Flags without our brothers

Show:	Leonard Lopate Show
Air Date:	2006.10.20
Issue:	Flags of our fathers
Guest(s):	James Bradley
Show Info

While interviewing James Bradley, co-author of the book Flags of Our Fathers Lopate missed multiple opportunities to discuss the issue of the absence of black soldiers in the film version of the book, directed by conservative/libertarian actor Clint Eastwood. During the second half of his interview, Lopate spent a considerable amount of time on the movie, the discussion often including issues of relevance, where the missing black soldiers could have been address, for example: Bradley’s description of the diversity of the men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima.

Note: Roger Friedman pointed out this issue back on 12, Oct 2006, on Fox News (of all places!):

There are some caveats about “Flags of our Fathers” that can’t be overlooked, and again I think they have more to do with Broyles’ script than anything else.

First, there don’t seem to be any black soldiers at Iwo Jima. Outside of Beach’s character, it’s an all-white American army. This is historically inaccurate.

Writer Christopher Paul Moore talks about the Army’s 471st, 473rd and 476th amphibious truck companies in his excellent book, “Fighting for America: Black Soldiers — The Unsung Heroes of World War II,” and includes many pictures of black Marines and soldiers from the month-long battle of Iwo Jima. Certainly, at least one of them could have been represented (to be fair, black soldiers were also omitted from Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” as Moore notes).

No black characters, but more than 30 actors from Iceland, where a big chunk of the movie was filmed, are credited as soldiers.