[Personal] Feb. 04-06, 2011: Iwo Jima, the Marine Corps, and My Weekend at Home
Second Flag Raising at Iwo Jima, as Photographed by Joe Rosenthal
For a change of pace, I've decided to make a personal entry recounting my wonderful time at home this past weekend. I know that this journal of mine is usually reserved only for fandom stuff, but I thought it would be nice to make more entries detailing interesting happenings in my own life as well. :)
...not to mention that a lot of the activities that my parents and I did together this past weekend actually spawned from watching Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, movies that I first was interested in thanks to the Arashi fandom, but the feeling really developed into a much deeper interest in the personal, historical, and military perspectives that went beyond anything to do with Nino (as much of a fantastic of an actor that he is). In fact, I just now purchased the original Flags of Our Fathers book by James Bradley off Amazon to read in my spare time...which I hope will give me even more insight into the Battle of Iwo Jima. I'll lend it to my father to read after I'm done. Heh. I highly recommend the movies to anyone who is interested.
Anyways, here is a outline breakdown of the weekend itinerary that my parents and I created and followed through for ourselves:
Friday (02.04.2011):
1. Bus from school to home
2. Homemade Chinese dishes dinner at home
3. The Dark Knight on blu-ray
Saturday (02.05.2011):
1. Pajeon + Earl Grey tea breakfast at home
2. Iwo Jima Memorial (Marine Corps War Memorial) in Arlington, VA
3. National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA
4. Egg rolls and soup linner at home
5. Oliver musical at the Little Theater of Alexandria with my sister's friend's parents
Sunday (02.06.2011):
1. Tangyuan and Niangao breakfast at home, received lucky red envelope money
2. National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, VA (NRA)
3. New Year dumplings at home
4. Resting, then taking a walk around the neighborhood
5. Bus from home to school
**Under the cut you will find more details about the weekend, photos from the different stops along the way, my personal thoughts on several topics, along with any background information that may be useful for a general understanding of historical events, etc., that will be brought up.
My weekend began really gleefully. After an uneventful 4.5 hour bus drive home, I was really eager to eat my parents' food and relax with them for new year celebrations. Our dinner was absolutely delicious, with fresh bamboo strips and leeks and Chinese cured meats...it even had that "taste of fire" (火味) thanks to the really awesome wok that we have.That evening was spent very cozily together - we watched The Dark Knight on blu-ray on our TV at home (such a powerfully psychological movie!) and spent the lingering moments afterwards discussing and analyzing the finer points of the movie before heading off to bed.
The next day, Saturday, February 05, 2011, was such an enormously fun-packed day! I woke up rather early to the smell of my father's cooking; he knows how much I like Korean pajeon (파전), so he tried out a new recipe for that day's breakfast. It was very tasty, especially with all of the onions and scallions he had put into the batter. There was also thinly sliced niangao (年糕) for the new year and we pried open a new tin of Earl Grey tea we got at Fortnum & Mason on our last family trip to England. My dad says next time he'll make the seafood version of pajeon, haemul pajeon (해물파전), for me next time and I'm looking forward to it!
We then got ready to head towards the Iwo Jima Memorial/Marine Corps War Memorial located in Arlington, VA. It's located right near the Arlington Cemetery and it's my first time going there in the longest time. At the end of winter break this year, I re-watched Flags of Our Fathers (2006) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), two movies directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood depicting the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. Flags of Our Fathers details the American side of the war using personal accounts of the men who bore the flag on top of Mt. Suribachi in that famous Joe Rosenthal photograph (seen at the top of this post), and is based on the book of the same name, written by James Bradley (son of the flag bearer Navy corpsman, John "Doc" Bradley) with Ron Powers. Letters from Iwo Jima describes the Japanese side during that particular battle, and the struggles that they faced in the same war.
