Posted on 03/03/2010 10:30:36 AM PST by GATOR NAVY
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan The military changed its mind and took a group of aging World War II veterans to Iwo Jima on Wednesday.
The former Marines, who fought at Iwo Jima 65 years ago, went to the island Wednesday morning on a C-130 aircraft, said 2nd Lt. Lucas Burke, a Marine Corps spokesman on Okinawa, where the group has been staying while in Japan.
They joined hundreds of Marines, including Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway, at Iwo Jima for a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the historic 36-day battle.
The Pentagon initially denied the veterans request for military transportation but reversed that decision the day after Stars and Stripes reported that the military was unable to help the stranded veterans. Details about how and why the military was able to make the trip happen were unclear Wednesday, and Burke referred further questions to the Office of the Secretary of the Defense.
The Greatest Generation Foundation, the Denver-based nonprofit that coordinated the trip, asked the military for help with transportation after a charter plane company that had volunteered to take the group from Okinawa to Iwo Jima canceled unexpectedly two weeks ago.
The group needed approval to visit Iwo Jima from the Japanese government, which controls all flights to the tiny volcanic island now known in Japan as Iwo To, its original name.
While 12 veterans came from the United States to Japan with the foundation, it was unknown whether all were traveling to Iwo Jima on Wednesday. One veteran was hospitalized with stroke-like symptoms after arriving on Okinawa but was released Sunday and another suffering from an infection was admitted to the hospital Tuesday, Davis said.
The group arrived on Okinawa on Saturday and was expected to return to the United States on March 9.
it won't be endless. Our beloved government pisses away more money on homosexual artists and Nancy Pelosi's private national air force. I say we pick them up by limo, fly them first class, provide room and board and then after they visit Iwo Jima, a cruise liner all the way back to Hawaii. Take the money out of the ACORN funds or payouts to the parasites on welfare. These men did more in the short time they were there than all those other nipple munching maggots have done and will do their entire useless lives
There are two places you should go to if you're a vet with combat experience. One of them is Iwo the other is Point du Hoc. If I ever had to assault a position like that I'd make damn sure that if I lived they'd treat me like a frickin warrior God. Cause I'm telling you what, playing defense and picking off assault teams would have been a lot more fun than going in with the first wave of assault forces. It really makes your skin crawl if you look up the cliffs and think about humping it up as someone is firing down.... on both positions.
Ohhh, I think that we could all add to that list.
There is an endless list of battles and events that we can order our military to transport veterans to.
Don’t worry, it will end soon. You can breathe a sigh of releif when the last one dies.
You can’t wait until all we veterans die, or did you only mean all the ones that fought the Japs for years, like my father?
Oustanding reponse...I’d only add the Canal and the Chosen to the list.
Not me. The person to whom I was commenting, who said it would never end.
As for my attitude toward veterans, see my nick.
Oh, wait, that was you. “[T]his could become an endless and expensive tradition”, you said. Well, so what? They’re worth it.
It won’t be endless. Not too long from now they will all be gone.
I’m glad the military is helping them out. Queen Pelosi demands military jets and she’s done nothing but damage our country. These guys helped save it by fighting in a key battle.
There is an endless supply of veterans, I don’t think we want the military to start a permanent tradition of this type.
I don’t have a problem with it in this case. It’s not like there’s an international airport to fly into at Iwo. Pearl Harbor, Normandy, etc...a different matter.
We’re talking about Iwo Jima veterans. Even the youngest are in their 80’s. I’m sure my husband is not going to demand a trip to Iraq 65 years from now to commemorate his service there.
They had arranged a charter flight, got the permissions and made it to Okinawa before the plans for the final leg to Iwo Jima fell through. It’s the 65th anniversary of the battle and there are plenty of planes right there on the tarmac on Okinawa. I don’t have a problem with it.
Besides, they’re not just any veterans—they’re Marines!
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