The Black Power Spot

Absent From History: the Black Soldiers at Iwo Jima

2010-02-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

Nearly 900 African-Americans fought on the Japanese island but not one appears in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-tipped film, writes Dan Glaister.

On February 19 1945 Thomas McPhatter found himself on a landing craft heading toward the beach on Iwo Jima.

"There were bodies bobbing up all around, all these dead men," said the former US marine, now 83 and living in San Diego. "Then we were crawling on our bellies and moving up the beach. I jumped in a foxhole and there was a young white marine holding his family pictures. He had been hit by shrapnel, he was bleeding from the ears, nose and mouth. It frightened me. The only thing I could do was lie there and repeat the Lord's prayer, over and over and over."

Sadly, Sgt McPhatter's experience is not mirrored in Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood's big-budget, Oscar-tipped film of the battle for the Japanese island. While the battle scene's in the film - which opens today in the US - show scores of young soldiers in combat, none of them are African-American. Yet almost 900 African-American troops took part in the battle of Iwo Jima, including Sgt McPhatter.

The film tells the story of the raising of the stars and stripes over Mount Suribachi at the tip of the island. The moment was captured in a photograph that became a symbol of the US war effort. Eastwood's film follows the marines in the picture, including the Native American Ira Hayes, as they were removed from combat operations to promote the sale of government war bonds.

Mr McPhatter, who went on to serve in Vietnam and rose to the rank of lieutenant commander in the US navy, even had a part in the raising of the flag. "The man who put the first flag up on Iwo Jima got a piece of pipe from me to put the flag up on," he says. That, too, is absent from the film.

"Of all the movies that have been made of Iwo Jima, you never see a black face," said Mr McPhatter. "This is the last straw. I feel like I've been denied, I've been insulted, I've been mistreated. But what can you do? We still have a strong underlying force in my country of rabid racism."

Melton McLaurin, author of the forthcoming The Marines of Montford Point and an accompanying documentary to be released in February, says that there were hundreds of black soldiers on Iwo Jima from the first day of the 35-day battle. Although most of the black marine units were assigned ammunition and supply roles, the chaos of the landing soon undermined the battle plan.

"When they first hit the beach the resistance was so fierce that they weren't shifting ammunition, they were firing their rifles," said Dr McLaurin.

The failure to transfer the active role played by African-Americans at Iwo Jima to the big screen does not surprise him. "One of the marines I interviewed said that the people who were filming newsreel footage on Iwo Jima deliberately turned their cameras away when black folks came by. Blacks are not surprised at all when they see movies set where black troops were engaged and never show on the screen. I would like to say that it was from ignorance but anybody can do research and come up with books about African-Americans in world war two. I think it has to do with box office and what producers of movies think Americans really want to see."

He added: "I want to see these guys get their due. They're just so anxious to have their story told and to have it known."

Roland Durden, another black marine, landed on the beach on the third day. "When we hit the shore we were loaded with ammunition and the Japanese hit us with mortar." Private Durden was soon assigned to burial detail, "burying the dead day in, day out. It seemed like endless days. They treated us like workmen rather than marines."

Mr Durden, too, is wearied but unsurprised at the omissions in Eastwood's film. "We're always left out of the films, from John Wayne on," he said. Mr Durden ascribes to both the conspiracy as well as the cock-up theory of history. "They didn't want blacks to be heroes. This was pre-1945, pre civil rights."

A spokesperson for Warner Bros said: "The film is correct based on the book." The omission was first remarked upon in a review by Fox News columnist Roger Friedman, who noted that the history of black involvement at Iwo Jima was recorded in several books, including Christopher Moore's recent Fighting for America: Black Soldiers - the Unsung Heroes of World War II. "They weren't in the background at all," said Moore.

"The people carrying the ammunition were 90% black, so that's an opportunity to show black soldiers. These are our films and very often they become our history, historical documents." Yvonne Latty, a New York University professor and author of We Were There: Voices of African-American Veterans (2004), wrote to Eastwood and the film's producers pleading with them to include the experience of black soldiers. HarperCollins, the book's publishers, sent the director a copy, but never heard back.

"It would take only a couple of extras and everyone would be happy," she said. "No one's asking for them to be the stars of the movies, but at least show that they were there. This is the way a new generation will think about Iwo Jima. Once again it will be that African-American people did not serve, that we were absent. It's a lie."

The first chapter to James Bradley's book Flags of Our Fathers, which forms the basis of the movie, opens with a quotation from president Harry Truman. "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know." It would provide a fitting endnote to Eastwood's film.

Trying to figure out...

2009-08-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

If I even need this BlackPowerSpot Blogspot. Every once in a while I am moved to discuss a racial issue. I just found out about Brandon McClelland of TX, the young man who was "allegedly" killed the same way James Byrd was 10 years ago in TX.

There is also a young Ghanaian soccer player in California who is up for trial for "allegedly" assaulting a white lady. The town believes that he is innocent, however, due to racial tensions and etc... isn't getting a fair trial.

Then there is the issue of Prof. Gates and the police profiling incident.

After that came this officer who says he's not a racist, yet in an email he sent out to everyone, refers to African-Americans as monkeys over and over again.

It's too much to tackle. Too much to keep up with, and to write about it is to be consumed by it... but you can bet, you'll see some element of it in my upcoming book!

Brothers without Barriers

2009-04-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

This is why we love our president so much.

We have all heard the stories about British officers and how they are supposed to be focused and NOTHING --absolutely nothing should distract them. But, the first-African-American president of the free-world - oh, he'll take anyone off their post!

