With all the ugliness going on, including recent news about Trump’s trashing of the military and so personally to me an individual Marine’s sacrifice (even if his father, a fellow Marine is a P.O.S.) and the Marine Corps in general (I wrote about it recently) it did my heart good a little while ago to read a WaPo article about a Marine who was killed on the first day of the battle for Tarawa in WWII finally had his remains identified.
And buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Tarawa is as atoll in the central Pacific, part of the Gilbert Islands. The actual battle, an epic one took place on the tiny island of Betio where the priceless airstrip was. It was central to the Japanese, and we needed it to allow for air cover to advance in the Marine’s ultimately successful “island hopping” portion of the twin offensives to retake the Pacific. How important was it to Japan? It was there they chose to site the huge coastal guns captured when they took over Singapore. In addition to other troops a thousand Japanese Marines, elites with plenty of experience were defending the place.
I won’t go into all that went wrong on our side. Had Naval Commanders listened to sound advice from those who knew the area and the issue with the low, dodging autumn tides the carnage that would ensue could have been greatly mitigated. But they were ignored and the Navy assured the Marines the place would be “softened up” and things would be over in less than a day. It didn’t happen that way.
On the first day of the battle, one of the Marines who made it to shore (because the landing craft couldn’t as the Navy had been warned cross the reef), most of them wading through 800 yards or more of waist high water Lawrence Earl Garrison was shot and killed. Like so many others, as the battle raged on the means of identifying him became impossible. So many like him both there and in other places would wind up being buried in unmarked graves. But with time, and advances in technology it’s become possible to ID remains even from that long ago. There are those however who refuse to give up, and somehow marshal the resources to keep identifying in increasing numbers those who fell in battle and were never identified. So that families can have closure. So that those who fell can be properly buried with honors.
It’s not easy, and it’s not cheap when in the end those working to give families closure have to resort to DNA testing. With remains that old that mean mitochondrial DNA and as was the case with Garrison once their was some evidence of who he might actually be finding an existing female descendant from his mother’s side of the family was a challenge. But it got done. Garrison’s remains were identified and he was buried as he should be – with full honors at Arlington.
Somber? Yes. But still heartwarming.
Family members who only had stories and pictures now have a resting place they can visit should they choose to make the trip. He will have a headstone, and each Memorial Day a flag will be placed there. Plus, even if they can’t make the trip themselves they can have a small decoration placed at various times.
We CAN honor those who gave all.
And I do. And I rage at Donald effing Trump and every person who voices ANY support for him for NOT honoring those like Garrison who gave their very lives. He deserves the honor and respect of being laid to rest by his fellow Marines at Arlington. His family deserves to have that folded flag that was presented to them.
Sometimes even sad news is still good news. And it’s a reminder of how much we need to ensure that Garrison’s and countless others service and sacrifice mattered. That WE have to be worthy of it. Because in recent years we sure as hell haven’t been.
Tonight however my spirit, my will to keep fighting like hell is renewed. I hope you’ve read this, and that yours is too.
Semper Fidelis to my brother Marine Lawrence Earl Garrison. If I’m wrong and there is a life after this one I hope you are tossing back a cold one with a Marine I once had the honor of spending a little time with, one who survived that awful battle. (But that’s a whole different story.)
The current ‘pube party does not know the meaning of the word “honor”. If they did they would have kicked former guy to the curb long ago regardless of the magat base. Honor would require it.
Would you clarify for me something contained in your first sentence? You wrote, “an individual Marine’s sacrifice (even if his father, a fellow Marine is a P.O.S.)” The grammatical structure of that sentence is unclear, but the word “his” grammatically refers to the immediately preceding male noun, the “individual Marine,” whose sacrifice you were writing about. That Marine would be Lawrence Earl Garrison. Were you saying that Garrison’s father was a Marine and a P.O.S.? If so, how do you know it?
If you were not referring to Garrison, then to whom? You mentioned Trump, but his father was not in any military, according to the Wikipedia article on Fred Trump, Donald’s father. So, who were you saying had a father who was a Marine and also a P.O.S.?
Thanks in advance for the clarification, Denis.