MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Marines, family and friends of the 7th Marine Regiment honored their 72 fallen comrades in the base theater at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, April 19.
The unit remembered the Marines, soldiers and sailors lost during their year-long deployment as Regimental Combat Team 7, 1st Marine Division, in the area of Al Asad, Iraq, during 2006.
“The purpose of the memorial is for the individuals, for ourselves, the families, and to prepare people to go to war again,” said Col. William B. Crowe, commanding officer, 7th Marine Regiment, who was also the RCT-7 commanding officer during his unit’s tour in Iraq.
Crowe said service members need to be able to kill the enemy no matter what their military occupational specialty may be.
“We have to prep for the unknown,” Crowe said. “Regardless of MOS, the enemy sees you as a coalition force, and anybody can be a casualty. We have to prepare for that.”
He said he doesn’t want another military child to lose their father or mother.
“Unfortunately there have been men that had two to three kids that we’ve lost, and now those kids have 100 dads to help raise them. Not for monetary means, but people to just check up on them for the rest of their lives.”
Many thought the memorial ceremony did the service members justice.
“The service did respect to these Marines,” said Lance Cpl. Jonathan A. Norman, a 20-year-old technical network specialist assigned to Headquarters Company, 7th Marine Regiment, who is from Detroit. “These Marines lost their lives in combat just fighting for their country. I have a lot of respect for these people. This is something that I will not forget.”
Others agreed.
“I thought it was very moving for all the families to come for the Marines, soldiers and sailors to show their respect,” said Lance Cpl. Gerald J. Smith, a field operator assigned to Headquarters Company, 7th Marine Regiment, who is from Pine Hill, N.J.
The ceremony also included a rifle volley, a trumpeter playing “Taps” and a bell chime after each service member’s name was read. One Marine felt blessed to ring the bell.
“It was an honor,” said Cpl. Joshua C. Ward, a 19-year-old mobile multi-channel equipment operator assigned to Headquarters Company, 7th Marine Regiment, who is from Enterprise, Ala. “I had a lot of good friends killed over there. It was my way of saying goodbye. I felt proud. I felt sorrow that my friends were gone, but felt proud to be able to serve next to
people like that.”
Although the service members were initially memorialized in Iraq, many felt it was very important to celebrate the lives of the fallen to forever etch their comrades' spirits in their memories.
“It meant closure and a final memorial to the Marines, soldiers and sailors who had fallen during our tour in Iraq,” said Master Gunnery Sgt. Albert A. Silva, 43, who served as the operations chief for the 7th Marine Regiment in Iraq, and is from Palmer, Mass. “Each unit
does their individual memorial but it’s good for the regiment, as a higher level, to remember all the units and those that have passed in those units as well. You feel a sense of loss for your fallen brothers, but you realize this is what they joined for ... to do their
job without question. And it’s very unfortunate that they have fallen.”