26. "Flags of Our Fathers" (2006)

World War II Movie Night does its first twofer, with the 2006
companion movies "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo
Jima," both directed by Clint Eastwood. For this episode we look
at the former, a true story adapted from the popular 2000 book.
Three American military men are thrust into involuntary fame when
they're photographed hoisting a flag on Iwo Jima, a seemingly
simple act amid a long, deadly battle. Back stateside the men are
essentially ordered on a bond tour to raise the country's
flagging reserves. The three are affected differently by their
unlikely celebrity, and by how they grapple with what they
experienced on Iwo Jima... Asides include the otherworldliness of
Iceland and John Slattery's mastery of the highball-wielding
rant.