America's War & Call of Duty

This book is a lot different than I thought it would be, but not necessarily in a bad way. Bradley is much more descriptive and into telling the story behind each Marine in the picture. This makes it a much different read than "We Were Soldiers" because it doesn't really dwell on the battles (or at least so far it hasn't). However, I still think this can be related to Army leadership because it emphasizes knowing your subordinates. This was an especially important element to LTC Moore's leadership and I think this enabled him to be the leader that he was. Getting to know your people is important because it enables leaders to create a positive environment which is important when aiming to achieve and get results.

The one part of the section I did not like (because it made me sick to even think about) was when Bradley talked about the actions of the Japanese. Even in war there are some rules, but the Japanese completely ignored these by firing at Medics and mutilating the bodies of the dead Marines. I just do not understand this; I mean it's war but you still have to draw a line somewhere. I know American doesn't have a perfect track record, but I'm glad we have rules to try and prevent incidents like this from occuring.

Sacred Ground & All-American Boys

This semester I'm reading Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley. My dad brought home a stack of books for me to choose from and this one seemed interesting because I have seen the picture of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima countless time, but I know nothing of the story or the people behind it. The very first sentence pointed out a fact that I had missed; there are actually six figures in the picture. Two are just hidden from full-view. The book starts at the end with James Bradley, the son of John Bradley who was one of the flag raisers, visiting Suribachi where the photo was taken. What struck me as impressive was that upon landing on the island with his family both U.S. Marines and Japanese soldiers stood at attention in order to act as a greeting party. This is a sacred place for both sides which is something that is easy to forget when you only hear one side of history.


Bradley then goes on to describe the background of each of the men. He talks about their childhoods, families, and how they ended up at Iwo Jima; some were drafted while others chose to join through their own free-will. They were all so different, but yet ended up together in a recognizable piece of history.