America Remembers a Hero
The story of Sergeant Ernest "Boots" Thomas and the flag-raising on Iwo Jima, as recorded in newspapers across the country
compiled by R. A. Sheats
Oversize softcover,
108 pages
Available through Amazon.com
Take a walk through time back to the exciting days of February 1945 when a historic flag-raising inspired the hearts of thousands of Marines on a tiny island in the Pacific and shook their homeland coast to coast. In these stunning pages relive the moment when Platoon Sergeant Ernest I. “Boots” Thomas—the leader of the platoon that raised the flag—was catapulted into national fame for his heroism in battle and for the part he played in raising the Stars and Stripes atop a towering volcano known as Suribachi.
On February 19, 1945, on a barren speck of land known as Iwo Jima, a flag was raised and a moment in history was forever captured on film. Unmindful of the fame that would soon engulf them, Sgt. Thomas and his men thought little of their deed, but within days their feat would be known and celebrated around the world—and remembered for generations to come.
From New York to California, from Montana to Florida, from the largest metropolises to the smallest towns, news of Iwo Jima’s historic flag-raising swept the nation and catapulted an astonished young Marine into unexpected fame. Across the United States hundreds of newspapers picked up his story and joyfully broadcast it to their eager readers. Soft-spoken Ernest Boots Thomas, a native of quiet Monticello, Florida, was overnight hailed as a national hero whose name and story was known and beloved from coast to coast.
Through the pages of newspapers from 1945 and beyond, America Remembers a Hero chronicles the daring feats of Sergeant Thomas and his platoon—and reveals the honor that a nation showered upon a quiet twenty-year-old Marine who never ceased to protest: “I didn’t do a thing. . . . The honor belongs to every man in my platoon.”
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