Scrolling through these photos today of all the veterans made me recall an AMAZING story about U.S. Marine Sergeant Joseph Edward Smith Jr and his brother, Corporal Bryan Dale Smith. Sgt Smith was the father of my longtime friend Ed Smith. Joe & Dale were attached to 5th Division in the Pacific in World War II. Whenever I hear Marine and World World II, it gives me chills when I think about the almost insurmountable situations they were placed in and all the horrible things they endured.....and when you hear Marine and World War II, whats the first battle that comes to mind....Iwo Jima. Most of you know the story. The Japanese had a year to prepare, they held all the high ground, their tunnels and bunkers made it difficult to penetrate by air, and they were there to fight to the death. Of the over 20,000 Japanese soldiers entrenched there, only around one in twenty survived. The first wave of Marines were allowed to hit the Iwo Jima beach in an eerie silence, then were cut to pieces by Japanese machine guns. Then came the second wave, which included Sgt Joe Smith.....now think about this folks....you just watched your comrades ahead of you get almost wiped out. Now its your turn. What things race through your mind? What thoughts motivate, guide, and protect you? Although I never heard Sgt Smith mention one word about his days in the Marines, I can tell you this....his thoughts were on his sweetheart Helen. His eyes gazed endlessly at that one picture of her he carried with him throughout the war. He probably kept it tucked in a pocket or wallet...and when he went into battle, it was under his helmet.....that is, until the day he landed on Iwo Jima. Somewhere between the waves and that volcanic ash beach, he lost his picture. A third wave of Marines hit the beach, then a fourth, then a fifth,....and then a sixth, including Corporal Dale Smith. At some point during that landing, a marine plucked a photo of a gal floating in the water. Whoa, take a look at this babe. As some of his mates gathered around, an inquisitive Dale Smith looks over his shoulder and yells Hey, give me that! He then snatches the picture out of his comrades hand and declares, thats my brothers gal! Now, I would have given anything to have seen Sgt Smiths face when he was reunited with that photo....but dont you know that he KNEW he was going to make it back home after that! Regretfully, I never properly thanked Sgt Smith for his incredible service to our country. But it warms my heart to see that so many of you do remember our veterans today and throughout the year...and hearing your stories always makes me take time to reflect.....and I can never do it enough.....
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 02:11:18 +0000
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