PDA

View Full Version : ‘I was young like that once’



thedrifter
02-04-06, 06:24 AM
‘I was young like that once’
February 04,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
DAILY NEWS STAFF

“Rotten” Ray Kania, a 73-year-old Korean war veteran who served with the 2nd Marine Division, had his video camera out and ready.

Truth of the matter is: Rotten Ray was all smiles.

While the 2nd Marine Division celebrated its 65th birthday Friday during a ceremony in the Goettge Memorial Field House at Camp Lejeune, the real celebration had nothing to do with a unit or command structure.

It’s all about the Marines like Kania who served under it. That’s why more than 200 veterans — from as far back as World War II — and family members gathered to remember not just the division’s accomplishments, but the ones they made when they were a part of it.

The ceremony, which included a rededication of the “Follow Me” Division’s awards and accomplishments, had many veterans snapping pictures and videotaping the Marines standing at rigid attention and the flags that they fought for.

The division officially formed in 1941 in San Diego. Legendary World War II battles such as Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Okinawa were fought by its members. It moved to Camp Lejeune in 1946. Since then, division Marines have fought in Korea, Vietnam, the current Iraq war and every conflict in between.

Kania, who got his nickname from telling people “how it was,” spent a year and a half with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, after returning from Korea. He said he was enjoying being back at Lejeune.

“I came back looking for guys I served with 50 years ago to renew some acquaintances,” he said. “It’s great. It’s changed a lot in 50 years. I look at these young Marines. I was young like that once.”

Ed Hendrickson, a Navy corpsman in World War II and Korea, came for the celebration. It was his first time back since being stationed at Courthouse Bay and Onslow Beach in the early 1950s.

“This has really been magnificent,” Hendrickson said.

He appreciated his time in the wars, he said, because it produced a strong bond between him and those he fought alongside. While he never got heavily involved in veterans organizations, he did say that bond between corpsman and Marine stuck with him.

“It was a bonding between Marines and corpsmen. They rely on us and we rely on them,” he said. “You lose track of a lot of people but you have memories forever.”

Jim Evans, the president of the 2nd Marine Division Association, said his organization was honored to be at Lejeune.

“Everybody is thanking us,” he said. “It should be the other way around. We should be thanking you.

“We’re going to show you us old fogies can still oorah,” he said.

And they did.

Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or at 353-1171, ext. 229.