Build a movie plot around this: Did the surviving men think they were heroes? No.
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (October 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)As three US servicemen - Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes, Private First Class Rene Gagnon, and Navy Corpsman John "Doc" Bradley - (Bradley who was incorrectly identified as being a flag-raiser) are feted as heroes in a war bond drive, they reflect on their experiences via flashback.After training at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii, the 28th Marine Regiment 5th Marine Division sails to the small island of Iwo Jima as part of an invading armada. Tough Japanese resistance is expected, and the Navy bombards suspected Japanese positions for three days. Sergeant Mike Strank is put in charge of Second Platoon.The next day, February 19, 1945, the Marines land in Higgins boats. The beaches are silent and Private First Class Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski wonders if the defenders are all dead before Japanese heavy artillery and machine guns open fire on the advancing Marines and the Navy ships. Casualties are heavy but the beaches are secured.Two days later the Marines attack Mount Suribachi under a rain of Japanese artillery and machine gun fire, as the Navy bombards the mountain. Doc saves the lives of several Marines under fire, which later earns him the Navy Cross. Finally, the mountain is secured.On February 23, the platoon under command of Sergeant Hank Hansen is ordered to climb Mount Suribachi. They reach the top and hoist the United States flag atop the mountain to cheers from the beaches and the ships. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, who witnesses the flag raising as he lands on the beach, requests the flag for himself. Colonel Chandler Johnson decides his 2nd Battalion deserves the flag more. Rene is sent up with Second Platoon to replace the first flag with a second one for Forrestal to take. Mike, Doc, Ira, Rene and two other marines (Corporal Harlon Block and Private First Class Franklin...