Margaret Flowers Civic Award 2010 recipient named - Gosport

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SECTIONB February 25, 2011 GOSPORTLIFE MATSG Master Gunnery Sgt. Robert Rivera retires; see page B2 Spotlight Navy and Marine Corps personnel awarded the Medal of Honor during the battle for Iwo Jima Twenty-seven Medals of Honor – the nation’s highest military award for bravery – were awarded for action on Iwo Jima: more than any other battle in U.S. history. Berry, Charles J., Cpl. USMC (posthumous award) Caddy, William R., Pfc., USMCR (posthumous award) Chambers, Justice M., Lt. Col., USMCR Cole, Darrell S., Sergeant, USMCR (posthumous award) Dunlap, Robert H., Capt., USMCR Gray, Ross F., Sgt., USMCR (posthumous award) Harrell, William G., Sgt., USMC Herring, Rufus G., Lt. j.g., USNR Jacobson, Douglas T., Pfc., USMCR Julian, Joseph R., Sgt., USMCR (posthumous award) La Belle, James D., Pfc., USMCR (posthumous award) Leims, John H., 2nd Lt., USMCR Lucas, Jacklyn H., Pfc., USMCR Lummus, Jack, 1st Lt., USMCR (posthumous award) Martin, Harry L., 1st Lt., USMCR (posthumous award) McCarthy, Joseph J., Capt., USMCR Pierce, Francis J., PHM 1st Class, USN Phillips, George , Pvt., USMCR (posthumous award) Ruhl, Donald J., Pfc., USMCR (posthumous award) Sigler, Franklin E., Pvt., USMCR Stein, Tony, Cpl., USMCR (posthumous award) Wahlen, George E., PHM 2nd Class, USN Walsh, William G., Gunnery Sgt. USMCR (posthumous award) Watson, Wilson D., Pvt., Because of the distance between mainland Japan and U.S. bases in the Mariana Islands, the capture of Iwo Jima would provide an emergency landing strip for crippled B-29s returning from bombing runs. The seizure of Iwo would allow for sea and air blockades, the ability to conduct intensive air bombardment and to destroy the enemy’s air and naval capabilities. To the Japanese leadership, the capture of Iwo Jima meant the battle for Okinawa, and the invasion of Japan itself, was not far off. Initial carrier raids against Iwo Jima began in June 1944. Prior to the invasion, the eightsquare-mile island would suffer the longest, most intensive shelling of any Pacific island during the war. The 7th Air Force, working out of the Marianas, supplied the B-24 heavy bombers for the campaign. In addition to the air assaults on Iwo, the Marines requested 10 days of pre-invasion naval bombardment. Due to other operational commitments and the fact that a prolonged air assault had been waged on Iwo Jima, Navy planners authorized only three days of naval bombardment. Unfavorable weather conditions would further hamper the effects of naval bombardment. Despite this, planners decided to keep the invasion date and the Marines prepared for the Feb. 19 D-day. More than 450 ships massed off Iwo as the H- hour bombardment pounded the island. Shortly after 9 a.m., Marines of the 4th and 5th divisions hit beaches Green, Red, Yellow and Blue abreast, initially finding little enemy resistance. Coarse volcanic sand hampered the movement of men and machines as they struggled to move up the beach. As the protective naval gunfire subsided to allow for the Marine advance, the Word Search ‘Uncommon valor’ U R K X O M S A J U Z A C Q M D A Y O X K U Z P P Y X T A F K O F H T B C O H V E M E O W K U M Y H T E V R C U M R R E N A H A W W R X N D B T H A X T S H M R I O A A K C R W P H X G L D B I R K V O H I R H Q B Q S B W B N D O Y H B O B C G V O A M F A E J A L U U Z G W N F E V A K T S B Y T F A Q W O M L B R O N O H V E L X T U E D F M G I I J A A F Y B T R O Q H K T W J X F N W O A Z O W A I R F O R C E J J Z X N F V K A C J N Y C J P N S N L AIRFORCE ARMY DAY FLAG HONOR Iwo From Naval History & Heritage Command Iwo Jima, which means “Sulfur Island,” was strategically important as an air base for fighter escorts supporting long-range bombing missions against mainland Japan. MARINES NAVY REMEMBRANCE RIBBON TRIBUTE Jima Japanese emerged from their fortified underground positions to begin a heavy barrage of fire against the invading force. The 4th Marine Division pushed forward against heavy opposition to take the quarry, a Japanese strong point. The 5th Marine Division’s 28th Marines had the mission of isolating Mount Suribachi. Both tasks were accomplished that day. Feb. 20, one day after the landing, the 28th Marines secured the southern end of Iwo and Fourth Division Marines begin an attack from the beach on Iwo Jima, as another boatload of men land from a landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP), Feb. 19, 1945. Note the burning landing vehicle, tracked (LVT) and the men ashore taking cover. U.S. Marine Corps photo moved to take the summit of Suribachi. By day’s end, one-third of the island and Motoyama Airfield No. 1 was controlled by the Marines. By Feb. 23, the 28th Marines would reach the top of Mount Suribachi and raise the U.S. flag. The 3rd Marine Division