Belen Jesuit junior Oscar Pinate was one of 10 high school students selected nationwide by the Young Marines of the Marine Corps League to attend the Reunion of Honor, Mar. 19, on Iwo Jima, site of a famous World War II battle.
“This trip to Iwo Jima meant that I was going to be part of history, by walking next to the men that fought there in 1945,” said YM SgtMaj. Pinate. “It was a humbling experience being with the ‘Greatest Generation’ as I stood on the sacred grounds where ‘Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue’ on Iwo Jima. I am thankful for their service and for being at the Reunion of Honor.”
The Young Marines commemorated the World War II Pacific Campaign battle of Iwo Jima fought by the U.S. Marines, Feb. 19-Mar. 26, 1945. On Mount Suribachi, where five Marines and one Navy corpsman raised the Stars and Stripes immortalized in the iconic photograph by Joe Rosenthal, YM SgtMaj. Pinate raised the Belen flag.
