I really did not have an appreciation for the level of difficulty there must have been in taking these islands until I came here.
I live on Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands, not all that far from Tarawa. It’s so hot, the sweat drops from your earlobes and nose constantly when you’re working in the sun. Sometimes I change clothes three times a day, because I get soaked with sweat. I fall into bed exhausted most days.
Imagine wearing a steel pot on your head, carrying a 9-pound Garrand, bandoleers of ammo, canteen, rucksack, and all the other gear a marine had to carry, storming the beach, constantly being shot at, no hot food, no sleep...
How can we ever repay them for their sacrifice? God Bless all of you and Semper Fi!
These are the REAL heroes in our country!
They make me so proud to be an American!
My dad was an Army Air Corps WW2 vet serving in Germany.