Collins Report

By Kevin “Coach” Collins
Sixty four years ago today waves of incredibly brave Marines swept onto the beaches of Iwo Jima to take it from the Japanese and destroy their dreams of ruling the world.
Iwo Jima was the penultimate battle of the war against Japan, but in many ways its importance overshadows the battle for Okinawa a few months later.
By early 1945 both Franklin Roosevelt and the American people were worn out by three years of constant two front war. Many Americans might not realize it, but there was a growing sentiment in our country that since we’d beaten Italy, and were finishing off Germany, we should let the Japanese surrender as well. We didn’t know the Japanese then as we do now.
Roosevelt needed a victory to convince the American people to continue to fund the Pacific War.
The job fell to the Marines who by then had a battle ready force with an average age of 19 which meant they had joined the Corps after seeing the un-censored pictures of dead Marines floating in the waters off Guadalcanal.
That generation of “youth voters” weren’t allowed to vote in an election booth so they voted in a recruiter’s booth. They didn’t hide behind empty slogans about “change” to do their duty as they saw it. They stepped up and offered their lives so America would continue to be free. Sadly many of those young Marines lost their lives to fulfill their mission.
Today that generation’s grandchildren have taken their sacrifices and stepped on them. They have willingly, if unknowingly, trampled on the very freedoms their grandfather’s stormed Iwo Jima to defend and preserve.
Today we DON’T speak Japanese because of that generation of Marines, but we will be living as the slaves of the state the Japanese envisioned for us.
Unfortunately we won’t hear much about Iwo Jima today. There will be a few stories about how small groups of old Marines have gathered to mark the day. Those 19 year olds of Feb. 19, 1945 that are still with us are all over 82 now, but they understood what was real then and the ones I know still do. They know our young people have done damage to America that all of our previous enemies could only dream of doing.
Mark this day along with those brave men. They gave us another chance to continue to live free. Let each one of us resolve to use our freedom wisely.

To comment on this or other Collins Report essays write: kcoachc “at” gmail.com