270 SANDS OF IWO JIMA
Tucker), who sees Stryker as responsible for his demotion in rank. As Stryker
commands his unit during the Tarawa invasion, his unit falls in line and accepts
him with the exception of Conway, who is critical of Stryker’s decision to leave a
wounded soldier behind. Mid- battle, Thomas is tasked with getting more ammu-
nition, but causes a delay by taking a coffee break, one that results in the death of
Hellenopolis (Peter Coe). Stryker and Thomas come to blows over the incident, and
while a passing officer sees the incident and goes to intervene, Thomas covers for
Stryker. Later, a conscience- stricken Thomas asks forgiveness for dereliction of duty,
thus completing his moral rehabilitation. While on leave in Honolulu Stryker, a
married man whose wife has left him, reveals a softer side. After picking up a bar-
girl named Mary ( Julie Bishop) and returning with her to her apartment, Stryker
hears sounds emanating from an adjacent room which turns out to be the cries of
Mary’s infant son whom she is struggling to support. Stryker gives Mary some money
and leaves without seeking any sexual favors. Afterwards, as the soldiers train, a
new recruit mistakenly drops a live hand grenade. Every body takes cover, but Con-
way is reading a letter and does not realize that his life is in danger. Stryker tack-
les him to the ground, saving him from certain death, and then berates him for
being inattentive. Thereafter, Stryker’s squad hits the beach at Iwo Jima and takes
part in the fierce battle for the island. With victory at hand and the squad at rest,
Stryker is killed by a hidden Japanese sniper. The surviving squad members find
an unfinished letter he was carry ing addressed to his estranged young son. Thomas
reads it, and an emotional Pete Conway vows to “finish it for him.” After the squad
solemnly witnesses the American flag being raised on Mount Suribachi, Conway
admonishes his men to “ Saddle up! Let’s get back in the war!”Reception
A government- sponsored Cold War paean to military duty, honor, and patriotism,
Sands of Iwo Jima was essentially a recruiting movie. Released six months before the
outbreak of the Korean War, it did well with most film critics, though some review-
ers found the film cliché- ridden. Sands also proved to be a solid hit at the box office,
earning $3.9 million in receipts for a $2.9 million profit, making it Republic’s
most successful movie. Four Oscar nominations followed, for Best Actor in a Lead-
ing Role ( John Wayne); Best Writing, Motion Picture Story (Harry Brown); Best
Sound, Recording (T. A. Carman and Howard Wilson); and Best Film Editing
(Richard L. Van Enger). Furthermore, Sands of Iwo Jima cemented John Wayne’s
status as a major movie star. His role as Stryker also made him an exemplar of the
sort of forlorn American masculinity popu lar with adolescent boys in the post- war
era: a lonely, romantic figure— woman- abandoned but stoical— that would be best
epitomized by Alan Ladd a few years later in Shane (1953). In his 1976 memoir,
Born on the Fourth of July, disabled Vietnam veteran and anti- war activist Ron Kovic
cites Sands of Iwo Jima as one of the films that inspired him to enlist, with disas-
trous results. Ironically, and to his lasting embarrassment, John Wayne was strictly
a make- believe war hero who never served in the military. In a 1987 article in The
New York Times Magazine, ex- Marine William Manchester recalls having “the
enormous plea sure of seeing [John] Wayne humiliated in person” at Aiea Heights