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The family wasn’t aware of the 400,000 people who participated in a Times Square parade in honor of the Iwo Jima victory and the statue dedication. Bradley relates that all his mother knew about Iwo Jima and his father, she learned from the book that her son researched and the many interviews with the living participants of that fateful battle.

When asked about the movie of the same name and his role, Bradley says that the scripting was based entirely on the book and he was consulted regularly. “But, frankly, nobody tells Clint Eastwood what to do.” Eastwood was meticulous about the details that were in the film, from the historical film footage used to the authenticity of the WW II armaments. The widely researched book and the landmark film based on it met with critical success in the United States.

As a result of Bradley writing the first two books about the huge number of people killing each other on both sides of the Pacific, and his life-altering year of study in Japan, he started the James Bradley Peace Foundation. The focus of the foundation is to send high school students to live, work and learn for one year in China or Japan.

“The experiences change the students from day one,” he points out. His hope is that the next time a decision is “between talking or fighting,” students will be more influenced to talk it out. Profits from the book sales are earmarked to support the mission of the foundation.

When we look at the iconic picture of the soldiers raising the flag at Iwo Jima, we don’t realize there is a story behind the story. Conference attendees will hear this amazing story and the messages for life. It will resonate with attendees from a historical and family perspective, as well as touch on everyday life challenges.