The American Flag Raising On Iwo Jima - Will Eastwood Trash The Memory?
Yesterday marked the 61st anniversary of the raising of the American flag on the tiny Pacific island of Iwo Jima. Just four days into the month-long battle, a handful of U.S. Marines struggled to the summit of Mount Suribachi to plant the flag. The famous photograph snapped by Joe Rosenthal was staged after the actual event using a larger flag, but it endures as probably the most widely known image of WW II.
To many of us, that photo represents what is best about America - selflessness, sacrifice and the triumph of the American spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. But an increasing number of Americans either forget, don’t know or worst of all, just won’t accept the truth about why we were at war with the Japanese in the first place.
Clint Eastwood is nearly done filming his latest project titled “Flags of Our Fathers” which reportedly chronicles the lives of those few Marines who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima that day. A few did not live long enough to leave the island and others were put into service by the government to help sell War Bonds. But it’s Eastwoods collabaration with the Japanese that may end up skewing history.
While we are great friends with Japan now, we should remember that nearly as many Americans lost their lives when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor as were killed in the World Trade Center attack. Their was nothing noble or righteous about what the Japanese did.
Those Americans who refuse to see the truth about the war view both sides of the conflict as being equally culpable for the carnage that ensued, a position which is plainly ridiculous. Starting with the atrocities the Japanese inflicted on the Chinese, then moving to the totally unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor and the horrifically brutal way that American POW’s were treated at Bataan, the Japanese proved that they were on a tear to expand their empire at any cost.
Clint Eastwood wants the Japanese to know that, contrary to historical record, he will portray their aggression favorably, assuring them that he see’s the battle of Iwo Jima as a “cultural, not a military conflict.”