Marines Remember Iwo Jima At Riverfront Park

The Marines are landing in Riverfront Park on Friday, and by 10 a.m. should have the situation well in hand.

Members of the 4th Marine Corps Division are holding their national reunion in Spokane this week, marking the 50th anniversary of the battle they fought on Iwo Jima and the end of World War II.

They will be holding a memorial service in the park starting at 10 a.m. on the Floating Stage. The service will include a 21-gun salute and conclude with a re-enactment of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi, one of the most recognized images from the war.

Marine Day at the park also will include a 1 p.m. parachute drop and aerial display, accompanied by music from a bag pipe band in the Lilac Bowl. The Marine Corps Silent Drill team will perform at 1:45 p.m. Throughout the day, America at War and Peace, a special museum exhibit, will be on display in the Spokane Convention Center.

The Fighting Fourth, as the unit was dubbed during the war, experienced one of the highest casualty rates during its short history. It participated in four amphibious landings, receiving two presidential unit citations and four Medals of Honor.

, DataTimes