thedrifter
09-02-07, 05:49 AM
They are Marines
A gathering of old warriors
By Matt Ehlers, Staff Writer
Raleigh - It is truly something, standing in a room with them.
It is a sincere and honest feeling. And it is solemn, especially when the microphone is passed.
They are old. So they raise their hands slowly and rise uneasily from their chairs.
They are sad. So as they speak the names, more than one head bows, more than one tear falls.
They are Marines.
In late August, for the 58th time, surviving members of the 5th Marine Division came together to remember. It is a storied group -- these Marines stormed Iwo Jima. They battled at Khe Sanh.
They gathered at the North Raleigh Hilton in large part because of George Cattelona, a New Jersey boy who married a Carolina girl after returning from the battlefield. Cattelona, 82, lives in Raleigh and served on Iwo Jima during World War II.
The memorial service, in which the men were invited to share remembrances of fallen fighters, was just one moment spread over days filled with many happier ones.
The men and their wives and children and grandchildren took in a Durham Bulls game. They attended a concert at Meymandi Hall and spent umpteen hours swapping stories in the hotel lobby, slapping backs and sipping highballs.
Thomas H. Begay, 82, traveled to the reunion from Window Rock, Ariz., with his wife, Nina. Begay, who is Native American, served as a code talker, transmitting messages in a code based on the Navajo language.
He had a simple reason for making the trip: seeing old friends.
"It makes me feel good."
Ellie
A gathering of old warriors
By Matt Ehlers, Staff Writer
Raleigh - It is truly something, standing in a room with them.
It is a sincere and honest feeling. And it is solemn, especially when the microphone is passed.
They are old. So they raise their hands slowly and rise uneasily from their chairs.
They are sad. So as they speak the names, more than one head bows, more than one tear falls.
They are Marines.
In late August, for the 58th time, surviving members of the 5th Marine Division came together to remember. It is a storied group -- these Marines stormed Iwo Jima. They battled at Khe Sanh.
They gathered at the North Raleigh Hilton in large part because of George Cattelona, a New Jersey boy who married a Carolina girl after returning from the battlefield. Cattelona, 82, lives in Raleigh and served on Iwo Jima during World War II.
The memorial service, in which the men were invited to share remembrances of fallen fighters, was just one moment spread over days filled with many happier ones.
The men and their wives and children and grandchildren took in a Durham Bulls game. They attended a concert at Meymandi Hall and spent umpteen hours swapping stories in the hotel lobby, slapping backs and sipping highballs.
Thomas H. Begay, 82, traveled to the reunion from Window Rock, Ariz., with his wife, Nina. Begay, who is Native American, served as a code talker, transmitting messages in a code based on the Navajo language.
He had a simple reason for making the trip: seeing old friends.
"It makes me feel good."
Ellie