Flags of our Fathers Characters
...ut to work full time with his mother. When he was sixteen, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, but that was so far away from home his life just went on as usual. Just over a year later, Rene enlisted in the Marines after an Army draft notice appeared. He ended up going to San Diego to train after working for about a year in the Charleston Navy Yard. Ira Hamilton Hayes, a quiet Native American, was born on January 12, 1923, to Nancy and Jobe Hayes. A Pima Indian, he grew up on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona. Ira was a bright boy, fluent in English; however, he was always quiet and stone-faced. Not much is remembered about his childhood, because he rarely talked to anyone. However, on August 26, 1942, Ira enlisted in the Marines, much to the surprise of his relatives, as he had never seemed like the warrior type. After boot camp, Ira was accepted for parachute training, and on November 30, 1942, he became the first Pima to receive his U.S. Marine Corps Paratrooper wings. However, he was shipped off to fight his first battle at Bougainville. Ira was shocked by the horrors of war, but made it through his first battle all right. He, too, was shipped back to San Diego after the battle. On September 19, 1925, Franklin Runyon Sousley, the youngest of the flag-raisers, was born. Fatherless at nine, Franklin was close to his mother, Goldie, growing up. Franklin was a hard worker on the family farm, but always had time for a joke or prank. In January 1944, he was drafted into the Army, but instead signed up to be a U.S. Marine like many of the other flag-raisers. He was sent to train in San Diego, at Camp Pendleton. Mike Strank, the oldest of all the flag-raisers, was born Mychal Strenk on November 10, 1919, in Jarabenia, Czechoslovakia. A year later, his father emigrated to America and took up residence in the town of Franklin Borough, Pennsylvania, a mining and steel-working town. After three years of working, he sent for his wife, Martha, and Mike, the baby. The other three Strank kids, John, Pete, and Mary, were born in America. From a very young age, Mike was unintentionally being molded into a first-class Marine, by his father's discipline. After graduating from high school, with college out of the question, Mike joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. On October 6, 1939, after two years of hard work, which prepared him for a military life, Mike enlisted in the Marines, even though he still had Czech citizenship and could have avoided military service altogether. The Marines quickly recognized his physical ability and leadership skills and Mike quickly advanced, working his way up to Sergeant by two months after Pearl Harbor. Soon trained as a Marine Raider, Strank helped on two Southern Pacific islands, before being sent to Bougainville. Mike stayed through the entire campaign, from D-Day to the end, fighting valiantly despite losing men to the left and right of him. The pre-invasion bombardment had failed to cripple the Japanese on this island because the dense foliage made their defenses hard to find. Like Harlon and Ira, Mike would return a different man and, like all the others, also returned to San Diego. At Camp Pendleton, San Diego, the objective was to train the six future flag-raisers and 21,000 others into an elite unit that was trained especially for fighting the tricky Japanese opponent. The six boys were filed into Company E, or Easy Company as it was often called. "Doc" Bradley was a corpsman for the 3rd Platoon. Harlon, Ira, Franklin, and Mike all were in the 2nd Platoon. Mike was a squad leader to whom the others reported. Rene Gagnon was in a different squad from the others but also reported to Mike. Six months at Pendleton, and the entire massive unit, called Spearhead, traveled by ship to Camp Tarawa, Hawaii, where more training would ensue. After four more months of intense training, a fleet of eight hundred eighty warships transported the over 100,000 men from Pearl Harbor to their destination, Iwo Jima. Bombing from the Air Force and bombardment from the Navy did little, if anything, to soften up the heavily fortified Japanese island. Nevertheless, Mount Suribachi, the highest point on the island, was taken on the fifth morning. The third platoon was the first to climb it and raise a small flag, but when a bigger, replacement flag was found, the second platoon was sent up, including Mike, Harlon, Ira, and Franklin. As a runner, Rene Gagnon also tagged along. Doc was already at the top. They all pitched in as they raised the second flag, bringing into existence the famous photograph. Mike became the first flag-raiser to die a few days later. Harlon stepped up into Mike's place as squad leader for a few short hours before he was killed as well on the same day as Mike, whom he had admired since he met him. A few days short of the end of the battle, young Franklin was shot and killed, too. As the battle ended, the few remaining Marines were convoyed home. Rene Gagnon, the only identified flag-raiser, was sought out to identify the others; only Harlon Block was identified incorrectly, an error which Ira later tried to change. The three living flag-raisers were wanted to carry out the Seventh War Bond Tour. Ira was summoned by Presidential order against his will, and Doc was still recovering from leg injuries sustained on Iwo Jima. Eventually, they all did the tour, but by the end they were fed up with the press and publicity. Rene, recently married, went back to active duty in China after the tour. In 1946, Rene returned to New Hampshire and tried to land a job as a state police officer; he was rejected and went back to working in the textile mills. Rene jumped at every chance after his "memorable moment" to bring himself back into the spotlight, ...