| John Bradley | |
|---|---|
John Bradley stands next to a War Bond drive poster depicting the flag raising. |
|
| Nickname | "Jack," "Doc" |
| Born | July 10, 1923 Antigo, Wisconsin |
| Died | January 11, 1994 (aged 70) Antigo, Wisconsin |
| Place of burial | Queen of Peace Catholic Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Pharmacist's Mate Second Class |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Navy Cross Purple Heart |
John Henry "Jack" "Doc" Bradley (July 10, 1923 – January 11, 1994) was a United States Navy corpsman during World War II, and one of the six men who took part in raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. Bradley was already on the summit of Mount Suribachi with his platoon, when Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, PFC Ira Hayes, PFC Rene Gagnon and PFC Franklin Sousley, who had a larger flag on orders to place it so that it could be seen from great distance, asked him to lend them a hand in raising the flag attached to a heavy length of pipe. He was the last surviving of the six men.
Contents |
Born John Henry Bradley in Antigo, Wisconsin to James ("Cabbage") and Kathryn Bradley, he was the second of five children. He grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, and reportedly had an interest in entering the funeral business from an early age.
When he was 19, his father suggested he enlist in the Navy so he could avoid ground combat; however, the Navy chose him to become a Pharmacist's Mate and he was eventually assigned to the United States Marine Corps. As a Hospital Corpsman assigned to the Marines, he took part in the assault on Iwo Jima, one of the most bitterly fought battles of the Pacific War's island-hopping campaign.
In March 1943, Bradley began his Hospital Corpsman training and was initially stationed at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Oakland. He was then assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, of the 5th Marine Division, which was being formed at Camp Pendleton, California.
Before participating in the famous flag-raising at Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima, John Bradley earned the Navy Cross for rushing to a wounded man's aid under heavy Japanese fire. A few days later, he received several shrapnel wounds in his legs, and was evacuated from the combat zone to a hospital in Hawaii.
Pharmacist's Mate Second Class Bradley was awarded the following decorations and awards:
"For extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy at Iwo Jima on Feb. 21, 1945 as a hospital corpsman attached to a Marine Rifle platoon. During a furious assault by his company upon a strongly defended enemy zone at the base of Mt. Suribachi, Bradley observed a Marine infantryman fall wounded in an open area under a pounding barrage by mortars, interlaced with a merciless crossfire from Machine guns.
With complete disregard for his own safety, he ran through the intense fire to the side of the fallen Marine, examined his wounds and ascertained that an immediate administration of plasma was necessary to save the man's life. Unwilling to subject any of his comrades to the danger to which he had so valiantly exposed himself, he signaled would-be assistants to remain where they were. Placing himself in a position to shield the wounded man, he tied a plasma unit to a rifle planted upright in the sand and continued his life saving mission.
The Marine's wounds bandaged and the condition of shock relieved by plasma, Bradley pulled the man thirty yards through intense enemy fire to a position of safety. His indomitable spirit, dauntless initiative, and heroic devotion to duty were an inspiration to those with who he served and were in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Naval Service."'
Bradley was modest about his achievement. His family did not learn about the award until after his death.
Sergeant Mike Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, and PFC Franklin Sousley were all killed in action later in the battle. Only John Bradley, Ira Hayes and Rene Gagnon survived the battle, and they were brought back to the United States to tour the country for the seventh war bond drive. The bond drive helped lift morale at home.
Following his appearances at the last bond tour, John Bradley married his childhood sweetheart, Betty Van Gorp, settled down in Antigo, had eight children, and was active in numerous civic clubs. He rarely took part in ceremonies celebrating the flag raising, and by the 1960s avoided them altogether. He fulfilled his life-long dream by buying and managing his own funeral parlor, but was tormented by memories of the war. Betty says he wept in his sleep for the first four years of their marriage and kept a large knife in a dresser drawer for "protection". He also had many flashbacks of his best friend Iggy, Ralph Ignatowski, who was captured and tortured by Japanese soldiers. Bradley never could forgive himself for not being there to try and save his friend's life.[1]
He rarely spoke of the raising of the flag, stating once that he "just happened to be there". His son James Bradley (who wrote a book about the flag-raisers in 2000 titled Flags of Our Fathers) speculated that his father's determined silence and discomfort on the subject of his role in the Battle of Iwo Jima was largely due to memories of John's best friend, Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski. In his own words, and only once, he briefly told his son what happened with "Iggy". From the book Flags of Our Fathers:
I have tried so hard to block this out. To forget it. We could choose a buddy to go in with. My buddy was a guy from Milwaukee. We were pinned down in one area. Someone elsewhere fell injured and I ran to help out, and when I came back my buddy was gone. I couldn’t figure out where he was. I could see all around, but he wasn’t there. And nobody knew where he was. A few days later someone yelled that they’d found him. They called me over because I was a corpsman. The Japanese had pulled him underground and tortured him. His fingernails... his tongue... It was terrible. I’ve tried hard to forget all this."—John Bradley
According to James Bradley, as recounted in Flags of our Fathers, official reports revealed Ignatowski was captured, dragged into a tunnel by Japanese soldiers during the battle, and was later found with his eyes, ears, fingernails, and tongue removed, his teeth smashed, the back of his head caved in, multiple bayonet wounds to the abdomen, his arms broken, and his severed genitalia stuffed into his mouth. John Bradley's recollections of discovering and taking care of Ignatowski's remains haunted him until his death, and he suffered for many years from Post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Battalion Aid Station for the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School at Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico is named in honor of John Bradley.
John Bradley had a heart attack, but died of a stroke at 2:12 am in an Antigo hospital on January 11, 1994, at the age of 70, the last of the six men who raised the second flag to die. He said more than once to his children that the only real heroes on Iwo Jima were those that did not survive. John Bradley's family had no idea he had received the Navy Cross until after his death. He is buried in Queen of Peace Cemetery, Antigo, Wisconsin.[2]