A Sermon Delivered at First Christian Church Stockton
June 30, 2002

Psalm 74:1-11, Luke 10:1-11, 17-20

It's an unforgettable photo.

The raising of the flag at Iwo Jima.

In fact, if you had to pick 10 photographs to tell the story of our country, this one featuring U.S. soldiers lifting up the American flag would be one of them, never mind that it was a posed re-enactment of the real thing.

Iwo Jima is a dot in the Pacific where the United States needed a landing strip for bombers striking Japan during World War II. Some 70,000 Marines were sent to take it from a dug-in enemy. "The thing I'll remember forever," recounts retired Major General Fred Haynes, "was the courage and the guts of the kids ... and these were young kids."

They were kids. But also heroes.

There are six flag raisers in the photo. The front four are Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block. The back two are Michael Strank and Rene Gagnon.

Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterward. Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within weeks.  Later a movie starring John Wayne was made.

Mike Strank    
b. 1919  Czechoslovakia.
d. 1945  Iwo Jima, Japan.

Their leader and Sergeant, it was Mike who got the order to climb Mt. Suribachi. Mike picked his "boys" and led them safely to the top. Mike explained to the boys that the larger flag had to be raised so that "every Marine on this cruddy island can see it." It was Mike who gave the orders to find a pole, attach the flag and "put'er up!"

At home as a boy, Mike was studious, had a photographic memory and played the French Horn. In 1936, Mike ran down to the river to see for himself the terrible Johnstown flood. He brought this report back to his family: "Don't worry--it will recede."

Two months before the battle Mike's Captain tried to promote him but Mike turned it down flat: "I trained those boys and I'm going to be with them in battle," he said.

Mike died on March 1, 1945. He was hit by a mortar as he was diagramming a plan in the sand for his boys. Mike is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Harlon Block 
b. 1924 Yorktown, Texas.
d. 1945 Iwo Jima, Japan.

Harlon was an outgoing daredevil with many friends at Weslaco High School. A natural athlete, Harlon led the Weslaco Panther Football Team to the Conference Championship. He was honored as "All South Texas End." Harlon and twelve of his teammates enlisted in the Marine Corps together in 1943.

Harlon was Sgt. Mike's second-in-command. He took over the leadership of his unit when Sgt. Mike was killed. Harlon was killed by a mortar blast hours later on March 1 at the age of 21.

Harlon is buried beside the Iwo Jima Monument in Harlingen, Texas.

Franklin Sousley 

b. Sept. 19, 1925 Hilltop, KY.
d. March 21, 1945 Iwo Jima, Japan.

Franklin was a red-haired, freckle-faced "Opie Taylor" raised on a tobacco farm. His favorite hobbies were hunting and dancing. Fatherless at 9, Franklin became the main man in his mother's life. Franklin enlisted at 17 and sailed for the Pacific on his 18th Birthday. All that's left of Franklin is a few pictures and two letters Franklin wrote home to his mother:

------------July 1944, Letter from Training Camp:
"Mother, you said you were sick. I want you to stay in out of that field and look real pretty when I come home. You can grow a crop of tobacco every summer, but I sure as hell can't grow another mother like you."

------------Feb. 27, 1945 Letter from Iwo Jima:
"My regiment took the hill with our company on the front line. The hill was hard, and I sure never expected war to be like it was those first 4 days. Mother, you can never imagine how a battlefield looks. It sure looks horrible. Look for my picture because I helped put up the flag. Please don't worry and write."

Franklin was the last flag-raiser to die on Iwo Jima, on March 21 at the age of 19. When word reached his mother that Franklin was dead, "You could hear her screaming clear across the fields at the neighbor's farm."

Franklin is buried at Elizaville Cemetery, Kentucky.

Ira Hayes 
b. January 12, 1923 Sacaton, Arizona
d. January 24, 1955 Bapchule, Arizona

Ira Hayes was a Pima Indian. When he enlisted in the Marine Corps, he had hardly ever been off the Reservation. His Chief told him to be an "Honorable Warrior" and bring honor upon his family. Ira was a dedicated Marine. Quiet and steady, he was admired by his fellow Marines who fought alongside him in three Pacific battles.

When Ira learned that President Roosevelt wanted him and the other survivors to come back to the US to raise money on the 7th Bond Tour, he was horrified. To Ira, the heroes of Iwo Jima, those deserving honor, were his "good buddies" who died there.

At the White House, President Truman told Ira, "You are an American hero." But Ira didn't feel pride. As he later lamented, "How could I feel like a hero when only five men in my platoon of 45 survived, when only 27 men in my company of 250 managed to escape death or injury?"

The Bond Tour was an ordeal for Ira. He couldn't understand or accept the adulation . . . "It was supposed to be soft duty, but I couldn't take it. Everywhere we went people shoved drinks in our hands and said 'You're a Hero!' We knew we hadn't done that much but you couldn't tell them that."

