YOUNG MARINES: By YM/SGtMaj Lauren Loria Col. Wesley Fox (VA) The trip began on March 18th at 5:00 A.M. when my alarm went off,telling me it was time to get ready to head to the air- port. My flight from Virginia took me to Los Angeles, where I met up with the other Division Young Marines of the Year, the Director’s Choice, and the Jimmy Trimble Scholarship winners. We spent the night in a hotel. The next day we were tak- ing a 5-hour flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, Hawaii, and finally the 8-hour flight to Guam. We left Los Angeles on the 19th and arrived in Guam on the 20th, a full 14 hours ahead of the east coast.The first tour day in Guam, we took a tour of the beaches and of the bays that were crucial in the taking of Guam. Our job during the trip was to also ensure that the WWII vet- erans and others on the tour were staying hydrated and safe. The rest of the days we spent there we were taken around by bus to different historical locations that were beautiful and serene. In all we hiked 8.9 miles, so we were exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. Our final day on Guam ended on the beach where we were able to snorkel on the reefs, see the fish and play basket- ball in the pool. The people of the island were friendly and loved talk- ing to us, making us feel like part of their family. My favorite part of the trip was flying to Iwo Jima to climb Mt. Suribachi. The island air smelled like sulfur and the wind whipped around us as we stepped foot onto the tarmac. Marines were milling about and guiding people towards the buses that carried us to the ceremony site. Our time on the island was limited, so we started our hike to the top of Mt. Suribachi.The road was long,and as we were walking towards the mountain, the feat seemed impossible, as the inclines seemed to get steeper as we neared the top. The air became thinner and the road seemed to snake along forever. When we made the final turn to the top, the weight of my pack started to drag me down but with boots to the ground, we made it to the top.The black sands acted as a buf- fer between the land and the sea.There were no sounds other than the rustling of boots on the ground and the occasional click from a camera. The climb was difficult but once we reached the top, it was breathtaking. Each of us had the opportunity to take pictures with flags we had brought with us. I was given a flag by a very nice couple from Texas, since I had no money to buy one myself. We could only spend a short amount of time atop Mt. Su- ribachi since we still had to hike down and collect sands from the black beaches. We then had to start hik- ing down the mountain. The trek down was easier, but also more serene. We all took a moment to think about the men who had made the same hike we had, without a road or cover from enemy fire. We walked all the way back down the mountain and onto the beach. The waves were crashing against the shore and the sand shifted under our feet. The wind would blow our covers off of our heads and carry them across the beach. We collected our sand in our bottles and stored them in our bag, the extra weight seeming to ground us from being carried off by the wind. Our walk back from the ceremony site was a quiet one. We reflected on the events that occurred on the island and the life that had grown on the is- land since the massive amounts of death in 1945. Our time on Iwo Jima was short, but this made it all the more special to be able to step foot on it at all. 16 YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE From Virginia to Guam, to Mt. Suribachi and the Black Sands