The Blood Stained Banner

It’s the largest cast bronze statue in the world; can you guess which one it is? Roughly 1.5 million people a year visit this statue. It’s 78’ tall, with 32’ tall figures erecting a 60’ bronze flagpole. It is dedicated to all Marines who gave their lives during conflict. You have probably guessed it by now, it’s the “Iwo Jima Memorial”, or more officially: the US Marine Corp War Memorial. I spent some time recently reading the story of this battle and the memorial that was made. These words are written at the base of the monument: “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue.” Nearly 70,000 Marines invaded Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945, after 10 weeks of air raids by carrier-based aircraft. This flyspeck of an island, 2 miles by 5-miles, halfway between Saipan and Japan was important to the allies for two reasons – it could provide a base for the planes that were attacking kamikaze planes and it could become an emergency-landing site for the B-29s after attacking the Japanese mainland. But it would prove to be a treacherous and bloody battle. The enemy hid in the caves and 16 miles of underground tunnels and 16 miles of underground tunnels their engineers had built. The invasion took the lives of 6,825 Americans, while another 19,217 were wounded. At 10:30 a.m. February 23, the flag was raised on Mount Suribachi, the highest point on the island, 550 feet up. Though this war memorial was made from the photo of the 6 men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, it represents the immensity of sacrifice of all Marines who gave to their country,”.

O.K., so you recognize the memorial, perhaps you’ve even visited it. But do you know the men who raised the flag? The first man putting the pole in the ground is Cpl Harlon Block, age 21. He was an all-state football player. Along with all the senior members of his football team, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. In the innocence of youth they might have envisioned this as another type of game, a game called “War.” Block was hit by a mortar shell and died with his intestines in his hands.. The next man is 18-year-old Pfc Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. I read that he carried a photograph of his girlfriend inside the webbing of his helmet. He put it in there for protection because he was afraid. He died at age 53, from a heart attack. The third man in the picture was 24-year-old unit leader Sergeant Mike Strank. He had the nickname the “old man”. He ordered his men to put up a flag big enough that “every Marine on this cruddy island can see it”. To motivate his men he would simply say: ‘You do what I say, and I’ll get you home to your mothers.” A week later, he was hit by a mortar, his heart ripped out. “The next man was Cpl Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. While visiting the White House, President Truman told him, ‘You’re a hero.’ Hayes told reporters, ‘How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?’ Quiet and guilt ridden he died from alcohol and exposure at the age of 32. 10 years after the picture was taken, 10 weeks after the memorial was dedicated. The next man, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley, a fun-loving hillbilly from Hilltop, Kentucky. He died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother’s farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away. Navy Corpsman John Bradley was a medic, from Antigo, Wisconsin. Its estimated he probably held over 200 boys on Iwo Jima as they died. He married, raised eight children and opened a prosperous funeral home. He rarely talked about Iwo Jima, even to his family. It wasn’t until after his death in 1994 that they found out he had won the Navy Cross. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. So why tell this story? As the story of Iwo Jima is heard, our perception of the monument changes. It’s no longer just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. And as we hear the stories of the men our perception of them also changes. They become more than cast bronze statues; they become real people in our minds. Real people who experienced the same joys and trials of life that we often face. There is another war memorial I hope you’ll recall. I wish that it was more popular and visited by more people than Iowa Jima, but I don’t know… It didn’t have “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue.” inscribed on its base, though that would certainly have fit. Instead it had a small sign nailed to its top: “And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Matthew 27:37 Usually each year in April, people take time to visit this “war memorial”, but do they really know the story? Do they really know the Man? Jesus Christ raised a blood stained banner of victory, a victory ensuring eternal life to those who believe in Him. But for many Calvary is only a distant story, from long ago; until His story is told and then He becomes a real Savior to us. Calvary and Resurrection Morning aren’t just events to be thought of, remembered, or even celebrated each Easter, like some national monument. They are to be celebrated daily, to be lived in our hearts, and through our lives 24/7, but it can only happen when we take the time to know it’s real Hero – Jesus Christ.Matthew 16:13-17 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Who do you say He is, who is Jesus Christ to you? I would like to help you know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Please contact me if you’re interested.

Pastor Mike Wise