Flags of Our Fathers

You know I read a lot and I do mean a lot of books. some of them good and some of them not so good but rarely do I read a book that that touched me the way Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley did. I know it is an old book and the movie has been out for years and this is a little late but since it did touch me I want to make sure that I acknowledged it.
Flags of Our Fathers is written by James Bradley the son of one of the flag raisers in the famous Iwo Jima photo and explores the truth behind the photo, the way the military and American public reacted to the photos and the men in it and also tells the story of the young men who fought for our young country and died for it. It takes something (the photo and statue) bigger than life and brings it down to a human level. I will admit I cried during part of the battle scenes and then at the end when John Bradley died. I could picture it all in my mind and truly felt like I had lost someone I knew at the end of the book.
My grandfather fought in WWII also, he was stationed in India and he never talked to us kids about the war. A few years before he died of Parkinson's disease he started having hallucinations caused by some of the medication he took. A lot of them were him reliving something from back then, he also had a very hard time watching Saving Private Ryan. It was so long ago and my grandpa was one of the strongest, smartest, kindest men ever and it was still affecting him. I can't imagine how these other young men felt watching your buddies die the way they did.
I have the movie here, I actually bought it a few years ago but it is still in the wrapper. I am thinking about watching it this weekend with Todd (he is not a reader). If you haven't read it I recommend it. If you had a grandparent or parent who was there or someplace like that it might give you a little insight.