joined the fighting on the fifth day of the battle. These Marines immediately began the mission of securing the center sector of the island. Each division fought hard to gain ground against a determined Japanese defender. Lt. Gen. Tadamishi Kuribayashi, commander of the ground forces on Iwo Jima, concentrated his energies and his forces in the central and northern sections of the island. Miles of interlocking caves, concrete blockhouses and pillboxes proved to be one of the most impenetrable defenses encountered by the Marines in the Pacific. The 3rd Marine Division encountered the most heavily fortified portion of the island in their move to take Airfield No. 2. As with most of the fighting on Iwo Jima, frontal assault was the method used to gain each inch of ground. By nightfall on March 9, the third division reached the island’s northeastern beach, cutting the enemy defenses in two. Gosling Games Color Me ‘U.S. of A.’ The first flag raising on Iwo Jima, Feb. 23, 1945. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lou Lowery On the left of the 3rd Marine Division, the 5th Marine Division pushed up the western coast of Iwo Jima from the central airfield to the island’s northern tip. Moving to seize and hold the eastern portion of the island, the 4th Marine Division encountered a “mini banzai” attack from the final members of the Japanese navy serving on Iwo. This attack resulted in the death of nearly 700 enemy and ended the centralized resistance of enemy forces in the 4th division’s sector. A proud moment for those who worked so hard to gain control of the island was when the first emergency landing was made by a B-29 bomber March 4. Repairs were made, refueling was completed and the aircraft was off to complete its mission. Operations entered the final phases March 11; enemy resistance was no longer centralized. Individual pockets of resistance were taken one by one. Finally on March 26, following a banzai attack against troops and air corps personnel near the beaches, the island was declared secure. The U.S. Army’s 147th Infantry Regiment assumed ground control of the island April 4, relieving the largest body of Marines. The 36-day assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. Of the 20,000 Japanese defenders, only 1,083 survived. The Marines’ efforts, however, provided a vital link in the U.S. chain of bomber bases. By war’s end, 2,400 B-29 bombers carrying 27,000 crewmen made unscheduled or emergency landings on the island. “The battle of Iwo island has been won ... By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the 5th Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their country which only history will be able to value fully. Among the Americans who served on Iwo island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.” — Adm. Chester W. Nimitz Jokes & Groaners Why the English language is hard to learn 1) The bandage was wound around the wound. 2) The farm was used to produce produce. 3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 4) We must polish the Polish furniture. 5) He could lead if he would get the lead out. 6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. 7) He thought it was time to present the present. 8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum. 9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. 10) I did not object to the object. 11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid. 12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row. 13) They were too close to the door to close it. 14) The buck does funny things when the does are present. 15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line. 16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow. 17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail. 18) After a number of injections my jaw got number. 19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear. 20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests. And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
PAGE B2 GOSPORTSPOTLIGHT February 25, 2011 Master Gunnery Sgt. Rivera retires after career spanning six decades By 2nd Lt. Demetrios Marinides MATSG PAO Any Marine who has walked the halls of Marine Air Training Support Group (MATSG-21) HQ in the last 11 years is likely to have heard the booming voice of Master Gunnery Sgt. Robert Rivera, greeting everyone he sees with a loud “OO-RAH,” and asking them how they are doing. Rivera retired recently, and was honored in a ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum aboard NAS Pensacola. His career is one that has served across the spectrum of what the Marine Corps does. Roberto Rivera joined the Marine Corps in September 1969, not yet having completed high school, with the full expectation of joining the fight in Vietnam. He never would deploy there, but he embarked on a career that would take him all over the