Ever since watching the movies, my parents and I have really garnered a deep interest in the story behind the men at Iwo Jima, and we had really wanted to take a trip back out to the places that hold special connections to that historical time period. That particular battle lasted a little over one month (February 19 - March 26, 1945), and it was the costliest battle in Marine Corps history. Its toll of 6,821 Americans dead, 5,931 of them Marines, accounted for nearly one-third of all Marine Corps losses in all of World War II, but what makes the story so personal and so powerful, is really the struggle individuals had in the battlefield and beyond.
A lot of people don't realize that there were 2 flag raising events on Iwo Jima that day (February 23, 1945), and that the famous Rosenthal one is of the second flag raising. The first flag was put up some 3 hours before the second one on top of Mt. Suribachi, but was deemed to small for the ships to see so it was taken down and a larger, second flag was raised instead. It's really sad how no one really remembers the first flag raising at all (a much more symbolically significant event than the second raising).
First Flag Raising at Iwo Jima, as Photographed by Louis R. Lowery
Among the 6 men who participated in the iconic second flag raising, 3 were killed in action (PFC Franklin Sousley, Sgt. Michael Strank, and Cpl. Harlon Block), and 3 returned to the States to participate in a war bond drive tour around the country to raise funds for the war efforts (PFC Ira Hayes, PFC Rene Gagnon, and PM2 John "Doc" Bradley). Throughout the tour, PFC Ira Hayes, a Pima Native American, found himself having personal conflicts with how he was being viewed as a "hero", and his purpose in the events that would follow his time at Iwo Jima. He later descended into alcoholism, and also hitchhiked to Texas in order to inform Harlon Block's family about their son's participation in the flag raising. (Harlon Block was actually misidentified at the time as Henry "Hank" Hansen, who incidentally, participated in the first flag raising. With Ira Hayes' information and evidence, that mishap was eventually cleared up after a few years of government hush-hush.)
John "Doc" Bradley remained incredibly tight-lipped after the ordeal and the war bond drive tour, and it wasn't really until James Bradley, his son, went around for four years after his father's death collecting memories and interviews did the story behind these men really come out.
Left to Right: PFC Ira Hayes, PM2 John "Doc" Bradley, PFC Rene Gagnon
Diagram Outline of the Second Flag Raising: Who's Who
The story of the Battle of Iwo Jima and of the men who fought in it is incredibly powerful, and if you are even vaguely interested in it from what I've written about it so far, I highly recommend delving deeper into the historical vaults of time to learn more. Even just watching the movies is a very strong experience.
Having been absorbed completely into the details of the battle and associated personal accounts, my parents and I set off for the Iwo Jima Memorial/Marine Corps War Memorial on that drizzly, gray skied day. Perfect weather, to be honest, since it meant no one would be outside at the monument, and also it really matched the feelings surrounding that period of time in history. As expected, we were pretty much the only people there other than the dutiful park ranger, who told us about James Bradley (the author of Flags of Our Fathers) bringing HIS son and them taking a picture in front of the memorial figure of John Bradley a couple of months ago, and how that was a significant moment in her life as someone who is constantly lingering around the memorial. The memorial is HUGE, much bigger than I had remembered it being...and impressively magnificent.
The fact that we had studied the stories behind this image, really made it something to behold. It's amazing what a personal attachment and understanding really brings to viewing this sculpture.
Iwo Jima Memorial/Marine Corps War Memorial, as Photographed by Me on 02.05.2011
After spending a good deal of time soaking it all in, we then moved on to the National Museum of the Marine Corps located in Quantico, VA. Neither my parents nor i had ever been there before, so we had no idea what to expect other than the fact that we knew it housed the 2 original flags that flew on top of Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima. To our pleasant surprise, the museum was REALLY well done; you can tell they put a lot of effort into highlighting the United States marine corps endeavors throughout history and the way they presented all of the information was interactive and left a big impression. The museum itself was quite huge as well! I hadn't expected such an extensive building and collection.
National Museum of the Marine Corps, as Photographed by Me on 02.05.2011
The design of the building itself was really unique and interesting; after a bit of discussion, my father and I believe it's an abstract representation of the famous Iwo Jima photograph...with the positioning of the 6 men being simplified into the asymmetric triangular roof and the extra thin projection representing the flagpole they heaved into place. What do you think?
