| John Bradley (iwo Jima) |
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John "Doc" Bradley (also known as '''Jack Bradley''') ( July 10 , 1923 – January 11 , 1994 ) was a US Navy Corpsman (not a Marine as some think) during World War II , and one of the six men who took part in Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima . Born John Henry Bradley in Antigo, Wisconsin to parents James and Kathryn, he was the second-eldest of five children. Growing up in Appleton, Wisconsin , John Bradley had an interest in entering the funeral parlor business from an early age. When he was 19, he enlisted in the Navy rather than wait to be drafted; he thought that he would avoid the ground war in this way, but, he eventually participated in one of the worst battles of the Pacific War 's Island-hopping campaign. In March 1943, John received training as a Navy Corpsman and was initially stationed at US Naval Hospital Oakland before being reassigned to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps which was being formed at Camp Pendleton , California . After the flag-raising at Mt. Suribachi , John Bradley received a Navy Cross for rushing to a wounded man's aid under heavy Japanese fire. He received several Shrapnel wounds to his legs a few days later, and was evacuated from the combat zone to a hospital in Hawaii . Following his appearances at the last bond tour, John Bradley married his childhood sweetheart Betty Van Gorp, settled down in Antigo, and had eight children. 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 several years and kept a large knife in a dresser drawer for "protection". 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. Ignatowski was captured, dragged into a tunnel by Japanese soldiers during the battle, and was later found with his ears, eyes, and fingernails removed, his teeth smashed, the back of his head caved in, multiple bayonet wounds to the abdomen, and his severed genitalia stuffed into his mouth. Bradley's recollections of discovering and taking care of Ignatowski's remains haunted him until his death. John Bradley died of a Stroke in an Antigo hospital on January 11 , 1994 , at the age of 70; the last of the six flag raisers. John's family had no idea he had received the Navy Cross until after his death. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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