Battlefield Return // The Pacific // Iwo Jima 74 Years Later

We recently were fortunate enough to take 7 incredible #PacificWar #veterans back to the #MarianaIslands and #IwoJima.

Our program started in #Guam, where most of our guys fought and served. The welcome they received was overwhelmingly beautiful. The people of Guam are eternally grateful for the sacrifice that our boys made to liberate their island. It had been 74 years since most of them had been there. Watching them experience the island again was magical.

Our journey then brought us to Iwo Jima. Iwo is only open to the public 1 day a year and that number of people is very limited. For 3 of our heroes, this was very important day, because they were there 74 years ago. When the island first came into view from the plane, everyone pretty much went silent. What an amazing thing to see. Once we landed, stories and memories began flooding out of the veterans. There was a touching wreath laying ceremony at the Reunion Of Honor site followed by a short ride up to the top of #Mt.Sirubachi. Our time on the island was short, but long enough for us to unfurl our 48 star flag at the top with all our guys and get a few good stories. What a proud moment it was.

The next island we visited was #Saipan. We visited landmarks like #SuicideCliff and #BanzaiCliff. Some of our vets were there and witnessed the horrors that took place. For them, there is a sense of closure to visit these places that haunted them for so many years and pay their respects and say their final goodbyes. We visited children all over the island and the veterans shared their experiences with them. There's nothing quite like getting a history lesson from the guys that experienced it.

Finally, we took several little planes and made the short jump over to #Tinian. We visited the sites where they assembled the atomic bombs, the pits where they were kept, and #RunwayAble, where the #EnolaGay took off, on her way to #Hiroshima.

This was an amazing experience for these men, who ranged from 92 to 98 years old! It was an honor for our team to be able to make this happen for them, and then to be able to share this experience with all of you.

#DonnieEdwards is a former #NFL football player who has spent the last 22 years giving back to our military. He has done 9 #USO tours, visited many military bases and accompanied hundreds of WWII veterans and Vietnam veterans back to #battlefields

In April of 2006 Donnie Edwards brought WWII veterans back to their battlefields for the first time. Since that time he has accompanied hundreds of WWII veterans from the top of Mount Suribachi in Japan to the top of Eagles Nest in Germany. Donnie works tirelessly to fulfill the wishes and needs of our veterans and to give them the honor and respect they so readily deserve.

Please, help us continue to do these amazing programs by sharing our videos and if you are able, please consider donating to our foundation. As you can imagine, these programs cost a lot of money to make happen. Our time is short with these remaining heroes of WWII.

"Taking care of the ones who took care of us".

bestdefensefoundation.org/donate

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