| LAWRENCE W. CZIMBAL |
| I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and thought the Ohio River was a huge, moving stretch of water … until at age 18 I joined the Marine Corps and within the year found myself in the midst of a very moving experience going and going and going southwest over the not-very-pacific Pacific Ocean to New Zealand. There I was in G Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines in the 2nd Marine Division. |
| In New Zealand we did a lot of training in preparation for the amphibious assault on Tarawa Atoll, a mere speck of sand just above the equator about 2400 miles beyond Honolulu. Come to think of it, that’s about as far as Los Angeles to New York City! |
| About 15 of us guys and a 37mm cannon landed in the 3rd wave on, I think, Red Beach 2. It was hell. I’ll just leave it at that. |
| Our job was to close with the enemy and not let them go anywhere. And that is exactly what we did! |
| We finally made it over to the south side of Betio, and by the time we had been there for about 72 hours, it was all over for us – and we lived through it all! It was all over for a lot of other good guys too, and I still think of them. They never came home. |
| After Tarawa, I went to Camp Tarawa on the Big Island of Hawaii, and a few months later we embarked for the trip to Saipan and Tinian. Eventually, I was at Okinawa, too. |
| Medals and awards included the Presidential Unit Citation (Tarawa), with one star; the Marine Good Conduct medal; and my honorable discharge! |
| PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION (Tarawa) |
| A PHOTO LINK TO THE PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION with one star COMES HERE SOON. |
| USMC GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL |
| A PHOTO LINK TO THE USMC GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL COMES HERE SOON. |
| Larry, thank you for your service. The grit you show here is one of the essential qualities of a good Marine. The Corps fulfilled its promise to you, and you fulfilled your promise to the Corps. The beneficiary of all this is a very grateful America. |
| We will remember. |
| SEMPER FI, LARRY ! |
| Received 22 November 2010 |
| Return to ROSTER |