James Bradley ( author ) James Bradley ( born 1954 ) is an American author , specializing in historical nonfiction chronicling the Pacific theatre of World War II . His father , John Bradley , was one of six men who became famous for being photographed raising the American flag on Mt . Suribachi . That photograph has gone on to be one of the most duplicated and reproduced photos ever taken . Work . In 2000 , Bradley published " Flags of Our Fathers " , written with the author Ron Powers , which tells the story of five U . S . Marines and a Navy corpsman , his dad Navy corpsman , John Bradley , raising the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima . In that book , which spent 46 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was made into a film directed by Clint Eastwood , Bradley took infinite care to locate and speak with family and friends who actually knew the men depicted . In doing this , he received great praise for his realistic portrayals and bringing the men involved to life . The book and the film is an in - depth look at those involved and their war - time service . Of the six men , Bradley ' s father John , PFC Ira Hayes , and PFC Rene Gagnon were the only ones to survive the battle . SGT Michael Strank , CPL Harlon Block , and PFC Franklin Sousley were all killed in action later on in the battle . The book and film tell the story in a before , during , and after format , and both were well received upon their release . An impromptu speech Bradley gave at the Iwo Jima memorial was transcribed by Michael T . Powers in October 2000 , and widely circulated on the Internet . In 2003 he published " " . That book tells the story of an air raid that took place during the Battle of Iwo Jima , some 150 miles away , when U . S . warplanes bombed the small communications outpost on Chichi Jima . While Iwo Jima had Japanese forces numbering 22 , 000 , Chichi Jima ' s forces numbered 25 , 000 . Nine crewmen survived after being shot down in the raid . One was picked up by the American submarine USS " Finback " . That one man was then - Lieutenant George H . W . Bush , who later went on to become the forty - first President of the United States . The other eight were captured as POW s by the Japanese and were executed and eaten , a fact that remained hidden until much later . Like " Flags of Our Fathers " , " Flyboys : A True Story of Courage " also topped the New York Times Bestseller list when it came out . In 2009 , he published his third " New York Times " best selling book , " The Imperial Cruise " . It concerns the 1905 diplomatic mission led by then - Secretary of War William Howard Taft and Alice Roosevelt , as well as the larger implications of President Theodore Roosevelt ' s foreign policy , particularly with regard to Japan . " The New York Times " published a complimentary review , writing that " The Imperial Cruise is startling enough to reshape conventional wisdom about Roosevelt ' s presidency . " The book exposes the blatantly racist and exploitative policy of the United States in its attempt to extend its influence into the Pacific rim , acquiring Hawaii by conquest and the Philippines by purchase from the Spanish after ostensibly having entered the conflict to aid the Filipino freedom fighters . The American occupation was marked by torture and repression of the very people they had come to help . Portrayal in film . James Bradley ' s Father , John Bradley , is featured in the 2006 Clint Eastwood movie " Flags of Our Fathers " , where he is played by American actor Ryan Phillippe . The movie is based on James Bradley ' s book of the same title .