Iwo Jima

Ok, why is the Blogger being stupid today?! It won't lemme post! Arg! Anyway! It will not ruin this post for me! Today some Marines from my squadron (including myself) went to visit Iwo Jima, the most sacred place for any Marine. This one, tiny, little island tells the story of all Marines; the stroies of heroism in the field - true courage under fire, of love for our Country, dedication to each other, and of the fight for survival that none but those who fought will ever understand. This place is a place to be cherished. As we walked toward Mount Suribachi, I thought of how many Marines before me had fought courageously and lost there lives on the ground that my feet now walked upon. Of the thousands whose blood was in that very earth. I could imagine, as I walked along, places that soldiers may have sat, where the enemy may have hid, or if this may have been a spot where someone saved another man's life. At one point, the group I was with stopped to observe the beach where, our SgtMjr informed us, the 4th and the 5th had landed, and it had taken us 15 minutes to get to where we were; it had taken the Marines back then 2 days to get that far. Wow.
Four of us (Cooper, myself, our Doc, and one of our Avionics Sergeants) actually climbed the side of the mountain, instead of taking the road all of the way to the top. It was not a cake walk, lemme tell ya! It was covered with vines, thick brush, rotten logs (that you didn't know were rotten until you fell through them!), and no place to grab if you started to fall! I could not imagine doing this 60+ years ago, with a full pack and war gear on, wearing s Kevlar helmet on my head, with a rifle in my hand, trying to climb that mountain. And under fire. There was no paved road then were you could take an alternante route.
Once we all got up to the top, I really couldn't believe my eyes (or the fact that I was THERE!) It was so beautiful! I was absolutely thrilled to be standing there. And very humbled. I can only imagine the joy it gave the Marines who were there for the original Raising of Our Colors, to finally be there, at the top, and enjoy the battle they had already won. I believe they knew that they had won at point. Even tho it wasn't over, they knew they had won. And the Japanese had been beaten. It was truely an honor to stand in the place where so few have stood.