On our travel day from Saipan to Guam, we left early for the 30 minute flight. As it turns out, I’m not the first in my extended family to set foot on Guam. My Dad’s first cousin, Benny, was stationed here when he served in the Navy. The brother of my dear cousin, Joann, I know she’s been looking forward to hearing about Guam. It’s pretty. It’s HOT!
When we arrived at the Dusit Thani hotel in Guam, we were ushered into a buffet lunch. I ended up sitting next to WWII veteran Dale Faughn, a Corporal in the Marines. Mr. Faughn fought at Iwo Jima, but we mainly talked about his career as a school teacher. Mr. Faughn taught high school subjects in Kentucky for 61 years before finally retiring. He said they didn’t ask him to retire, but he figured it was about time when he did. Over the course of 61 years, he taught everything from Physics and Chemistry to Advanced Math to English. I asked him out of all of it, what was his favorite subject to teach? He replied, “All of it. I loved every minute. My son is a minister and he says that he was called by God to do that work. I firmly believe I was called to be a teacher.” Mr. Faughn was extremely easy to talk to and we chatted non stop for a good while. He did eventually say that he didn’t know how he was going to feel about visiting Iwo Jima again. He said he thought it would be emotional, but he would have to wait and see.
And not only was Mr. Faughn an award winning teacher, he is also an accomplished poet and is a Poet Laureate for Kentucky. Oh, and he holds the Guiness Book of Records for being the oldest blood donor. He didn’t tell me that. I found that out when I Googled him. So what are you doing with YOUR life?
After lunch, we visited the landing beaches of Guam. I ended up having a nice conversation with Mr. Faughn’s son, Paul, who accompanied him on the trip. He had also said they didn’t know how they were going to pay for it, so were thrilled when the museum said they were picking up the tab. Paul said that, like me, he wasn’t really that passionate about history. He said you’d think he would be, given that his Dad is this amazing veteran, but he said it was never really talked about so he didn’t grow up really immersed in the history. So also like me, he’s enjoying the trip and the history, but doesn’t eat, sleep and breathe it like some on the trip (this includes Gregg). But somehow we got to talking about high school and he told me of his many years spent wrestling. Of course, being from Kentucky, he pronounced it “wrastling.” And being from Alabama, I loved that.
So today Gregg attended the symposium on Iwo Jima, put on by the Iwo Jima Association of America. They are the ones who maintain the relationship with the Japanese government, who allows access to the island. In fact, General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wanted to be on the island this year for the memorial. The Japanese government told his secretary that they had to call the IJAA to get permission. So yes, they granted the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs permission to be on the island and he will be there to meet the veterans when they deplane on Saturday.
Not only does the IJAA give the permission for the attendees, but they gave a long lecture about how to comport yourself on the island and that under no circumstances are you to veer off the pathway. There are still live ordnance on the island and there are strict rules of where you can and cannot go. Gregg will be making the 10 mile round trip to the top of Mount Suribachi. My original plan was to make the trip to Iwo Jima for the Honors Ceremony, as there is no way I could do a 10 mile hike. I have since decided to stay behind since it’s going to be a 12 hour day and I have developed a terrible cough and sore throat. I certainly don’t want to take that on a two hour plane ride with all of the tour people and 95+ year old veterans.
So today after Gregg attended the Symposium, we took the trolley to Kmart (yes, Kmart!) to get some cough drops and NyQuil. So I plan to use Iwo Jima day to rest and recover. At first I was disappointed, but my one-on-one experiences with the veterans has been more rewarding that standing in the heat for the day with no seating or bathrooms.
More to come..
~Dawn
