Honoring the Marines

As I  mentioned in an earlier post, today is the 231st birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

Today the new Marine Museum opened in Quantico, Virginia honoring the history and tradition of the Corps.

President Bush, dedicating a new Marine museum, expressed optimism on Friday that the U.S. will succeed in its drive to sow democracy in the Middle East.

“Years from now when America looks out on a democratic Middle East, growing in freedom and prosperity, Americans will speak of the battles like Fallujah with the same awe and reverence that we now give to Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima” in World War II, Bush said.

Bush spoke at the dedication ceremony for the National Museum of the Marine Corps, located on a 135-acre site next to the Marine Corps Base in Quantico. The dedication of the museum began with the introduction of Marine Corps brass and a 21-gun salute to Bush, who walked from the building as the band played “Hail to the Chief.” An estimated 10,000 people from various armed services watched as four F-18s screeched across the sky.

The design of the museum’s building, which slants rightward toward the clouds, reflects the highest peak on the island of Iwo Jima where, in the closing months of World War II, the image of five Marines and one sailor raising the American flag was immortalized in a Pulitzer Prize-winning picture taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal.

This is for my sister’s husband Kenny, my good friend Carmen, for Lt. Col. Oliver North and the Marine chaplains who were on my radio show and inspired so many people. And for all Marines, past, present and future. I offer my prayers and gratitude for you.

You ennoble us all.

God bless you. Semper fidelis.