History Film / FlagsOfOurFathers

* AFateWorseThanDeath: It's arguable that the surviving flag raisers had it worse off than the ones who died in battle. Ira can never escape his unwanted fame and PTSD and becomes an alcoholic, dying at the age of 32, while Rene lives the rest of his life as a high school janitor. Even Doc prefers never to speak of Iwo Jima again.

** In 2019 it was revealed that Rene Gagnon wasn't on the the photograph as well. Pfc. Harold Keller, who died in 1979 (conveniently the same year as Rene), has been mistaken for Rene.

** In 2019 it was revealed that Rene Gagnon wasn't on the the photograph as well. Pfc. Harold Keller, who died in 1979, has been mistaken for Rene.

* DatedHistory: Recent research has revealed that Doc isn't actually in the famous photograph of the second flag raising, though he was assigned to the same platoon and was present at the first flag raising (the same squad raised both flags.) The man in the photograph previously misidentified as Doc Bradley was actually Pfc. Harold Schultz.

* DatedHistory: Recent research has revealed that Doc isn't actually in the famous photograph of the second flag raising, though he was assigned to the same platoon and was present at the first flag raising (the same squad raised both flags.) The man in the photograph previously misidentified as Doc Bradley was actually Pfc. Harold Schultz

* KillEmAll: Six men are in the photo (two in the back row). Of those six, three are later killed on Iwo Jima [[spoiler: Mike, Harlon and Frank]] and one severely wounded. The remaining three die years later.

* RealLife/CoolBoat: The USS ''Texas'' (today a Museum ship) is shown as part of the pre-invasion bombardment force.

* HowlOfSorrow: In the book, when [[spoiler:Franklin Sousley's mother Goldie]] learned that her son was killed, she screamed all night and into the morning, with her screams heard a quarter-mile away.

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Mike is characterized as a tough-as-nails, experienced squad leader who cares about his guys and wants to get them home alive. He is the first of flag raisers to get killed on Iwo Jima, (by friendly fire, no less) just to really telegraph to the audience how much of a slaughterhouse this battle is going to be before it is all finally over with.]]

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: The bayoneting and setting on fire of Japanese soldiers. On the flip-side, Iggy's death.

* RealLife/CoolPlane: The [=F4U=] Corsair fighter-bomber, which gets several scenes for itself before and during the beach landings.

* FlamethrowerBackfire: Discussed by a Marine flamethrower operator during the beach landings, but ultimately averted, as he survives the battle unscathed.

* RealityEnsues: The Japanese stationed at the island cannot be reinforced, cannot be evacuated, don't have the supplies or the air and naval superiority that the Americans forces do, and are outnumbered approximately six to one. They lose.

* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: While numerous sources indicate that the [=WW2=] bond drives were successful at meeting (and beating) their targets, Bud Gerber's speech paints a United States teetering on its last legs. Whether he was simply working off inaccurate information himself, or deliberately lying to the flag-raisers to put a burr under their saddles is not clear.
-->'''Gerber:''' 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.

* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: Some of the statements Bud Gerber makes about the war bond drives and the availability of oil are simply wrong. That said, he may have been exaggerating for effect to get the reluctant trio of Ira, Rene, and Doc to keep supporting the bond drives by sticking to the narrative created in the popular consciousness in 1945.