My father was gunners mate on the LST 758.He participated in the Iwo Jima landings.He witnessed both flag raisings on Suribachi. The 2nd flag came from his ship. The 758 landed on the 3rd day. It was damaged by a near miss and was unable to back off for 5 days. Dad’s duty station was the forward gunnery director. “I had a direct view of something I wished to god I could forget”.
As you can imagine, he had a deep reverence for the flag and all it stood for. During the Vietnam era, knowing his history, people would attempt to troll him about the protests and flag burnings etc. His usual response wasn’t what they expected. “We fought a war to protect and preserve the Constitution and all that it guaranteed. Any attempt to deny or suppress the rights, Free Speech, freedom of the press, freedom of expressions set out in That Document, denigrates and dishonors the men and women who fought and died. As to the protests, I may not agree with what they say or how they express it, but I fought to defend their right to do it, and would gladly do it again.”
Dad passed Jan. 2015, at 93. As much as I miss the man, I‘m grateful he did not live to see and hear the unamerican spew coming from the incompetent in the Whitehouse. I am esp. thankful he did not see the video of Prez. Bonespurs hugging the flag, I would have been mopping up puke for days.