MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Hours after the battle of Iwo Jima came to an end March 31, 1945, and the cratered, hellish landscape of the island was declared secure, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal stood at the base of Mount Suribachi. Gazing toward the summit Forrestal stated, "The raising of that flag on Suribachi guarantees a Marine Corps for the next 500 years."
More than 55 years into those five centuries, the Marine Corps is still standing tall as a proud defender of peace and freedom throughout the world. Tenacious fighting combined with the honor, courage and commitment every Marine has sworn to uphold have ensured their success through every battle. The predecessors of today's Marines have not only left them with a proud legacy to uphold, but a rich history to learn and pass on.
On March 24 a group of 80 Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron Marines and five Sailors, led by Lt. Col. Thomas Abel, H&HS commanding officer, traveled to Iwo Jima to experience an island where some of the most famous pages of Marine Corps history were written.
After arriving on the island the large group was divided up into five smaller details and given a brief about the island's terrain and a history of the battle.
From there, each detail was handed a map of the eight-square-mile island and was set free to navigate the terrain.
Everyone seemed to have their sights set on Mount Suribachi, which towered in the distance, but each group chose a different path to see the countless war relics that still remain on the island.
Some took the inland route where Japanese bunkers and machine gun nests still speckle the battlefield, giving the Marines and Sailors a glimpse of the staunch resistance that the allied forces met.
"After 24 years of being in the Corps and studying our past battles, it was good to see it first hand," said Sgt. Maj. Roland Daniel, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron sergeant major. "Standing on ground that had witnessed so much of our predecessors' blood shed was humbling."
Diverging on paths less traveled lead some to the entrances of caves and tunnels the Japanese had chiseled out of the islands volcanic bedrock. Still others tracked along the shoreline where they came upon Invasion Beach, the point where the bulk of the amphibious invasion was inserted. There, pebble-like volcanic sand and the steep shoreline made for an exhausting climb inland despite lightweight packs the visiting Marines shouldered.
"Just picturing thousands of Marines storming that beachhead in the midst of incoming mortars, artillery and machine gun fire, I realized how the Corps' legacy of courage and spirit was forged," said Lance Cpl. Richard McNamara, Provost Marshal's Office traffic court and licensing noncommissioned officer-in-charge.
With the steepest stretch of trail still ahead of them, the groups trudged north to tackle Mount Suribachi. Although the rise now has a winding paved roadway leading to its summit, making it to the top still takes a bit of dedication.
Cpl. Daniel Hasbrouck, legal services specialist at the Station Judge Advocate's Office, ran the whole way up to the summit despite the fierce incline, saying, "I had to attempt at least one tenth of the hardship my brethren had gone through half a century ago."
Once atop the extinct volcano the Marines and Sailors could see the entire island from Invasion Beach to the opposite shore where Lt. Gen. Kuribayashi, Imperial Japanese Army, committed a ritual suicide after ordering the last of his troops to charge the Marines' front lines in a final offensive to end the 36-day battle.
"Standing on top of Mount Suribachi was the most humbling experience of my life," said 2nd Lt. Gregory Lobato, PMO operations officer. "From up there you can see where the entire battle took place, where so many men gave their lives."
Lance Cpl. Ryan Quinn, PMO military policeman, expressed his pride and enthusiasm of the island's history, saying, "Iwo Jima is a mecca for Marines. It's our roots. What the Marines accomplished on this island is something remarkable and will always be remembered."
In honor of those who fought in the 36-day battle for the island, a memorial rests atop the summit inscribed with Adm. Chester Nimitz's famous words, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue."
After everyone had reached the summit, the sun began to lower in the Pacific sky signaling the Marines and Sailors to make their way back to the airfield. While some parted the island by leaving their dog tags draped over the eagle, globe and anchors of the memorial, others filled bottles with the black sand of Invasion Beach.
After a brief awards ceremony on the island's airfield, Abel spoke with the Marines and Sailors before their return trip to Iwakuni.
"Our profession demands that we study battle fields whether they be modern or ancient," said Abel. "Seventy-thousand Marines fought on Iwo Jima in February and March of 1945. Today, exactly 58 years later, another 70,000 Marines are fighting throughout Iraq. The ties that span these six decades are ties of Marine courage and action on the battlefield. There is no better place to study these attributes than Iwo Jima."