Concert Pays Tribute to Vets

[cmyr]

Concert pays tribute to vets
Posted: 3/27/07
By Terri Dougherty
Post-Crescent staff writer

A musical portrayal of the dramatic events of his life would surprise Iwo Jima flag raiser John Bradley, his widow said.

"My husband wasn't very musical, so he would be very surprised," Betty Bradley said.

"I'm sure where he is he doesn't care what we do," she added. "He's thinking, 'If you want to do that, go ahead. I wouldn't want to do that.'"

The Fox Valley Symphony will deliver the premiere performance of "Quiet Heroes" on Saturday. Composed by Chris Brubeck, the piece was inspired by Bradley's life as recounted in the book "Flags of Our Fathers" by James Bradley and honors Bradley and all veterans.

Bradley was one of six flag raisers on Iwo Jima, a moment captured on film and made larger than life in a Washington, D.C., memorial. He was honored by the nation during a War Bond drive after he returned to the United States but after the war declined to talk publicly about his experiences and deferred the title of hero to those who had given their lives.

Bob Petts of Neenah, a Marine machine gunner who served on Iwo Jima, agrees that the title of "hero" is one best suited to those who did not return.

"The dead ones were (heroes)," Petts said. "I don't think any of the live ones would admit to being a hero."

He recalled that soldiers had little cover on the rocky island covered with volcanic ash. The Japanese soldiers were protected by a series of tunnels they had dug into the island, and the U.S. troops had to be constantly alert.

"Probably the worst part about Iwo Jima was staying awake," Petts said. "Two hours on, two hours off, after awhile I think I could have fallen asleep standing up.

"Every day you expected to get killed. Thirty six days on that island is a long time to be dodging bullets."

Petts will be in the audience when veterans from Iwo Jima are honored at the symphony concert, as will Peter Weitz of Neenah, who served in the Marines as a rifleman. He was wounded on Iwo Jima and shipped out on the same hospital ship as Bradley.

"I didn't see the flag go up; I was on the other end of the island," he said. "I turned around and saw it and everyone cheered."

The first flag planted on the island roused cheers but was taken down when it was thought to be too small. Bradley and five others then planted a second flag.

Weitz has a copy of James Bradley's book about the event, as well as another about Iwo Jima that captured him in one of its pictures. He has shared his experiences with students to help them understand the realities of war.

"I don't feel it should be hidden," he said. "Kids should learn. War is not fun."

Weitz and Petts are two of the Quiet Heroes the concert honors, as is Emil Formella of Neenah, who was not far from Mount Suribachi when the flag was raised.

"It was inspiring just to see it up," he said. "But we still had a long way to go after that.

"To this day I don't know how I came out of any of the battles," he said. "I truly believe in God, and God was there all the way for me."

The battle was waged for 32 days after the flag went up, and it was stateside that the image of the flag raising rallied support for the war effort.

"It gave us hope,' said Emil's wife, Ethel, who hung a picture of the flag raising on the wall of her Milwaukee apartment while Emil was serving in the military. "We took it that the war was near the end."

Formella, a .50 caliber machine gunner for the Marines, met his wife a few days before he left for battle; they married in 1947. They'll be at the concert but can't imagine how the events will be portrayed musically.

"I love music, but I can't see how it's going to tie in," Formella said.

[cmyr]

Fox Valley Symphony's 'Quiet Heroes' captures flag raising at Iwo Jima
Posted: 3/27/07
By Terri Dougherty
Post-Crescent staff writer

It was the church bells that brought everything into focus.

Composer Chris Brubeck had written several sketches for "Quiet Heroes," a symphony saluting the flag raisers at Iwo Jima and all veterans, but he needed something to tie them together.

Enter Brian Groner and his tape recorder. The Fox Valley Symphony conductor taped the sound of the bells from St. Joseph Church in downtown Appleton and sent it to Brubeck.

"It completely altered the whole piece," Brubeck said. "I expected that those bells were going to be happy and tintinnabulary, but actually they were very modal and very bluesy."

It was just the tone of foreshadowing he needed for "Quiet Heroes," an original piece inspired by the book "Flags of our Fathers," written by James Bradley. Bradley's father, John H. Bradley, who grew up in Appleton, was one of the six men whose flag raising on Iwo Jima during World War II was captured in an iconic photo.

"It was my preconception for the piece that Appleton was this innocent little town and he's thrust in to this unbelievably horrible battle," Brubeck said. "When I heard those bells, it's like this is really foreboding despite the innocence of this town."

The Fox Valley Symphony will deliver the premiere performance of the piece at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. It will be narrated by Wilford Brimley, an actor and Marine Corps veteran.

"A world premiere is very special and it lives beyond its initial performance," said Marta Weldon, the symphony's executive director. "I know this piece will be performed by other orchestras.

"We're really distinguishing ourselves as innovative leaders in the orchestra world. It doesn't matter how large or small you are, good ideas are good ideas."

The idea for this symphony came about two years ago, after Brubeck visited Appleton to perform as a guest artist with the symphony. He had been reading "Flags of Our Fathers" and Groner asked him what his next piece was going to be.

"I said, 'I just read this great book, and the hero of the book is from Appleton,'" Brubeck said. "It was literally an idea born over the table at Lombardi's restaurant after my last concert.

"It really was a spontaneous thing."

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans sponsored the commission, and Brubeck has been working on it intensely since July. It will capture Bradley's upbringing, the thunder of battle and the collision of two cultures on Iwo Jima. Japanese-style music will be juxtaposed with Western-style marches as the battle begins.

"You can hear them building toward each other and then come to a head," Brubeck said. "There is a period of very violent-sounding music, not too long, and then to me the part that is very sad.

"Just the strings will come in and you get this image of slow-motion tragedy."

