Fight For Our Freedom

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Our Story

The date was February 15th, 1943. Eugene V. Burch (My Grandfather) was in the process of enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. Little did he know on that brisk winter morning what he would encounter as he entered the Pacific Theater in some of the greatest battles our country had ever fought. They trained and staged the 3rd Division 21st Marines in New Zealand from February 15th, 1943, to July 1943 where afterwards all hell would break loose at Gaudalcanal and Bouganville.

This would continue for over a year and by the end of it all, they were hoping for a well-deserved rest. The USMC 3rd Div. was an integral part of the war effort and would later come to be known as the "Grandfather Marines". They never got the well-deserved rest they had hoped for because as war tends to go, the worst was yet to come…

From June to August of 1944, the 3rd Division participated in a mission known as “Operation Forager”. The mission was simple by design. Bombard all surrounding Japanese encampments to keep US casualties to a minimum. For over two months, the USMC 3rd Div. were trapped in a living nightmare. The Japanese had preemptively poisoned most water supplies around the Marines drop point. In addition to the lack of fresh water, any US supply ship that came near was immediately attacked by the Japanese naval fleet.

What little supplies that made it to shore were quickly scavenged and sea water soaked crackers became a luxury. The mission was eventually successful because vigor and sacrifice shown by the “Grandfather Marines”. Fast-Forward almost 41 years to Christmas Day of 1993. I found myself sitting with the same man who only the night before, had been screaming bloody murder from a vivid nightmare.

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