Chuck Lindberg at Iwo Jima
--First Flag-Raising on Mount Suribachi
__________________
Ranger feels it appropriate to recognize the death of Charles W. Lindberg, 86, one of the U.S. Marines who raised the first American flag over Iwo Jima during World War II.
As testimonial to the power of an image, he said no one believed him when he said he and his patrol raised the first flag at Iwo Jima. "I was called a liar," he said, referring to the popularized photo of the second flag-raising by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal.
"In the late morning of Feb. 23, 1945, Lindberg fired his flame-thrower into enemy pillboxes at the base of Mount Suribachi and then joined five other Marines fighting their way to the top. He was awarded the Silver Star for bravery.
"Two of our men found this big, long pipe there," he said in an interview with The Associated Press in 2003. "We tied the flag to it, took it to the highest spot we could find and we raised it.
"'Down below, the troops started to cheer, the ship's whistles went off, it was just something that you would never forget,' he said. 'It didn't last too long, because the enemy started coming out of the caves.'
"The moment was captured by Sgt. Lou Lowery, a photographer from the Marine Corps' Leatherneck magazine. It was the first time a foreign flag flew on Japanese soil.
"Three of the men in the first raising never saw their photos. They were among the more than 6,800 U.S. servicemen killed in the five-week battle for the island.
"After his discharge in January 1946, Lindberg went home to Grand Forks, N.D. He moved to Richfield in 1951 and became an electrician." (Iwo Jima Flag Raiser Dies at 86)."
Ranger grew up around such men, and they were all quiet, humble and unknown. They were living, breathing heroes, but their bravery and heroism went unsung in the community. They did a man's duty, and were welcomed back into the community to carry on. They did not have to brook either protest or false adulation.
My father, a WW II Navy vet, returned to the coal mines after the war, and there remained until they closed. My neighbor was an officer and a fighter pilot in WW II, but I knew him as a coal miner.
These men were my teachers at grammar school, and basically surrounded me in my childhood. They were the citizen soldiers who did their patriotic duty, and returned home to be repatriated as ordinary citizens.
From the heights to the depths. Or more correctly, from the depths to the heights, and back again, Mr. Lindberg went from Suribachi to a life as an electrician. And now he's passed, and will never again have to prove that he raised the first flag on Suribachi.
Silver Stars cannot equal the conspicuous gallantry of all the men throughout history who have served with such distinction. It is also instructive that Mr. Lindberg was not a professional warrior, but rather a citizen serving in dire circumstances.
"A bronze bust of him will be included in the monument to all veterans that is being built at Veterans Memorial Park in [Richmond, MN]. The monument is expected to be completed in July 2008.
"'He was such a modest man, and he didn't get the recognition until recently for what he has done,' said Steve Devich, Richfield's city manager. 'I wished so much he would have been around to see the dedication of that memorial,' said Devich." (Chuck Lindberg, Who Raised Flag at Iwo Jima, Dies.)
We raise a salute to all the Lindbergs out there.
Labels: chuck lindberg, citizen soldiers, iwo jima, Mt. Suribachi
posted by rangeragainstwar at 9:49 PM
7 Comments:
Great post. These were the men I grew up around too. A few years ago I read a wonderful book called A hometown went to War, Remembrances of World War II by Rolland E. Kidder. Rolland had the forsight to interview WWII veterans from my home town and record their experiences. In doing this he also showed the scope of the war and gave meaning to the term World War. For example, not only did he cover veterans in all the major arenas but also ones like one fellow who drove convoys of trucks from the Persian Gulf across Iran to the Russian border to supply the Russians in their battle against the Germans.
Anyway, I was thrilled to discover that I knew several of these ordinary heros. My Junior High gym teacher showed up in the chapter on Iwo Jima. Another fellow I knew I discovered was in the OSS and fought behind the lines in France and Norway. There were pilots, submariners, merchant marines, nurses, and even one fellow that served in the Italian navy. Ordinary people from my home town but really just a mirror image of everytown in America.
When I was home this spring I purchased another copy of this book for a friend and discover that the book was in it's 2nd publishing and that there probably wouldn't be a 3rd. Too bad, we forget the extraordinary accomplishments and sacrifices these ordinary citizens and neighbors made.
trip wire,
Thanks for giving your testimony, too. Thanks for noting the wonderful book.
Hail, hail...and farewell, to Chuck Lindberg. His generation is almost gone, and we will be poorer for the loss.
labrys,
Yes, that sacrifice and humility--the shared sense of getting the job done.
I think with Vietnam, and the rift in the nation which disallowed those same brave men from getting their due on the homefront, we saw a generation who was not able to fully reintegrate in the same way.
They were unjustly severed, defined as "other," and took to the margins. Our society has suffered since then. Yet another fragmentation in a society suffering many rifts.
Indeed. And one of my dreads about this current war is that it will end up as badly for the veterans---Gods know that they are getting a worse (if possible!) screwing in terms of proper VA care than other generations of veterans. And as the true cost of the war become apparent and it grows even more unpopular, how far away can alienation be for the men who fought the war?
labrys,
Your concern is well-placed.
I have personally spoken with some returning young veterans who are mostly disillusioned with the efforts in which they partook on behalf of this phony war, and they are now facing their country with some new, unhappy insights.
I only hope they are able to secure the assistance they need from their society to reintegrate in a positive way.
They stand alienated, and the lifespan of a hero is very short.
and regardless of how loudly they tout "our all-volunteer, professional army" they cannot be allowed to forget that the guys who took those beaches, those islands, and sailed the ships, and flew the planes were draftees. soldiers of a season. it's one of the hallmarks of a true democracy. when the ancient greeks felt the need to do battle they would put out the call and the farmers would get down their gear, leave the farm and assemble at the agreed upon place. then they would elect their officers and debate the battle plan in detail. private soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder in the line.
as soon as a drafted troop understands that the main thing standing between him and a quick trip back home to roll in the hay with suzy creemcheese and drive his brand new chevy is the enemy it becomes the most dangerous thing in the world to be that enemy. draftees are sullen and insubordinate, they ask pointed questions about tactics, strategy, and the plain common sense of just about every order they are given. they are a big challenge to lead. but, if you can convince them to follow you there is no better companion for charging the gates of hell.
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