Secretary of Defense Robert Anderson, and General Lemuel C. Shepherd, the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Hayes, one of the three surviving flag raisers depicted on the monument, was also seated upfront with John Bradley, Rene Gagnon (incorrectly identified as a flag raiser until October 16, 2019), Mrs Martha Strank, Mrs. Ada Belle Block, and Mrs. Goldie Price (mother of Franklin Sousley). Those giving remarks at the dedication included Robert Anderson, Chairman of Day, Colonel J.W. Moreau, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), President, Marine Corps War Memorial Foundation, General Shepherd who presented the memorial to the American people, Felix de Weldon, and Richard Nixon who gave the dedication address. Inscribed on the memorial are the following words: In Honor And Memory Of The Men of The United States Marine Corps Who Have Given Their Lives To Their Country Since 10 November 1775 Death On January 11, 1994, Bradley died at the age of 70 at a hospital in Antigo, Wisconsin, having suffered a heart attack and subsequently a stroke. He is buried at Queen of Peace Cemetery in Antigo. Flag raising views Bradley wrote his parents a letter three days after the flag raising(s) that said he had a little to do with raising the American flag and it was the "happiest moment of my life";. Sergeant Henry Hansen, Private Phil Ward, and he had worked on making the first flagstaff stay vertical in the ground. On May 9, 1945, Bradley did an oral interview by a Navy captain about the famous second flag-raising on Mount Suribachi, and said he was in the second flag-raising picture, and when questioned about the first flag-raising, he said Platoon Sgt. Ernest Thomas raised that flag. Bradley was reluctant to talk to the media, family, and friends about the flag raising. He rarely did an interview about the flag raising for the newspapers, and he avoided reporters as much as possible. On February 23 each year, the press would contact his home to ask for interviews. He had his wife and children giving excuses such as he "was on a fishing trip in Canada." In 1949, during the filming of the movie Sands of Iwo Jima, Bradley told his wife to tell the townspeople that he was on a business trip in order to avoid attention that would be drawn to him. In 1985, he did another interview about the flag raising at the