http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/?dod-date=223

You have seen this iconic war image on numerous occasions and is considered one of the most duplicated photos across many media platforms, and includes a US postage stamp. This photograph was taken by Associated Press photojournalist Joe Rosenthal on Mt. Suribachi, after US Marines took the Japanese island of Iwo Jima after days of battle on February 23, 1945. The image above is a hi-res download (186 KB jpg.) of the original which is currently being held in US Navy records. Looking closely you will notice it is a copy of the original, meaning it remains untouched, non-cropped, grainy and in black and white. Imperfections exist probably from the negative development and age of the negative.

I was watching a documentary on the Smithsonian Channel which highlighted U.S. Memorials created and located near our nations capital. One of the many discussed was the United States Marine Corps War Memorial located in Arlington,VA., which is a 3D sculpture based on Rosenthal’s photo titled Flag Raising on Iwo Jima. During the program I learned that he won a Pulitzer Prize for the photo and I realized I really did not know anything else about it, so I started digging online. I went to Google and found many links just by searching “Iwo Jima Flag.”

This was actually a picture of a 2nd flag raising, and staying true to American- go big or go home– style, the first flag was deemed to small. After Rosenthal missed the first raising he was traveling up the summit to shoot the flag and ruble when he stumbled upon the second flag raising. He quickly snapped the shot without knowing truly if he got the the image he was hoping for. According to an article by Thom Patterson of CNN, the negatives were sent to Guam for processing and by the time Rosenthal saw his published work in the Pacific region, five or six days later San Francisco had released it all over the US being seen by millions of Americans, which during those days it was considered to have “gone viral.” The photo represented the the momentous occasion of a win in the Pacific theatre during WWII and was used to spread morale and sold many, many war bonds.

I have only been to Arlington, VA. one time and regretfully I only viewed the the US Memorials from a car window at night. The most striking was the Iwo Jima Memorial and the following image is close to what I remember from my visit. The five Marines and one Navy sailor continue to give me goosebumps.

Last week we discussed feminism…1st wave… 2nd wave…and the waves we face today. I neglected to say anything in TA Linnea’s class because the conversation was fast paced and evolved quite fluidly. As a psychology major I immediately think Bem’s Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and many of the terms used to describe yourself. If you don’t recall the BSRI, it is a self report questionnaire geared to determine how masculine, feminine, or androgynous a person is developed by Sandra Bem in 1974. One of the terms used to determine masculinity was “ambitious.”

I’ve told you all this merely because of a situation that happened to a close woman I know. As she was going through a job interviewing process, a non-listed reference was contacted for counsel to discuss her as an applicant (this is illegal I might add). The reference was glowing, but had only one caution to add “She is ambitious.” The woman ultimately got the job, but was told much later about the so called “reference.” You know what? She is ambitious. In 9 months she went from a program manager to Director of her department, jumping over 5 pay grades/titles. Since when is ambitious a bad thing? If the applicant was male I don’t believe the situation would of been the same.

Until I was told the story of this whole encounter I never really thought much of ambition as masculine or feminine, much like many of the other 59 terms in the BSRI. I’m including a link to an article I found. I hope you find it informative.

http://www.iamthatgirl.com/ambition_a_taboo_term_for_women

In lecture I heard some gasps at the idea, but the concept was familiar to me. As an older student than most, I really enjoyed the TV sitcom That 70’s Show and I remember this scene vividly. You can watch the whole episode as I find it hilarious, or you can cut to 17:13 min into the clip and watch the scene unfold. This was my immediate thoughts when our professor brought up this topic. Please enjoy!

I met an older gentlemen this last weekend in Kentucky. He used to be a “bootlegger” before he went legit and attained a license and opened a distillery for his moonshine. What a character! It turns out he loves to talk…and in doing so I found out he served in Vietnam. He loved being over there as a rescue pilot so much that he was sent to Okinawa for mental help. Long story short he finally made it back to the states with multiple purple hearts, a new Japanese bride, and infant son. Some skeptics say that our soldiers were never spit on or disrespected upon return. Without prompting he told me that he was dressed in his dress greens holding his baby boy, and along side his loving bride. He was spit on and called a “baby killer” when he was leaving the Chicago airport. The funny part was he said he snatched those “hippies” by there long hair and was escorting them outside to “teach’em some manners.” The MP’s got involved…but elected to see how the lesson would turnout. The lesson was taught, he guaranteed me. It sounded like a drunken story until he was showing off some FB pics.

I really enjoyed seeing that past decisions can haunt us. Great job on the hacks everyone. #GotBlum?

The anti-war soundtrack of the Vietnam War helped to fuel college activism among the youth, but neglected to keep the blame on the pro-war politicians instead of the many troops returning to an unwelcome homecoming. This era in US history was turbulent and was divided heavily by social class. One of the social issues was about the draft. John Fogerty wrote the song “Fortunate Son” on precisely this and my essay will discuss SES of the draft and compare the working-class with the “initial protesters [that] were university students with student deferrals from the draft.” (Shultz, 471)

We have seen examples of propaganda in Hist and probably in many diverse ways. Just the other day I saw a remake of the famous “We Can Do It”, you know the one with the a woman flexing with a red bandana? It was up in the AL building outreaching to students. It got me thinking about the ways the early US Air Force would recruit new mechanics, or even sell US Bonds to fund the wars. I’m comparing the old and the new, but the new is only advertising nostalgia and my geeky-side.

This was shared with our section during Hist 109. Interestingly some of the stanzas are different, so maybe these new stanzas were added by fans of the song or these were simply omitted by the authors of Modern Problems. For your easy reference you can find this primary source on Page 4.

The concept of time was discussed in lecture when Professor Blum spoke of temporality. If you recall, Star Wars occurred at not just one time, but whenever we as humans deem it to have happened. Author Ian Doesher takes us back hundreds of years to deliver this trilogy through the voice of William Shakespeare. So in the concept of time, when exactly does the the Star Wars saga take place? #HanShotFirst