MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Station residents stared out their windows, dismayed by the seemingly endless rainstorm. The music, food and festivities slated to take place at Penny Lake had been cancelled, and it seemed for a moment the holiday was ruined.
But Anthony B. Martinez knew better. The Marine Corps Community Services special events coordinator wasn’t about to let a little water ruin, for so many, an annual staple of our nation’s independence.
“We had been checking the weather reports since the Friday before,” said Martinez, a Huntsville, Texas, native. “Unless it was a torrential downpour and the heavens opened up, the fireworks were still going on.”
And go on they did.
Americans and Japanese alike gathered on the seawall behind the Penny Lake athletic fields for a spectacle of “oohs” and “ahs” July 4.
The show boasted a multitude of new fireworks with a grand finale featuring over a minute of nonstop bright colors and thunderous booms.
“The weather was unavoidable, but the last thing we wanted to do was to cancel,” Martinez said. “The fireworks display was one of the best we’ve had in the last several years. We changed some things in the display and spent more money.”
Although away from the barbecues, baseball games and parades usually accompanying the holiday back in the states, service members made the most of Independence Day by spending time with family and friends watching the station’s colorful display.
“The kids really wanted to come out and see the fireworks,” said Capt. Anthony C. Lyons, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 aircraft maintenance officer and native of Baker, La.
“It’s nice to have a little bit of home in Iwakuni,” he added. “It lets you know where you came from and keeps you where you came from.”
Many of our neighbors from the other side of the gate joined their American friends in viewing the vibrant presentation.
“The Japanese just love the fireworks,” Martinez said. “We made it really clear we wanted the Japanese to come enjoy them with us.”
One local resident from Tabuse-Cho enjoyed the display with his wife and daughter, and plans on coming again next year, regardless of the weather.
“We thought it would be too rainy for (the display),” he said. “But now we are all enjoying the beautiful fireworks.”
Petty Officer 3rd Class Nate D. Watson, Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 religious program specialist and native of Parkersburg, W.V., felt the booming finale was reminiscent of the national anthem’s “bombs bursting in air.”
“I didn’t think it would be as spectacular as it was,” Watson admitted. “It’s a reminder of why I’m proud to serve in the U.S. armed forces.”