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VFW Quartermaster Rey Frutos spoke about the Iwo Jima monument, its “six boys and 13 hands,” and the story behind the most famous photograph and largest such bronze sculpture in the world. |
VFW Memorial Day focuses on Iwo Jima memorial, Buddy Poppy program
June 01, 2016
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
What happened to those immortalized in the photograph of and later monument to the flag raising on Iwo Jima as well as the history of the Buddy Poppy Program were highlighted at the annual Memorial Day Observance by Santa Paula Mercer-Prieto VFW Post 2043.
Also featured was the announcement of fundraising for the Roger Boles Veterans Memorial Pool at Santa Paula High School.
Pierce Brothers Santa Paula Cemetery was festooned with flags for the ceremony, held in front of the GAR Monument which each year draws hundreds of community members.
A concert by the Isbell Middle School Band led by director Scott Kneff started the ceremony with patriotic music including songs from each branch of the service and Santa Paula Airport pilots staged a flyover during the program.
Santa Paula Bob Hargarten, who retired as a Navy Commander after 30 years of service, noted that the famed “Anchors Aweigh” stemmed from a poem written for an Annapolis graduating class in the early 1900s.
He has fond memories of Memorial Day although “When I was a kid it was called Decoration Day!”
VFW Commander Jerry Olivas welcomed the crowd and introduced various people including Mayor Martin Hernandez and Vice Mayor Jenny Crosswhite as well as Police Chief Steve McLean.
He also thanked “Our first responders, our police and fire…our Santa Paula Fire Department brought several engines and Assistant Chief Vern Alstot is also here.”
Laura Cole of Pierce Brothers and her staff were thanked for their work in setting up tents and seating for the Memorial Day Observance as well as for hosting hot dogs afterwards; Olivas noted that several Scout troops were handing out programs and small flags and he acknowledged all who supported the event.
Following the National Anthem Father Charles Lueras of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, a Vietnam War veteran, led the prayer and noted, “We gather with a sense of hope and deep love and gratitude for those who serve…”
Jannette Jauregui, who spearheaded the effort to have the SPHS pool named in honor of Roger Boles, who wrote of building a pool at his alma mater before he was killed in World War II, said “On this very special day we come to honor those who lost their lives” in war.
Under different names Memorial Day has been celebrated for 150 years in remembrance of those that died in battle for the United States since the earliest days.
The Roger Boles Veterans Memorial Pool will not only be a remembrance of lives lost in war but said Jauregui will also “be an educational tool” for students.
The VFW will head the fundraising effort for the plaque and other needs of the pool with leftover funds donated to the Post.
The pool said Jauregui, will be a way to “remember and honor the lives and legacies of those we lost…and, in our collective form of memory, never forget…”
VFW Quartermaster Rey Frutos spoke about the Iwo Jima monument, its “six boys and 13 hands,” and the story behind the most famous photograph and largest such bronze sculpture in the world.
Dedicated by President Eisenhower and later decreed by President Kennedy that the flag would fly over the monument in perpetuity, Frutos spoke of James Bradley who wrote “The Flags of Our Fathers” about the five Marines and Navy Corpsman famous by Joe Rosenthal’s lauded photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima.
The battle was one of the costliest and most horrifying of WWII. The flag raisers included John Bradley (a Navy corpsman, and the author’s father), Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Harlon Block, and Franklin Sousley; the latter three men died later in the battle.
Frutos noted that 24-year-old Strank was called “The Old Man” by the mostly 17 to 19 years old that were fighting in Iwo Jima, whose advice he said they must follow so “I can send you home to your mommies…”
Block, a Corporal reported to Strank; the rest were Marine Privates except for Bradley, a Navy Corpsman who administered first aid to the company to which all the flag raisers were assigned.
After the war a reporter once called the Bradley house and told the young Bradley that his father was a hero, the survivor of Iwo Jima replied, “How can I be a hero when out of 250 of my buddies only 27 survived?”
Bradley, noted his son, never gave an interview about his war experiences including raising the flag on the island where more than 7,000 Americans died, the largest single loss of life in the history of the Marine Corps.
The statute said Frutos, “Isn’t just a piece of metal…it came alive by a son who made it come alive.”
And by the artist Felix de Weldon who when asked why there were 13 hands on the flag being raised instead of 12, answered, “The 13th hand was the hand of God…”
VFW Peter Solis spoke about the famed Buddy Poppy, the traditional fundraiser method for VFWs.
He noted the flowers are “actual replicas of poppies, which during World War I,” were often prominent on European fields of battle.
In 1924 the paper and satin Buddy Poppy was registered as well as its method of construction by disabled veterans in veterans’ homes.
“Even today,” said Solis, “the poppies are still made by disabled veterans in veterans homes,” and sold to raise funds for the VFW for veterans’ services and causes.
Post 2043 he added, sells the flowers for a week around Memorial Day and Veterans Day at the Post Office and Santa Paula Shopping Center.
Solis concluded his presentation by reading “In Flanders Fields” written by John McCrae during World War I.
The poignant Roll Call featured Quartermaster Frutos calling out the names of those Santa Paulans that died in battle and the call of “Here!” in response to their name.
Solis called “Here!” to the nine lost in World War I; VFW David Silvia replied for those 43 Santa Paulans killed in World War II; Commander Dave Lopez of the Korean War Veterans Assoc. Ventura County Chapter 56, called out to the 19 lost in Korea; and VFW Ronnie Brooks called “Here” to the 11 killed in Vietnam.
“Santa Paula is lucky…we do not have any killed in the current wars,” said Frutos.
The Placing of the Wreaths followed with the VFW, KWVA-VC56, family, friends and service clubs and organizations honoring those that served.
VFW Frank Osuna read “Freedom Isn’t Free” talking of the sacrifices made in war and Commander Lopez conducted the Flag Folding Ceremony and spoke on the meaning of each fold.
Dr. George Golden, Pastor of the First Baptist Church, Fillmore offered the closing prayer.
Ventura County Fire Fighters Pipes & Drums Corps played several selections including “Amazing Grace” before the Salute of Departed Comrades was staged by the VFW Post 2043 and KWVA-VC 56 Rifle Squad under the direction of David Garcia.
Jerry Garcia released Heavenly Doves, “Taps” played by bugler Rudy Arellano and the raising of the Flag from half-mast to full-mast to mark the end of the ceremony.
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Wreaths were placed by the VFW, KWVA-VC56, family, friends and service clubs and organizations honoring those that served. Above Bill Florio places a wreath on behalf of the Santa Paula VFW Post 2043. |
