October 22nd,2006
This entry was posted on October 22, 2006 5:47 AM and is filed under Family and Heroes.
October 22nd, 2006
Last night I saw "Flags of our Fathers." **** I have maintained that Stephen Spielberg is America's best history teacher. Spielberg, along with Clint Eastwood created another great history lesson which looks at every angle of the six men who raised the flag (in the famous photo turned monument,) in Iwo Jima, Japan during WWII.
If you haven't read James Bradley's book, the film teaches the reality about the internationally famous Marine Monument in Washington D.C.
If you have read the book, the film does skip around a bit, changing the books original order, but keeping the content in tack.
I love the way the movie examen's the term "hero" and what the "real heroes" thought of themselves.
I have had the honor of meeting real heroes in my life and like author James Bradley describes, a real hero NEVER thinks of himself that way. They usually hate the word hero and wince when people call them heroes. From the Ground Zero firefighters, to America's troops and veterans, to men and women filling our veteran hospitals, every single one of them would never say they were a hero. Most of them explained, ... "No, we were just doing our job."
I met a guy in Florida with Vinny Forras. His hometown newspaper wrote an article about him because he went to New York to help at Ground Zero in 2002. He even brought the three-year-old newspaper article with him.
When Jon Brant and I introduced the real hero; Vinny Forras to the audience, this guy yells up to the stage; "Hey, you forgot someone, you forgot the third hero."
Shocked, I couldn't imagine who I forgot to mention, so off the microphone I asked him, "who did I forget?"
He yelled up; "Me!"
Almost immediately, I saw the crowd take one giant step back away from him as if he began to smell like a skunk and as if to say to him, "... you pathetic little man, how dare you stand in the same room with these two brave men and consider yourself in the same class as them." Even if he had actually worked at Ground Zero, the fact that he called himself a hero made people sick. Vinny and I joke about this putz everytime we speak.
Real heroes never talk about the act which made them a hero in the first place, For a real hero, it's a way of life, something they have done all of their lives and through a twist of fate they get recognition for it.
If you are looking for my brother Jim, he's in the wedding scene in the second part of the movie. He's wearing a yellow-ish suit and hat, and portrays a reporter questioning flag raiser Rene Gagnon as he walks from the church steps to the car. (He was freaking awesome!) Make sure you stay and watch all the credit's, ... Jim's official title is Reporter 1 (LA) and next to his title, his name Jim Cantafio, appears. That was a very proud moment for me. Forever, my brother will be associated with this great film.
To the families of flag raisers Mike Strank, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley, may God always watch over you. Your family members happen to be there at that single moment in history when that photo was taken. America desperately needed heroes in a time of despair and your six family members were dragged into the spot light. The all did their country proud.
In his only interview, flag raiser and father of the author James Bradley, John Bradley 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."
To look into the eyes of the six flag raises, and to learn a little more about them, visit this link I found on the Internet; http://www.iwojima.com/raising/raisingc.htm
Last night I saw "Flags of our Fathers." **** I have maintained that Stephen Spielberg is America's best history teacher. Spielberg, along with Clint Eastwood created another great history lesson which looks at every angle of the six men who raised the flag (in the famous photo turned monument,) in Iwo Jima, Japan during WWII.
If you haven't read James Bradley's book, the film teaches the reality about the internationally famous Marine Monument in Washington D.C.
If you have read the book, the film does skip around a bit, changing the books original order, but keeping the content in tack.
I love the way the movie examen's the term "hero" and what the "real heroes" thought of themselves.
I have had the honor of meeting real heroes in my life and like author James Bradley describes, a real hero NEVER thinks of himself that way. They usually hate the word hero and wince when people call them heroes. From the Ground Zero firefighters, to America's troops and veterans, to men and women filling our veteran hospitals, every single one of them would never say they were a hero. Most of them explained, ... "No, we were just doing our job."
I met a guy in Florida with Vinny Forras. His hometown newspaper wrote an article about him because he went to New York to help at Ground Zero in 2002. He even brought the three-year-old newspaper article with him.
When Jon Brant and I introduced the real hero; Vinny Forras to the audience, this guy yells up to the stage; "Hey, you forgot someone, you forgot the third hero."
Shocked, I couldn't imagine who I forgot to mention, so off the microphone I asked him, "who did I forget?"
He yelled up; "Me!"
Almost immediately, I saw the crowd take one giant step back away from him as if he began to smell like a skunk and as if to say to him, "... you pathetic little man, how dare you stand in the same room with these two brave men and consider yourself in the same class as them." Even if he had actually worked at Ground Zero, the fact that he called himself a hero made people sick. Vinny and I joke about this putz everytime we speak.
Real heroes never talk about the act which made them a hero in the first place, For a real hero, it's a way of life, something they have done all of their lives and through a twist of fate they get recognition for it.
If you are looking for my brother Jim, he's in the wedding scene in the second part of the movie. He's wearing a yellow-ish suit and hat, and portrays a reporter questioning flag raiser Rene Gagnon as he walks from the church steps to the car. (He was freaking awesome!) Make sure you stay and watch all the credit's, ... Jim's official title is Reporter 1 (LA) and next to his title, his name Jim Cantafio, appears. That was a very proud moment for me. Forever, my brother will be associated with this great film.
