James Bradley

Sometimes we find heroes in the most surprising places. For James Bradley, that place was in his own family. Bradley is the son of Iwo Jima flag raiser John Bradley. John Bradley stands in the middle of the most reproduced photo in history. Only days before the historic photo, John, a Navy corpsman, had braved enemy mortar and machine-gun fire to administer first aid to a wounded Marine and then drag him to safety. For this act of heroism Bradley would receive the Navy Cross, an award second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor. But John Bradley never spoke to his family or friends about that historic moment. After his father's death, James discovered three boxes of artifacts his father had saved about Iwo Jima, which launched him on a quest to find out more about his father's past and the past of the other five flag raisers. The result was The New York Times #1 bestseller Flags of Our Fathers. The book explores the lives of all of the Iwo Jima flag raisers, showing how, in times of national crisis, ordinary Americans have found within themselves an uncommon courage, and a capacity to attempt, and achieve, the impossible. Flags of Our Fathers has been turned into a major motion picture, directed by Clint Eastwood and produced by Steven Spielberg, and will be released on October 20, 2006. Bradley's second book, Flyboys, was also a New York Times bestseller, and recounts another story of American courage during World War II - the previously classified story of a group of American aviators who were shot down, and then beheaded, on the island of Chichi Jima. One Flyboy got away. His name is George Bush. The film rights to this book were acquired by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and HBO. Drawing on the stories from his books, as well as his encyclopedic knowledge of America's role in World War II, Bradley's keynote speeches are not only inspirational and informative, but also brimming with valuable lessons for our own lives. America's present has, in many ways, been woven from the lives of unknown heroes. Bradley brings those heroes into the light, and makes plain the lessons they offer today's generation. James Bradley was raised in Wisconsin, studied at the University of Notre Dame, Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan and graduated with a degree in East Asian History from the University of Wisconsin. He has vast experience writing and producing corporate films and corporate meetings; he has traveled the world, living and working in more than 40 countries for nearly a decade. He has run companies in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. He has jumped out of airplanes at 15,000 feet, has scuba-dived in deep waters worldwide, trekked to Mount Everest's base camp and walked among lions in Africa.