thedrifter
03-23-06, 06:54 PM
At 16, girl is Young Marine of the Year in a large division
Visited battle sites in Guam, Iwo Jima
Thursday, March 23, 2006
By Al Lowe
Rachel Ward, a member of the Keystone Oaks High School Young Marines group, experienced some poignant moments, and some tears, when she visited Iwo Jima and Guam recently.
The Castle Shannon teenager joined a tour the national Young Marines helped to arrange from March 2 to 10 for leaders in the organization's six divisions, and some war veterans and their families..
In January, Rachel, 16, was named Young Marine of the Year in her division, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and all of New England.
While touring, she and the 11 other Young Marines from across the nation interviewed veterans for a Library of Congress oral history project.
Rachel talked to a WWII Marine veteran who spent 36 days in Iwo Jima at the time the bloody battle occurred in early 1945. Two buddies of his were among the thousands of soldiers who died there.
The veteran, who was from Illinois, visited the home of the family of one of the men and found "they were in denial," even when he told them he saw his friend die.
At that point in the interview, the man she was interviewing started to weep, Rachel said.
She also noticed tears from family members of other veterans she was interviewing and from a Young Marine colleague whose grandfather died in that battle.
"It was a somber place," Rachel said of visiting the island in what was known as the Pacific Theater during WWII.
"We were told there was a lot of noise when the Marines first landed, but it was quiet and desolate now, a place of not too many colors. You realize this was a place where many men died."
Iwo Jima, meaning "sulfur island" in Japanese, is an island in the Pacific, 650 miles south of Tokyo. It is now maintained by the Japanese government. The WWII battle of Iwo Jima was integral to the defeat of Japan. The island was immortalized in a photograph taken Feb. 23, 1945, in which five Marines and one Navy corpsman are shown raising a U.S. flag on the island's highest point, Mount Suribachi.
Rachel also visited an Air Force base, a Naval base and a cultural center on the island of Guam.
"It was the experience of a lifetime to meet those people and to do these things," she said of her time in the Pacific.
Rachel said she enjoyed her participation in the Young Marines because she enjoys challenges.
She feels her high school grades, letters of recommendation and the training she received in leadership school led to her being picked Young Marine of the Year.
Besides the Young Marines, Rachel plays soccer and plays the cymbals for the drum line in the marching band.
She knows she'll become a Marine at some point. "The question is which path I'll choose." She is considering taking ROTC classes at college or applying for the U.S. Naval Academy.
"The changes I saw in Rachel during her five years in the Young Marines are amazing," said her mother, Donna Ward. "She is so self-assured. It gave her the self confidence I feel that so many young girls lack."
"She's gung-ho," said Green Tree councilman Paul Kirsch, who is adviser to the group. "She has a great deal of maturity."
Ellie
Visited battle sites in Guam, Iwo Jima
Thursday, March 23, 2006
By Al Lowe
Rachel Ward, a member of the Keystone Oaks High School Young Marines group, experienced some poignant moments, and some tears, when she visited Iwo Jima and Guam recently.
The Castle Shannon teenager joined a tour the national Young Marines helped to arrange from March 2 to 10 for leaders in the organization's six divisions, and some war veterans and their families..
In January, Rachel, 16, was named Young Marine of the Year in her division, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and all of New England.
While touring, she and the 11 other Young Marines from across the nation interviewed veterans for a Library of Congress oral history project.
Rachel talked to a WWII Marine veteran who spent 36 days in Iwo Jima at the time the bloody battle occurred in early 1945. Two buddies of his were among the thousands of soldiers who died there.
The veteran, who was from Illinois, visited the home of the family of one of the men and found "they were in denial," even when he told them he saw his friend die.
At that point in the interview, the man she was interviewing started to weep, Rachel said.
She also noticed tears from family members of other veterans she was interviewing and from a Young Marine colleague whose grandfather died in that battle.
"It was a somber place," Rachel said of visiting the island in what was known as the Pacific Theater during WWII.
"We were told there was a lot of noise when the Marines first landed, but it was quiet and desolate now, a place of not too many colors. You realize this was a place where many men died."
Iwo Jima, meaning "sulfur island" in Japanese, is an island in the Pacific, 650 miles south of Tokyo. It is now maintained by the Japanese government. The WWII battle of Iwo Jima was integral to the defeat of Japan. The island was immortalized in a photograph taken Feb. 23, 1945, in which five Marines and one Navy corpsman are shown raising a U.S. flag on the island's highest point, Mount Suribachi.
Rachel also visited an Air Force base, a Naval base and a cultural center on the island of Guam.
"It was the experience of a lifetime to meet those people and to do these things," she said of her time in the Pacific.
Rachel said she enjoyed her participation in the Young Marines because she enjoys challenges.
She feels her high school grades, letters of recommendation and the training she received in leadership school led to her being picked Young Marine of the Year.
Besides the Young Marines, Rachel plays soccer and plays the cymbals for the drum line in the marching band.
She knows she'll become a Marine at some point. "The question is which path I'll choose." She is considering taking ROTC classes at college or applying for the U.S. Naval Academy.
"The changes I saw in Rachel during her five years in the Young Marines are amazing," said her mother, Donna Ward. "She is so self-assured. It gave her the self confidence I feel that so many young girls lack."
"She's gung-ho," said Green Tree councilman Paul Kirsch, who is adviser to the group. "She has a great deal of maturity."
Ellie