James Bradley's historical fiction, The Flag of Our Fathers, depicts the lives of the six courageous men who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima and participated in the flag raising. At the time of the flag raising, a photographer by the name of Joe Rosenthal snapped a quick photograph. It was later printed and distributed throughout the United States. Bradley states that the photograph was a sign of "victory and hope ". Americans became consumed with the feeling that they needed to know the story behind it. A wave of pride dispersed amongst Americans, causing the photograph's sales to rise as people wanted to own it themselves. So, the famous photograph grew in popularity as newspapers used it as a cover photo. After the war ended, the three surviving flag raisers were fawned over by media, in turn emotionally and physically damaging their lives.
John Bradley refused to speak about the flag raising or any other part of World War II, attempting to fend off the media his whole life. James Bradley describes how John Bradley would "never be able to live down the fame the photo taken on Iwo Jima had " (Bradley). Interviewers were always constantly calling his home to set up interviews, but John Bradley continued to reject them. James Bradley explains how his father had "never wished more fervently for anything than he wished for the day he could return to Wisconsin, marry, start a family, and open his funeral home- the quiet dream that had sustained him through the long months in the Pacific " (Bradley). The media had ruined John Bradley's quiet home life with his family. When the media would ask him for an interview or to attend an event, he would only be reminded of the war experiences that he wanted to forget for the rest of his life, bringing him misery. Lastly, James Bradley says that "when asked for a third time whether The Photograph had been posed, John replied evenly: ˜I did not know the picture was being taken.