I'm a big fan of all things about WWII and this book didn't disappoint! The sacrifices that that generation made still guides us today!

This book is a little different in that it gives more detail than I've seen on Mr. Rosenthal's part in the famous picture; also the photos are ones I haven't seen before and are very interesting. Nice to see all the Medal of Honor recipients' stories in the back.

The pictures and the book itself is a must for any Marine Corps historian. But the C.D., encluded with the book should either be deleted or revised as it contains an interview with a Coast Guardsman, which after listening to his account and that of Capt. Dave Severance, I'm not sure the Coast Guardsman was really at the Battle of Iwo Jima.

"Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue" is a must read for anyone interested in the battle for Iwo Jima. Hal Buell does a magnificent job of placing the reader in the boots of the courageous American marines that stormed the desolate island of Iwo Jima over 60 years ago. Through a rare collection of photos from the AP and National Archives and brilliant quotations from the leathernecks on the front lines, the reader follows the heroic marines from D-Day on February 19th, 1945 through the hellish days that followed on a small volcanic island barely visible on most contemporary maps.

Although the overriding theme is the memorable photo taken by Joe Rosenthal of the marines raising the stars and stripes on Mount Suribachi, Buell successfully incorporates the progression of the battle in great detail, disclosing such little know facts as the unfriendly weather that the marines had to endure and the daily measurement of the tough-won terrain captured by the marines on the island.

Through quotations and photos by Rosenthal and the many other unsung heroes of Iwo Jima, this book gives an excellent first hand account of the gruesome battle that paved the way for American victory in the Pacific.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," goes the old saying; "Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue" with its 120+ photographs about Iwo Jima and associated verbal explanations provides an invaluable start for one trying to understand the intensity of battle during WWII and the sacrifices made daily by those involved.

Iwo Jima was bombed and shelled for 70 days prior to the Marines landing, using an armada of some 450 ships. For 36 days and nights during February-March of '45 100,000 Americans and Japanese fought across the 4.5 mile volcanic island. Nearly 7,000 Americans and 20,000 Japanese lost their lives.

D-Day + 4 brought the famous flag-raising and its photograph - since memorialized in statues, stamps, coins, etc. The famous photograph actually involved a second flag-raising - a colonel wanted the first flag replaced by a larger one visible across the island. Unfortunately this led to later (untrue) charges that the second photo was staged.

Regardless, fighting continued on for weeks after the photo - only 1,200 Japanese were taken prisoner; most fought to the death, many trapped by flame-throwers inside caves and bunkers, blown up by naval shelling, or killed in hand-to-hand combat.

Only three of the six flag-raisers in the photograph survived to see it; they subsequently traveled across the U.S. serving as War Bond ambassadors or attending ceremonies (often seated at the rear) after the war. Sadly post-war life was not good for two of the survivors - Ira Hayes died in an adobe hut on the Gila River Reservation (Sacaton, AZ) in 1954 of alcoholism, and Rene Gagan also died of alcoholism in 1979. Only John Bradley lived a reasonably good life (until 1994), though he mostly declined interviews.

Every American should spend time with books like "Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue" to better appreciate the sacrifices of our WWII servicemen.