thedrifter
02-23-08, 11:46 AM
February 23, 2008
Marines commemorate Iwo Jima
Hema Easley
The Journal News
RAMAPO - Braving heavy snow and slick roads, nearly 60 Marines and veterans from other branches of the military attended the 13th annual Iwo Jima lunch that honors survivors of the decisive World War II battle.
Sixty-three years have passed since the Feb. 19, 1945, battle in which 6,821 Americans and 20,000 Japanese defenders died. The annual lunch commemorates the raising of the American flag on the island of Suribachi at the end of the best-known battle in Marine Corps history.
"We are here to recognize the survivors of the battle who are still here with us, and to send a message to today's Marines and service members that what they are doing today will never be forgotten," said George Rath, chief of staff of Rockland County detachment of the Marine Corps League, who was also the master of ceremonies at yesterday's event.
Dressed in the signature red jacket, black tie and red cap of the Marine Corps League, veterans mingled with each other before lunch and swapped stories from the past.
Frank Bruno was the oldest in his group during the battle of Iwo Jima, in his late 20s, and was known as "Pops." He was injured by shrapnel and was on a hospital ship when the flag was raised. He saw the flag flying through a window when someone alerted him to it.
"Someone shouted, 'Old Glory is up on Suribachi," recalled Bruno, now 91 and a New City resident, sipping his martini with two other Iwo Jima survivors, Gene Iaconetti, 84, of Teaneck, N.J., and Jim Hyman, 81, of Garnerville.
Iaconetti remembered that in the confusion of the battle, soldiers couldn't find a flagpole and used an abandoned water pipe instead to raise the flag.
"It was a hundred pounds," Iaconetti said. "That's why it took six guys to get it up."
The annual event was started by the Rockland County Marine Corps League in 1995, the 50th anniversary of Iwo Jima. The gathering is held on the Friday closest to the Feb. 19 anniversary.
"We realized that fewer and fewer were alive," said Jerry Donnellan, director of the county's Veterans Service Agency. "We felt it was time to honor them before they were gone. They are the oral history of Iwo Jima."
The lunch began with the presentation of colors by the two members of the Rockland County detachment, followed by the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance. Members of the Stewart Air National Guard in Newburgh, who usually present the colors, canceled because of the weather.
Those who attended the event had a meal of fillet of sole, roast beef, salad, fruit cup and layer cake.
A highlight was the presentation of the Elmer Jewell Award 2008 to Barry Fixler, a former Marine sergeant who owns Barry Estate Jewelry in Bardonia, for his work for veterans.
The award is named after a Marine who was killed on Iwo Jima.
Fixler raised $100,000 from a Valentine's Day sale at his store in 2006 and from a fundraiser, and donated all the money to Eddie Ryan, a wounded Iraq war veteran. Ryan needed money to make home renovations to meet his medical needs and for therapy.
"He has been a very generous man to Eddie Ryan and to the community," said Frank Watkins of Ramapo, a member of the Marine Corps League who was instrumental in starting the award. "He is an outstanding product of the Marine Corps."
Ellie
Marines commemorate Iwo Jima
Hema Easley
The Journal News
RAMAPO - Braving heavy snow and slick roads, nearly 60 Marines and veterans from other branches of the military attended the 13th annual Iwo Jima lunch that honors survivors of the decisive World War II battle.
Sixty-three years have passed since the Feb. 19, 1945, battle in which 6,821 Americans and 20,000 Japanese defenders died. The annual lunch commemorates the raising of the American flag on the island of Suribachi at the end of the best-known battle in Marine Corps history.
"We are here to recognize the survivors of the battle who are still here with us, and to send a message to today's Marines and service members that what they are doing today will never be forgotten," said George Rath, chief of staff of Rockland County detachment of the Marine Corps League, who was also the master of ceremonies at yesterday's event.
Dressed in the signature red jacket, black tie and red cap of the Marine Corps League, veterans mingled with each other before lunch and swapped stories from the past.
Frank Bruno was the oldest in his group during the battle of Iwo Jima, in his late 20s, and was known as "Pops." He was injured by shrapnel and was on a hospital ship when the flag was raised. He saw the flag flying through a window when someone alerted him to it.
"Someone shouted, 'Old Glory is up on Suribachi," recalled Bruno, now 91 and a New City resident, sipping his martini with two other Iwo Jima survivors, Gene Iaconetti, 84, of Teaneck, N.J., and Jim Hyman, 81, of Garnerville.
Iaconetti remembered that in the confusion of the battle, soldiers couldn't find a flagpole and used an abandoned water pipe instead to raise the flag.
"It was a hundred pounds," Iaconetti said. "That's why it took six guys to get it up."
The annual event was started by the Rockland County Marine Corps League in 1995, the 50th anniversary of Iwo Jima. The gathering is held on the Friday closest to the Feb. 19 anniversary.
"We realized that fewer and fewer were alive," said Jerry Donnellan, director of the county's Veterans Service Agency. "We felt it was time to honor them before they were gone. They are the oral history of Iwo Jima."
The lunch began with the presentation of colors by the two members of the Rockland County detachment, followed by the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance. Members of the Stewart Air National Guard in Newburgh, who usually present the colors, canceled because of the weather.
Those who attended the event had a meal of fillet of sole, roast beef, salad, fruit cup and layer cake.
A highlight was the presentation of the Elmer Jewell Award 2008 to Barry Fixler, a former Marine sergeant who owns Barry Estate Jewelry in Bardonia, for his work for veterans.
The award is named after a Marine who was killed on Iwo Jima.
Fixler raised $100,000 from a Valentine's Day sale at his store in 2006 and from a fundraiser, and donated all the money to Eddie Ryan, a wounded Iraq war veteran. Ryan needed money to make home renovations to meet his medical needs and for therapy.
"He has been a very generous man to Eddie Ryan and to the community," said Frank Watkins of Ramapo, a member of the Marine Corps League who was instrumental in starting the award. "He is an outstanding product of the Marine Corps."
Ellie