A Tribute to a Fallen Marine on Iwo Jima

During this week in February my thoughts often turn to my uncle, Jack Beattie, who served as a Marine and participated in the invasion of Iwo Jima. I never knew Jack, who died after six days of hard fighting on Iwo 12 years before I was born. To me, he was like so many of his generation, an ordinary guy who made an extraordinary sacrifice. He served his country quietly, died for it violently and had a small part in the storied history of the United States Marine Corps. This is my small way of keeping his memory alive and a way of saying thank you some 69 years after he gave his life for his country.