The music also will capture the impact Joe Rosenthal's photo of the flag raising had on the outcome of the war.

"The power of that picture just takes off like a divine influence is there," Brubeck said. "The government had been running out of money for the war, and FDR recognized that was the iconic image that could help them raise a lot of money and finish the war.

"Bradley was accidentally in this picture and was suddenly a rock star. He had the maturity to know it was all like a weird dream, that he had better not attach his life to it or it will go down in flames."

After the war Bradley was secretive about his experiences, and it was not until after his death that his family learned that he had earned the Navy Cross, the second highest medal of valor.

Although as a medical corpsman he put his life on the line countless times, he did not want to be called a hero. Brubeck's piece reflects the unrecognized heroic efforts and sacrifices that many soldiers gave for their country.

"Throughout history it's soldiers who are fighting to keep their friends alive and don't make speeches about it, they just do their work," Brubeck said.

The symphony reflects the majesty of the unveiling of the Iwo Jima statue and ends on an inspiring note.

"It's uplifting to know that our society has been created on the backs and spirit and honor of these people," Brubeck said. "Appleton should be very proud to have an environment that produced such an honorable, modest and heroic man such as John Bradley."

[cmyr]

‘Quiet Heroes’ makes a emotional connection

By Terri Dougherty
Post-Crescent staff writer

APPLETON — Kate Bradley took her mother’s hand as soon as she heard the opening notes of “Quiet Heroes.”

The daughter of Iwo Jima flag raiser John Bradley, who grew up in Appleton and died in 1994 at age 70, was immediately moved by the piece performed Saturday night by the Fox Valley Symphony at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center.

“It was very emotional for us,” she said. “I’m just spellbound. I’m so incredibly moved.”

Narrated by actor Wilford Brimley, “Quiet Heroes” honors veterans with a symphonic portrayal of the raising of a flag on Iwo Jima during World War II. Betty Bradley, the widow of John Bradley, and six of their children were in the audience for the world premiere of the piece by composer Chris Brubeck.

“We thought it was awesome, it was so strong,” said Joe Bradley, of Rhinelander. “Each part of the performance was put together so well.”

Tom Bradley of Antigo said for him the symphonic piece was even more stirring than the movie version of “Flags of Our Fathers,” which was based on a book written by his brother James.

“It was stunning,” he said.

World War II veteran Emil Formella of Neenah had looked forward to the performance all day, and was touched what he heard.

“My favorite instrument is the violin and when they played it chills went up my back,” said Formella, who fought on Iwo Jima as a young Marine. “They did a nice job.”
The crowd showed its approval with cheers, applause and a few whistles after the performance, and then the symphony provided an appropriate encore: “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“We just thought it was a lovely evening,” said Marybeth Linn of Appleton. “Chris Brubeck did a great job in matching the narration to the music. It was superb.”

Jeanne Nymoen of Appleton was also impressed by the narrative that accompanied the music.

“It was so much more than I ever knew before,” she said. “It was fabulous.”

The music brought tears to the eyes of World War II veteran H.W. Kranzusch of Appleton, although he would have liked a softer volume level at times.

“The orchestra was too loud when the fellow was talking,” he said. “They should have cut the volume so I could hear him.”

For Jerry Slinger of Appleton, the performance was enjoyable from start to finish.

“It was very good, the whole thing,” he said. “Everything was great.”

“Quiet Heroes” was the symphony’s third sellout performance this year, and it fulfilled a twofold purpose: it honored veterans and helped a new group of people make a connection between their lives and the symphony.

“This is the future of what we’re doing and why we’ve been so successful,” said Marta Weldon, the symphony’s executive director.

John Jackson of Sherwood is a regular symphony patron who came to Saturday’s performance to honor his father-in-law, Formella, and was impressed with the symphony’s efforts to reach out to the community.

“It’s a marvelous idea,” he said. “It just brings more people in.”

Ron Resch of Menasha and his sister, Peggy Thomas of Oshkosh, attended their first symphony performance Saturday. As friends of a World War II Iwo Jima veteran and the children of a veteran, they became interested because the evening honored those who had served in the military.

“I think it will be an added effect for what’s going on tonight, honoring all the soldiers,” Thomas said. “I’m thrilled to be here because I think it will be very emotional.”

The evening’s subject matter also interested Ken Maguire of Ripon. His wife, Judy, usually attends the symphony with a female friend, but thought her husband would enjoy “Quiet Heroes.”

“He went to see ‘Flags of our Fathers’ and read the book, so I thought he would probably like to go to this one,” she said.

A trio of military connections made the concert especially intriguing to Grace Wege of Appleton. Her brother served in World War II, her husband was a Korean War veteran and her son is in the Air Force.

“The music interests me, how it will be portrayed,” she said.

Leah Johnson of Menasha is a season ticket holder who would have bought tickets to this performance if she hadn’t already had them.

“As the daughter of a World War II veteran, it really hits home,” she said.

This isn’t the first time the symphony has reached out to new audiences through its programming. Last season’s tribute to Ellis Island and a concert earlier this season with the band Vic Ferrari also expanded its audience base and deepened its ties in the community.

“We’ve become more available to the community,” Weldon said. “They see us as part of the cultural fabric.

“There’s also a sense of pride,” she said. “It’s our orchestra.”

Don and Gwen Schwandt of Appleton had occasionally gone to the symphony before this season, but when they saw the lineup of performances they decided they wanted to attend more regularly.

“Part of the reason we’re season ticket holders is because of this event and Garrison Keillor,” Gwen said, adding that they’ve enjoyed the concerts so much that they’ll be back. “We’re buying tickets again next year.”

Next year they can look forward to a concert series that continues to reach out in new ways.

“It’s been an awakening process on the part of the community, including our board and musicians, about what we can do and what we can become,” Weldon said.