world and see him hold more than a dozen military occupational specialties (MOS). “I guess things worked out for a reason … what do you know at 17? You think you know it all, and unfortunately you really don’t,” said Rivera. “I didn’t really know much about the Marine Corps, all I knew was that they could get you out there pretty quick.” Coming out of boot camp and then infantry training, Rivera’s training took off. He received orders to Portsmouth, Va., designating him as a sea-going Marine. In his first year and a half as a Marine, he went to Jungle Warfare School, noncommis- Master Gunnery Sgt. Robert Rivera sioned officers (NCO) school and inflatable boat training. He also completed his high school equivalency at the urging of his first platoon commander. This was all while completing ship cruises to Europe and South America. “Every summer, if you wanted a school, they were ready to send you,” said Rivera, “What else can you ask for? The Marine Corps was ‘you want it, step up’.” In August 1972, Rivera headed to NAS Lakehurst, N.J., where he was assigned as sergeant of the guard and basic military police duties, another MOS he had picked up by that point. In 1973, as things heated up in the Middle East, he requested and was granted orders to K Co. 3rd Bn., 6th Marine Reg. at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was made a platoon sergeant and was deployed as part of the United States peacekeeping force during the Yom Kippur War in the fall of 1973, spending time at the Suez Canal and Port Said, Egypt. By his fifth year in the Corps, Rivera was a staff sergeant. He had also become a marksmanship instructor, and went on to complete Staff NCO Academy and Drill Instructor School, serving a two-year tour as a senior drill instructor at Parris Island. “To me Drill Instructor School, at that time, was probably the most difficult school I had done,” said Rivera. In July 1977, Rivera transferred into the Marine Corps Reserves and began a career in law enforcement as a deputy sheriff in Beaufort, S.C. His reserve duty station was at beach and port operations in Savannah, Ga., where he served as company gunnery sergeant. He also attended Logistics School during that time. He transferred to inactive reserves in 1986 and left the Marine Corps in 1989, beginning a career with Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and was stationed in Hawaii, where his main specialty was as a polygraph examiner. In 1996 he requested to re-join the Corps, and was brought back in as a gunnery sergeant, after being out 10 years. He described himself as being “blessed” for such an opportunity. He was assigned as a military police officer/assistant operations senior NCO (SNCO) at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. He was also assigned to Marine Corps Combat Camera as a photographer, having attended Kodak and Nikon photography schools during his service as a deputy sheriff. Rivera was transferred by NCIS to NAS Pensacola in 2000, and as a result also joined the 4th Marine Air Wing Liaison Training Branch Detachment as a photographer and training SNCO. He also taught motorcycle safety courses for Marines and was a Marine Corps motor vehicle driver licensing examiner. He retired from NCIS last year. “Looking back, my biggest regret I ever have about anything is the fact that I dropped out of high school,” Rivera said. He would go on to make up for it, completing multiple degrees, such as business administration and business management, in addition to all his Marine Corps and law enforcement training. His closing advice is to go above and beyond to achieve one’s goals. “Dream something and then pursue it, go after it. Don’t let (any)body tell you you can’t do something … don’t sit back waiting for somebody. No, go out and get it,” Rivera said. Rivera made a point of thanking his wife, Sally, saying that she was always supportive no matter where his career took him, and was his “rock” through his many years in service. In retirement, Rivera will continue his work with motorcycle rider safety courses and will also work part-time at MATSG with Marine Net courses, the Marine Corps’ online resource for professional military education. Thirty-year service mark for NASP Safety Departmentʼs Freddie Roper ... NASP CO Capt. Christopher Plummer delivered a handshake and a certificate to NASP Safety Specialist Freddie Roper, as Roper reached a service milestone – 30 years – Feb. 7. “Most of my career has been with (Public Works Department); they are like a family to me,” Roper said. “It’s been a joy to be associated with such good people.” Photo AN Rachele Lehmann Business Climate Magazine For Today’s Climate www.nwflbusinessclimate.com
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Margaret Flowers Civic Award 2010 recipient named - Gosport

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