To the families of flag raisers Mike Strank, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley, may God always watch over you. Your family members happen to be there at that single moment in history when that photo was taken. America desperately needed heroes in a time of despair and your six family members were dragged into the spot light. The all did their country proud.
In his only interview, flag raiser and father of the author James Bradley, John Bradley 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."
To look into the eyes of the six flag raises, and to learn a little more about them, visit this link I found on the Internet; http://www.iwojima.com/raising/raisingc.htm
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October 22, 2006 2:57 PM
Vinny Forras wrote:
Man, You are a pisser!
I was cracking up reading your thoughts about our mutual "friend"! You just crack me up.
Thank you brother for always thinking of our brothers with such love and reverence. The movie sounds like a must see and I am looking forward to seeing it with my honey.
You definitely have a handle on it and the way you look at things is great. The flow of time has much to do with who we consider as our heroes. I am certain that these ICONS who raised the flag represented all that is good that our country stood for and their brothers stood for. I would believe that in the scheme of things, they represented much more than themselves. I think that this is one of the most important considerations when we judge who is a hero. I believe that on September 11th we said to the true heroes, until we meet again..... I believe that they gave their lives that day for all of us. I also believe that as we loose more of our brothers to the horrible toxic cocktail of Ground Zero more heroes will be born, ... at least in our hearts.
I am proud to have known many of them and to know many of them today. Unfortunately we tend to loose our heroes while evil in the world continues to prosper. I love the Marines saying, its up to God to judge these terrorists, its our job to arrange the meeting! This is the humility that I have come to know of our brave soldiers in harms way. I am so proud to have a son doing the right thing for all of us along with all his brothers. He is my living hero.
Can you imagine a father considering his son his hero? Well, I do and I am sure that there are many more fathers like me who consider their son in uniform their hero.
Joe, Thanks for giving us your take on things as they unfold every day. I enjoy it so much. You inspire so many with your words from the heart.
Keep up the great work.
Your brother,
Vinny
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October 23, 2006 7:07 PM
Ryan Jazak wrote:
What is up with this guy calling himself a Hero?
I think he has been reading to many Superman comics in his lifetime.
I want to explain to this fellow what a real hero is. I'm not going to get all "Brainy" here and look up the definition of "Hero". This is my personal definition. A Hero is someone who without hesitation, or regard for their own safety, does what is morally and ethically right, and doesn't think about themselves.... just the well being of others. Whether that person is a firefighter, policeman, teacher, parent, Marine, or musician. It doesn't matter. They don't look for recognition or praise, they just did what was right at that given time.
As long as I'm on the subject of heroes, I want to take the time a recognize some of mine. First and foremost are my parents, especially my father. He raised me to know the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil. It is because of him that I am the man I am today. I know I don't tell him it enough, but "thank you" Dad.
My wife is also a hero in my life. She straightened me out during my younger years. I wasn't always the good guy that you know Joe. (LOL) I thank her for keeping me on the right path, and I want to thank her for the greatest gift in my life, my baby boy, Eric Vincent.
I consider my brother, GySgt. Eric Jazak my biggest Hero. 12 years ago, he stepped up to the plate and made a commitment to defend the greatest country on earth and joined the Marine Corps. He came back from his tour in Iraq and was labeled by many as a hero. Now, he won't agree with that title, but he earned it. He risked his life to save the life of another Marine who was seriously injured during Operation Matador. He received a medal for his actions that day, and the love and support from his fellow Marines for his brave actions. Not once did Eric think about whether or not he would be considered a hero for what he was about to do, he just did it because he needed to. Those things happen everyday in combat, and that's why these men and women are heroes.
Vincent Forras is another one of my heroes. We named our boy after my brother and Vinny, and for good reasons. Vinny inspires me to be a better American. I remember September 11th as if it was yesterday. I met Vinny on the 2 year anniversary of the attacks. Through the friendship that we have embarked upon, I have been able to meet some extraordinary people and relived the attacks in my mind through his stories. He answered Americas call for help on that day, and without regard for his well being, jumped into action. 343 firefighting heroes died that day, and thousands more will follow in the coming years from the toxic cocktail of Ground Zero. We know that from the trials and tribulations of another hero, Tommy Harrigan. Vinny knows his future health problems by looking into Tommy's eyes, yet if you asked them both, they would do it again. IN A Heartbeat!
Those are the real heroes in this world. THEY EARNED IT
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October 23, 2006 7:17 PM
Ryan Jazak wrote:
Joe, you are one of my heroes as well. You brought the taste of home to all the brave warriors in harms way during your Rock and Roll tour of Iraq.
I have asked my brother about that many times, and he said that really means a lot to those soldiers and Marines. More than you can imagine. I am glad that we have met and continue to grow in our friendship. I can't wait to tell my baby boy, all of the great people that I have been able to meet. September 11th has brought Americans closer together, and I know that from experience. I would have never met you or Vinny, except for that horrific day, and we will move forward to make that day the turning point and the new resurrection of a better America.
Because the worst day in American history won't bring us down. We are to strong as a nation for that. God bless you my friend and I can't wait till we meet again.
Ryan
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