Military History

81 years after Iwo, these Marines reunited on Memorial Day — and instantly started trash talking

Despite 81 years since the island of Iwo Jima was declared secure — and several years since these two Marines last saw one another — the first thing out of their mouths wasn’t sentimental, it was trash talk.

“Hey, get outta that chair,” barked the 101-year-old Don Graves. “Sitting in that chair with your arms folded.”

The two Marines, part of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division that was famously tasked with capturing Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, had been flown into Washington, D.C., to serve as Honorary Grand Marshals for the National Memorial Day Parade on Monday.

Time was superfluous to the men who commenced their ribbing mere seconds upon spotting one another.

Graves, a native of Detroit, Michigan, quit high school and joined the Marine Corps in 1942 at the age of 17.

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Source: Military Times
Website: www.militarytimes.com