Student Honors Heroes on Memorial Day

Belle Noxon recently visited Washington D.C. with her Eighth Grade Class. She wrote about her impressions at the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Iwo Jima has a very unique style. It is designed so that when you are driving around the monument it looks like the Marines are raising the American flag.

Around the top of the memorial there are all the battles the Americans have fought. The earliest battle is the Revolutionary War, dating from 1775 to 1785. The most recent battle is Korea, fought in 1950.

From a distance the memorial looks very small, but when you get up close to it the statue is bigger than you can imagine.

Iwo Jima is a memorial that is dedicated to all Marines who died in American history. War is a very devastating thing and it’s hard to believe that our country has to drop bombs on places so that we can keep peace.

There is a seal on the memorial that reads, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue,” which means Always Faithful. This is so true of the Marines, actually true of all military services, because they are always faithful to their country and to their countrymen and they give everything to keep us safe and keep our freedom strong.

This memorial is very interesting to look at and I really enjoyed it. We actually went to the memorial as it was beginning to get dark. While looking at the memorial with the sun going down behind it the sky began getting a bluish purple tint that was very pretty.

I think that this memorial shows all the love and dedication these soldiers have for their country and their people. It helps us realize that our country would be completely different without them.

I really can’t imagine how the world would be if soldiers never had the courage to go and fight for our country. I admire the strength and persistence that they continue to fight with even now .