There are no thanks enough for the brave ones we honor today, those who “gave the last full measure of devotion.”

When I read Flags Of Our Fathers years ago, I took it as my tribute to them all to memorize the names of the men in the famous Joe Rosenthal photo of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima.

Left to right:  Ira Hayes.  Franklin Sousley.  Mike Strank.  John Bradley.  Harold Schultz. Rene Gagnon (behind Bradley Schultz).  Harlon Block.

Sousley, Strank and Block died on that godforsaken island.  The rest are gone now, too.  God bless and keep them all.

UPDATE: Amateur historians discovered an error in identifying the men in this iconic photo. Thanks to them, we now know that John Bradley was not the fourth man – it was USMC Corporal Harold Schultz.