65th Anniversary Ceremony of Battle of Iwo Jima Honors Surviving Veterans

TRIANGLE, Va.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--A special ceremony commemorating the 65^th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima will be held at the National Museum of the Marine Corps at 11a.m. on Feb. 19, 2010. More than 500 Iwo Jima veterans and their family members from across the nation will attend the ceremony, honoring those who fought in one of the most famous World War II battles. Co-hosted by the Iwo Jima Association of America and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, the event will include remarks from Gen. James T. Conway, Marine Corps Commandant, and Medal of Honor recipient Barney Barnum as well as performances by the U.S. Marine Band.

With its architecture inspired by flag-raisers at Iwo Jima, the National Museum of the Marine Corps is a most appropriate site for the tribute. The Museum includes an immersion gallery honoring the battle that offers a first-hand experience of the landing. Visitors enter a replica of a ship’s briefing room for a pre-landing briefing on their mission and then board a Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel and prepare for the assault on Iwo Jima. With the help of base shakers along the walls and floors, state-of-the-art audio technology, and a screen spanning 180 degrees, visitors experience for themselves the famous landing on the shores of Iwo Jima. In addition to the immersion experience, the Museum’s Iwo Jima exhibit includes the original American flag flown on the island, and made a national icon by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, as well as a casualty wall commemorating each Marine, Sailor and Coast Guardsman who gave his life in the battle.

The Iwo Jima anniversary ceremony comes just four months in advance of the opening of three new galleries at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Scheduled for June 2010, the Museum will open three additional large-scale galleries with exhibits interpreting the legendary founding of the Corps in 1775, the Civil War, the U.S. global trade expansion in the 19^th century and World War I.

					WHAT:				65^th Anniversary Ceremony Commemorating the Battle of Iwo Jima

					WHO:				Gen. James T. Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps
									Barney Barnum, Medal of Honor recipient
									Hundreds of Iwo Jima Veterans and Family Members

					WHERE:				The National Museum of the Marine Corps
									18900 Jefferson Davis Highway
									Triangle, VA

					WHEN:				Friday, February 19, 2010
									11a.m.