5/30/2004

John Wayne---Iwo Jima

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John Wayne

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The survivors raise the flag again in the finale.

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(Clockwise from left)  George Schrier, John Bradley, Ira Hayes and Rene Gagnon at Union Station in Washington DC for the premiere of "Sands of Iwo Jima" 1949.

Schrier led the platoon up Mt. Suribachi to raise the first flag, Bradley
was a funeral director in Wisconsin, Hayes a farmer in Arizona and Gagnon an airlines clerk in New Hampshire.

I sure miss John Wayne. He was smarter than most people remember. I remember in the movie Iwo Jima, he is sitting on the hill, just before he gets shot by a sniper ( remember that one ), takes off his helmet, lights up a cigarette, thinking the battle is over, and he is talking to this young Marine what he should do after the war:

" Life is tough. It's even tougher, if you don't get an education."

Now maybe you didn't get the message, but I sure remember it.

This comes from the principal of Saratoga High School, Saratoga, California. He is a Harvard graduate, and he related this to me in 1988, when I first sent it out on the internet:

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'."