military personnel endured. As well as their families. But Junior, doesn't seem at all interested. In fact, I believe that, unless someone approaches him at a speaking engagement, he will do everything he can to ignore the question. It appears as if he doesn't want to face a (quite likely) truth. If, this info is true, it's possible Junior may be hurt about his father allowing not just him and the rest of the family, to believe he was part of this historical event. But that the rest of the country, will have been misled as well. So, a dried up meal-ticket, and the truth being painful, are at least 2 solid reasons, for Jr to ignore the information. This info is on the internet, available to all. The questions are not going to go away. Eventually, he'll have to give some sort of official answer concerning this story. If it's his dad in the picture, prove it. Can he prove it? I think he knows he can't.
All the more reason, for him to ignore the info. He's probably hoping it'll all go away, if he doesn't respond to any and all questions.