Exhibits at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, as Photographed by Me on 02.05.2011
All of the exhibits, flowing in chronological order, are definitely worth close looks at. I don't want to spoil people who might have the chance to go see them, but let's just say that there are tons of actual weaponry and vehicles and aircraft as well as videos and figure setups that make you feel like you're right in the midst of certain operations. The Iwo Jima exhibit was the main attraction we were there for, and it didn't disappoint. They had a whole "briefing room" where you watched a debriefing video about the Iwo Jima strategies in the shoes of a marine corps member, and then you were told to board a smaller sea-land vehicle to head onto the beach on Iwo Jima. They had a to-scale representation of the vehicle and a in perspective video was shown all around, to give you the feeling of being one of the soldiers on board. Ultimately, it all led to the main exhibition, where they had all sorts of artifacts from the island battle, as well as the original flags that flew there.
Interior Panorama of the National Museum of the Marine Corps,
as Photographed by Me on 02.05.2011
They keep the flag from the first raising and the flag from the second raising on rotation at the museum (perhaps to get you to visit multiple times?), and when we were there, they had the first flag on display. We will be going back to see the second flag sometime soon.
The First Flag Raised Over Mt. Suribachi at the National Museum of the Marine Corps,
as Photographed by Me on 02.05.2011
I highly recommend visiting this museum if you have the chance. Especially if you're interested in military history, engineering, or even just want to learn something new. DEFINITELY WORTH VISITING.
After spending the rest of the morning and afternoon there, we stopped into the museum shop before we left, where my dad bought me a magnet with the commemorative postage stamp image of the famous photograph from Iwo Jima on it, along with a miniature of a marine tank that doubles as a pencil sharpener. (The commemorative stamp was issued by the United States Postal Service in 1945.)
US Postage Stamp 1945 issue, Commemorating the Battle of Iwo Jima
I have stuck the magnet on my mirror in my room so that I see it all the time. I can't wait until my sister comes home next -- she's going to watch the movies with us and hopefully we'll all have a chance to revisit these places soon, together along with her.
Linner that day consisted of my mother's egg rolls and my father's spicy carrot soup. We didn't really have too much time before heading off to see the musical Oliver at the Little Theater of Alexandria with my sister's best friend's parents. For a local and small-scale production, it was incredible! The level of singing/acting, the stage props/backdrops, the live orchestra...it was very enjoyable and I had the songs stuck in my head for the rest of the night. Definitely an amazing end to an amazing day.
On Sunday, February 06, 2011, we woke up early as usual and breakfasted on niangao (年糕) and tangyuan (湯圓) before heading off to the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, VA. It's owned and maintained and run by the National Rifle Association (NRA), an organization whose ideology clashes horribly with my personal ideology...but thankfully the political side of the organization doesn't bother you within the museum. My dad and I are very much interested in military technologies, and seeing the Marine Corps museum the day before, we had wanted to check out the firearms they had at this one. Not to mention of all the years we've lived in northern Virginia, we had never been there before -- and it's literally right next to our dentist's office!
The museum was incredibly detailed, so SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIREARMS it made your head spin! The exhibits also flowed in chronological order, and had a ton of rare guns owned by all sorts of people, like officers from all sorts of different countries during World War II and former presidents (think Teddy Roosevelt or Dwight D. Eisenhower, for example), etc. There were just so many firearms that it was so hard to focus on any one gun. The museum also housed a "weaponry from movies" gallery, which had a ton of different guns and such that were used in movies, including one from Letters from Iwo Jima, The Departed, Star Wars, Hidalgo, just to name a scant few. That was really neat!
The weekend ended on a high note, and I'm glad my parents and I were able to go to so many interesting places in the span of one weekend. I returned to school happily (after eating Chinese New Year dumplings!), and I hope to see my parents (and sister) again soon! :D