Ira went back to the reservation attempting to lead an anonymous life. But it didn't turn out that way . . . "I kept getting hundreds of letters. And people would drive through the reservation, walk up to me and ask, 'Are you the Indian who raised the flag on Iwo Jima"

In 1954, Ira reluctantly attended the dedication of the Iwo Jima monument in Washington. After a ceremony where he was lauded by President Eisenhower as a hero once again, a reporter rushed up to Ira and asked him, "How do you like the pomp & circumstances?" Ira just hung his head and said, I don't."

Ira died three months later after a night of drinking. As Ira drank his last bottle of whiskey he was crying and mumbling about his "good buddies." Ira was 32.

John Bradley 
b. July 10, 1923 Antigo, WI.
d. January 11, 1994 Antigo, WI.

"Doc" Bradley was a Navy Corpsman who "just jumped in to lend a hand." He won the Navy Cross for heroism and was wounded in both legs.

Bradley, a quiet, private man, gave just one interview in his life. In it he said . . .
"People refer to us as heroes--I personally don't look at it that way. I just think that I happened to be at a certain place at a certain time and anybody on that island could have been in there--and we certainly weren't heroes--and I speak for the rest of them as well. That's the way they thought of themselves also."

Of the surviving Flag Raisers, only Bradley was successful in putting his life back together after the war.

John Bradley returned to his home town in the Midwest after the war, prospered as the owner of a family business, and gave generously of his time and money to local causes. He was married for 47 years and had eight children.  He died in 1994.

Rene Gagnon 
b. Manchester, N.H. March 7, 1925
d. Manchester, N.H. October 12, 1979

Rene Gagnon was the youngest survivor and the man who carried the flag up Mt. Suribachi. He was the first survivor to arrive back in the US.

Rene was modest about his achievement throughout his life.

Rene is honored with a special room in New Hampshire's prestigious Wright
Museum.

Rene is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, the Flag Raiser buried
closest to the Marine Corps Memorial.

What's most amazing is how ordinary each of these heroes was.  So ordinary. But so heroic.
 
This is so typical. "You won't find a hero who will admit to being one," says Senator John McCain. Heroes consider their uncommon valor to be a common virtue; they see it as a simple duty - nothing that someone else wouldn't have done under the same circumstances.
But if heroism is so common, why don't we see more of it?

 
In today's lesson, Jesus calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things. He appoints 70 average people - people as typical as any one of us, people as ordinary as the 70,000 marines who were sent to Iwo Jima. Their mission is to go in pairs to every town and place where Jesus intends to go, and to do the work of curing the sick, preaching the kingdom and driving out demons.

"I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves," warns Jesus (Luke 10:3). The 70 are facing a "dug-in enemy," like the marines on the beaches of Iwo Jima. Jesus orders them to carry no purse, bag or sandals, and to live off the hospitality of those who will receive them. Their only weapon is the powerful message: "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (v. 9).

Is this a fair fight? It doesn't seem so at first. Jesus is calling for common people to show uncommon valor and to embark on a mission that seems unlikely to succeed.

But when these 70 ordinary souls return, they make a surprising report: "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" (v. 17). Speaking and acting in the name of Jesus, the 70 have a power that they never imagined possible. The ordinary virtue of following Jesus suddenly turns into extraordinary heroism, and common disciples discover that they have uncommon abilities.

Do we need  heros? Absolutely. And we shouldn't have to look far to find one, or two, or three. We should be able to find them right in our own church.  All of those who committed time and talent to our recent VBS are heroes to me.  The ladies that volunteer their time to answer phones and put together 2500 newsletters are heroes to me.  Those who put our sanctuary together each Sunday, and those who make sure we have refreshments after worship are heroes.  Those who serve on committees and teach Sunday school and repair sprinklers are all heroes to me.
 
God is always looking for heroes, for people willing to accept the challenge of following Christ. This is never easy, but our church - and our nation - can use a few more heroes. Now, more than ever, we need ordinary people to do the extraordinary work of love and compassion in a world being torn apart by hatred, vilo and self-interest.  Which of us will be willing to take a stand for God's coming kingdom - a kingdom of love and compassion, healing and hope?  Will you?  How about you? 

God's heroes are going to be found right here, if they are going to be found anywhere at all. Found among men and women who respond to the call of Christ. Found among ordinary people willing to take risks and do extraordinary work. Found among folks able to proclaim the kingdom of heaven and extend God's love and compassion to others. Found among people who depend more on divine authority than on human ability, and who rejoice more in God's acceptance than in worldly recognition.

I have no doubt that there are heroes among us waiting for a call.  What about you?  Will it be you, or you?  Will it be us? 

Michael Malone
June 30, 2002

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