This is why we love him!!!

Da Bruthas Doin' Their Thing in Entertainment

2009-04-05T17:53:00.001-07:00

There are so many I have missed... I know.. I KNOW!! but here is a snapshot!

Ending Racism is a Group Effort

2009-02-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

A New York Post cartoon that some have interpreted as comparing President Barack Obama to a violent chimpanzee gunned down by police drew outrage Wednesday from civil rights leaders and elected officials who said it echoed racist stereotypes of blacks as monkeys.

I ask the question, Did we think that racist sentiment would end because our commander and chief is in African-American? We would be naive as a nation to believe that would be the case. This is where CHANGE comes in to play. The person who produced it has the right to do what they like. It's about the newspaper's decision to print this cartoon. This is where the change should occur. They should say... "no this one promotes racism and we are not about that."

Intervention

2009-01-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

I couldn’t help but look at President Obama as he humbly walked out onto the platform to recite the inaugural oath that perhaps we were all part of a giant experiment. Maybe this was a giant intervention. His candidacy was based on change. And there are many models of change that are used by life coaches and management professionals to help people get on the right track. So could this be? Were we all part of the BIG INTERVENTION?

The first thing he did was create a familiar looking logo (that looked very similar to Pepsi). And, then he told America that we needed change. He made us aware of the many things that needed to be fixed. He said he can’t do it alone, but we would have to participate. So in order for us to move forward out of this financial crisis we would have to be active participants. Desire is the next step. We would have to WANT to help ourselves. But we need the knowledge of how to change. And for that, he says, “I’ll give you the tools. But the ability to implement new skills and behaviors is in your hands.” We believe him because he presents himself with honesty and sincerity. I’m just sayin’. If we are part of some sort of experiment for change – I’m okay with that. I think it’s already working. Obama is America's life coach for this intervention.

THIS IS CRAZY!!

2009-01-19T17:46:00.001-08:00

another Obama LOOK-ALIKE...

--FROM YAHOO - ONLINE: JAN 19, 2009

A combination photograph shows U.S. President-elect Barack Obama (L) at a ceremony for his whistle stop train trip at the train station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 17, 2009 and Indonesian photographer Ilham Anas (R) chatting with his colleagues in his office in Jakarta January 17, 2009. Anas won't be at U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday. Instead he'll be starring as an Obama look-alike on Indonesian TV. Anas, 34, who from some angles bears a resemblance to the new U.S. president, shot to fame in Jakarta after Obama, 47, won the election in November, and is now earning income as an Obama double.REUTERS/Jim Young/Supri/Files (INDONESIA)

COME ON NEW!!!

2009-01-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

happy new year
out with the old
in with the new

Odetta, Singing in the Heavens

2008-12-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

A Change is Gonna Come

2008-11-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

Don't get it twisted. Don't be fooled. This has been a long time in the mind of President-Elect Obama. He's had his eyes on the prize a long time ago...

i was born by the river, in a little tent, and oh like the river I've been runnin' ever since... it's been a long, long hard journey, but I know a change is gonna come

Check out Seal's new heartfelt rendition.

Can't touch Sam Cooke though!

Yes We Did!

2008-11-13T19:02:00.001-08:00

I know it took me a moment to say it... But does it matter how long?
We as a nation have our work cut out for us... but we did it!
CHANGE is good! I think Change is great!!

VOTE!

2008-10-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

A Dream Realized

2008-08-29T21:14:00.001-07:00

I can remember the stories that our parents told us. They were young adults watching Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. make his strides in the world, leaving footprints for future generations to step into and continue the journey. They watched Malcolm raise the level of consciousness of a nation on the edge of resistance. And, they did it as a family moving together with interlocking arms and the mindset that they could move mountains. Our parents dreamed of much better days.

We’ve seen images of television families like the Jeffersons or the Evans family on Good Times where the whole family would sit around the television or radio. On one episode they heard the news of Dr. King’s assassination. The family’s reaction was so real and heart filled. You could probably ask any elder where they were when they heard the news of Dr. King, and you’d get the whole story from what they were eating, to where they were sitting.

Well, my family sat and watched Obama speak the other night. And, as I sat and looked at my two boys I thought, wow, I am living in a time when an African-American man might be president. I am living in history. One day someone may ask me where were you when you heard that Barrack Obama was named president of the United States. I will tell them where I standing – sitting - jumping, what the air smelled like, why my eyes were tearing, and how Obama is a dream realized for our forefathers and foremothers.

We have to Support our Black Men

2008-08-18T00:58:00.000-07:00

Patriotic Fever

2008-08-12T07:08:00.000-07:00

Remember this flick from the Olympics!!!

I've never been really patriotic, however I'm feeling the energy of the 2008 Olympics. Either NBC is doing a good job with their promotions or I've got "Patriotic Fever".

I sat down with my children and we watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. It was fun. I remember watching Nadia in 76 with my parents. I had a small red black and white television in my room.

Now my children are watching the Olympics in HD enhanced, surround sound. They are seeing every bead of sweat rolling off of Michael Phelp's face. I think he made his teeth extra special white for the games.

Anyway, I'm excited about America again. Maybe it has to do with Obama? :)

CNN's Black in America

2008-07-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's unfortunate that this piece of propaganda was disseminated through the CNN news organization and actually distributed to the masses. I am a bit "talked out" regarding the portrayal and the inaccuracies in the piece. Who produced it? Why was it done? Why now? It wasn't produced well, the stories were muddy, and it didn't speak to Black in America. Poor. This program gets no stars...and actually I want to take stars away... put it in the negative.