Flags of Our Fathers

Corrected entry: A picture of the real John 'Doc' Bradley taken of him with President Truman shows him using crutches (remember he had the leg wound and the operation took place after the war bond tour), however, in the movie 'Doc' did not have crutches when he met the President.

Joel Amos Gordon

Correction: True as that may be, this movie does not claim 100% historical accuracy, so consider this artistic license on the part of the filmmakers, for dramatic purposes.

Super Grover

Corrected entry: There was a point in the movie where an elderly Rene Gagnon told Doc's son that he'd seen Ira only once since he'd left the fundraising tour. That's when he passed him on the road and didn't pick him up. About 10 minutes later in the movie, the three were at the Marine Memorial dedication together, which would make it the 2nd time Rene had seen Ira.

Correction: That wasn't elderly Rene it was elderly Keyes Beech.

James Storck

Corrected entry: Toward the end of the movie, Doc's son was narrating and said he never knew about any of this until after his father died. Within seconds, he and his father (while on his death bed) are talking about the whole thing while he is obviously very much alive.

Correction: He was told all this while his father was on his death bed. It takes time to process information under stressful conditions, and saying he did not know any of this until after his father died is consistent with a person being unclear on things until stress is over. He also may have had to check on some facts to confirm what his father had told him, which also would not have been done until after his father died.

Continuity mistake: When the "Flag-Raisers" begin stripping down to go swimming, they show a few of the Marines already down to their boxers. They switch to a shot of Bradley and then back to the Marines and all have their pants on.

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Bud Gerber: People on the street corners, they looked at this picture and they took hope. Don't ask me why, I think it's a crappy picture, myself. You can't even see your faces! But it said we can win this war, are winning this war, we just need you to dig a little deeper. They want to give us that money. No, they want to give it to you.

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Trivia: This movie was filmed back-to-back with Letters from Iwo Jima, a fictional account of the battle of Iwo Jima that looks at it from the Japanese soldier's perspective.

Joel Amos Gordon

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Question: Why did Hayes hate the fame he was receiving?

Answer: It's hard to truly understand why some people aren't comfortable in the spotlight. But Hayes was known for saying "I am not a hero" and that the real heroes were "the brave men who died." He really didn't want to be known as a hero for raising the flag, especially when so many of his friends died and didn't earn the respect he was getting. Unfortunately, he turned to alcohol and developed a drinking problem, which lead him to shun fame even more. However, these things are not unique to him. Many soldiers, especially those who suffer PTSD, which Hayes may have had, feel guilt or remorse for surviving when friends didn't. Fame and the spotlight only exasperates these feelings as it becomes a constant reminder of their survival. Alcoholism also leads some to want to be left alone for numerous reasons.

Bishop73

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