Flags of Our Fathers (film)

"You know what they're calling this bond drive? The Mighty Seventh. They might've called it the "We're Flat Fucking Broke And Can't Even Afford Bullets So We're Begging For Your Pennies" bond drive, but it didn't have quite the ring. They could've called it that, though, because the last four bond drives came up so short we just printed money instead. Ask any smart boy on Wall Street, he'll tell you our dollar is next to worthless, we've borrowed so much. And nobody is lending any more. Ships aren't being built, tanks aren't being built, machine guns, bazookas, hand grenades, zip. You think this is a farce? You want to go back to your buddies? Well stuff some rocks in your pockets before you get on the plane, because that's all we got left to throw at the Japanese. And don't be surprised if your plane doesn't make it off the runway, because the fuel dumps are empty. And our good friends, the Arabs, are only taking bullion. If we don't raise $14 billion, and that's million with a "B," this war is over by the end of the month. We make a deal with the Japanese, we give whatever they want and we come home, because you've seen them fight, and they sure as shit ain't giving up. $14 billion! The last three drives didn't make that much all together."

"People on the street corners, they looked at this picture and they took hope. Don't ask me why, I think it's a crappy picture, myself. You can't even see your faces! But it said we can win this war, are winning this war, we just need you to dig a little deeper. They want to give us that money. No, they want to give it to you."

"This isn't just any island to them. This isn't Tarawa, Guam, Tinian, or Saipan. This is Japanese soil, sacred ground. Twelve thousand Japanese defenders in eight square miles, they will not leave politely, gentlemen! It's up to us to convince them."

"Nobody even noticed that second flag going up. Everybody saw that damn picture and made up their own story about it. But your dad and the others knew what they had done, and what they had not done. All your friends dying, it's hard enough to be called a hero for saving somebody's life. But for putting up a pole?"

"U.S. Marines: [first lines] Corpsman! Corpsman! Corpsman! Corpsman! For God sakes, corpsman! Corpsman! Corpsman!"

"General "Howlin' Mad" Smith: [on the telephone] I was promised ten days of shelling. You're giving me three and saying that's the best you can do?... I don't give a shit! My men hit that beach with less than ten, and I'll be taking them home to their mamas in buckets!... Yeah, I know exactly why. Because every Navy man with scrambled egg on his chest wants to offload us here and sail to Japan so they can be there for the big finish, tell their kids they captured the Emperor all by themselves. Well, you aren't going to Japan unless we take this piece of shit island! These little pricks are dug in... Okay, appreciate that, Jim. Three days is a fucking beautiful thing."

"President Harry S. Truman: Being an Indian, you are a truer American than any of us. Bet your people are proud to see you wear that uniform."

"Colonel Chandler Johnson: Our target, Island X, is an ugly, smelly, dirty little scab of rock called Iwo Jima. It means "Sulfur Island," which accounts for the smell. Looks sort of like a burnt pork chop if you ask me. After twenty straight days of bombing, you won't find a blade of grass or a twig on it. It wasn't that pretty to start with."

"James Bradley: [last lines] I finally came to the conclusion that he maybe he was right. Maybe there's no such thing as heroes. Maybe there are just people like my dad. I finally came to understand why they were so uncomfortable being called heroes. Heroes are something we create, something we need. It's a way for us to understand what's almost incomprehensible, how people could sacrifice so much for us, but for my dad and these men, the risks they took, the wounds they suffered, they did that for their buddies. They may have fought for their country but they died for their friends. For the man in front, for the man beside him, and if we wish to truly honor these men we should remember them the way they really were, the way my dad remembered them."

"A single shot can end the war"

"Every soldier stands beside a hero"

"The real heroes are the ones left on the island."

"All it takes to win is the right picture."

"They fight for their country but they die for their friends."

"Heroes are something we create, something we need."

"Ryan Phillippe - John "Doc" Bradley"

"Jesse Bradford - Rene Gagnon"

"Adam Beach - Ira Hayes"

"John Benjamin Hickey - Keyes Beech"

"John Slattery - Bud Gerber"

"Barry Pepper - Mike Strank"

"Jamie Bell - Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski"

"Paul Walker - Hank Hansen"

"Robert Patrick - Colonel Chandler Johnson"

"Neal McDonough - Captain Severance"

"Melanie Lynskey - Pauline Harnois"

"Thomas McCarthy - James Bradley"

"Chris Bauer - Commandant Vandegrift"

"Judith Ivey - Belle Block"

"Myra Turley - Madeline Evelley"

"Joseph Cross - Franklin Sousley"

"Benjamin Walker - Harlon Block"

"Alessandro Mastrobuono - Lindberg"

"Scott Reeves - Lundsford"

"Stark Sands - Gust"

"George Grizzard - Older John Bradley"

"Harve Presnell - Older Dave Severance"

"George Hearn - Walter Gust"

"David Patrick Kelly - President Harry Truman"

"Ned Eisenberg - Joe Rosenthal"

"Gordon Clapp - General "Howlin' Mad" Smith"