Honoring the WWII Veterans

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

About 300 people braved last week's chilly weather and gathered at the Sgt. Ernest 'Boots' Thomas' Veterans Memorial Park on Friday, Feb. 21, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first flag-raising at the Battle of Iwo Jima and pay homage to the veterans of World War II.
Among the many attending the 10 a.m. ceremony – which included several speakers, the presentation of colors, playing of taps and a gun salute – were a handful of WWII veterans, including Dennis Gallon, George Pittman, James Sledge, Fredrick Mickler, John Haynes and Robert Kennedy.
State Representative Jason Shoaf was also present, as were several local officials, including Commissioner Betsy Barfield, Property Appraiser Angela Gray, Sheriff Mac McNeill and City Clerk Emily Anderson.
Councilman Troy Avera, one of the event's key organizers and a Vietnam veteran, welcomed the crowd, noting that WWII veterans were now entering their twilight years.
He said the reason for the occasion was to honor the meritorious courage of 'Boots' Thomas, who had been recognized for his valor with the Navy Cross three days after leading his platoon atop Mt. Surabachi to plant the first American flag, eight days after which he was killed in action.
Avera figuratively tipped his hat in a salute to the WWII veterans, whom he called the Great Generation. These were young men who had exhibited great strength, courage and perseverance and witnessed unspeakable horrors and tragedy, Avera said. He quoted Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, who said in tribute to the men who had fought on Iwo Jima that for them, “uncommon valor was a common virtue.”
The WWII veterans, Avera said, had returned from the war to become pillars of their communities and create the society that later generations of Americans were able to enjoy.
“Freedom is not free,” Avera said. “Let's be thankful to this generation for what they left us. It is an honor to honor these veterans today.”
He introduced Dr. James Sledge, whose perseverance he credited for keeping alive the story of 'Boots' Thomas all these years.
Dr. Sledge in turn thanked Avera and the event's sponsors, which consisted of the Jefferson County Historical Association, American Legion Post 49, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 251, Tourist Development Council and City of Monticello.
“What a tremendous lift it is to see so many come out to pay honor to those who served our country,” Dr. Sledge said.
There followed the invocation, presentation of colors, national anthem played by the Jefferson Somerset marching band and a musical medley by Christian and Drew Schmoe, accompanied by Emily Wall on the keyboard.
John Finlayson, a WWII veteran who entered the Navy weeks before the war's end, provided a somewhat humorous sketch of life on the home-front during the war years. Noted for his wit, Finlayson remarked that Avera had asked him to encapsulate five years of the war in five minutes. But those who knew him, Finlayson said, well knew that he was more apt to take five years to relate the happenings of five minutes.
Finlayson nonetheless not only managed to remain within the allotted time, but he managed to inject humor into an otherwise grim topic, telling stories of rationing (his father had eaten enough of the chickens that the young Finlayson had raised until the father had gotten sick of chicken), the scarcity of copper (pennies had been made out of galvanized steel, whose tinny sound he had come to hate), the inefficiency of the draft (his brother, he said, had gotten his draft notice in Guadalcanal), the introduction of women into the workforce (it turned out women were better workers because they could talk and work simultaneously, a feat men seemed incapable of doing, he said), and his own contribution to the war.
“I joined the Navy and it took the Japanese three weeks to find out I joined and they quit,” Finlayson said.
Jennings Bunn, a retired anthropologist and present-day Live Oak resident, talked at length of his years and experiences on Guam and Iwo Jima, where he conducted tours for five years.
“I knew nothing about World War II when I went there,” Bunn said. “But I stayed 14 years and learned the history of Guam. I've also visited Iwo Jima five times.”
He said that over time he also began giving tours to Japanese tourists, many of whom had been WWII veterans and had further educated him about the battles.
Bunn said evidence of the war was still visible on both Guam and Iwo Jima, where bones of the slain soldiers and war ordnance could be found in the caves and jungles.
Rebecca Sheats, who authored a book titled Call Me No Hero about 'Boots' Thomas' brief life (he died just short of his 21st birthday) and his boyhood friendship with Dr. Sledge, spoke eloquently of Thomas' accomplishments and his modesty when reporters sought tried to cast him in the role of hero following the flag-raising. Sheats had a tape played of Thomas' radio interview after the flag raising, where he downplayed his part in the action and instead gave the credit to his comrades.
“Thomas protested the recognition,” Sheats said. “He wanted to set the record straight.”
She underscored that in war, as in life, credit often went to the few, while the many who made a difference went unnoticed and unsung.
Sitting in the front row, listening to Thomas' voice on the taped interview, Dr. Sledge openly wept for his friend's loss after 75 years, testimony to the depth of the two's bond.
There followed brief remarks by FSU Professor of History Dr. Kurt Phiehler, an authority on WWII and the founding director of the Rugers Oral History Archives of WWII, which contains more than 200 interviews with WWII veterans. Following Dr. Pheihler's presentation, Avera cut short the program in acknowledgment of the cold weather and the discomfort it was creating among the older WWII veterans in particular. Avera did, however, read a list of recently deceased local veterans, after which there followed the gun salute and retiring of the colors.
The Battle of Iwo Jima lasted 36 days between February 19 and March 26, 1945, and resulted in staggering losses to both sides, with nearly 7,000 Marines killed, another 22,000 wounded and more than 20,000 Japanese defenders killed. The battle marked a turning point in the war and the beginning of the end for the Japanese Empire.
Thomas was killed on March 3rd, eight days after helping raise the flag on Mount Suribachi, a feat duplicated hours later by a second group of Marines, whose flag raising photographer Joe Rosenthal captured and became one of the most iconic and enduring images of the war.
For years, the first flag-raising went largely unrecognized, and likely would have remained so, but for the unwavering efforts of Dr. Sledge and other like him. Dr. Sledge kept the story alive locally and raised funds for the erection of the Thomas monument, which he has since maintained.
The efforts of Dr. Sledge and others like him received a huge boost nationally in 2000 with the publication of the Flags of Our Fathers, a bestseller coauthored by James Bradley (whose father was among the group of first flag raisers) and Ron Powers, and the subsequent making of the popular film of the same name by actor, director and producer Clint Eastwood.