A Salute to the Tank Infantry Team…
Neither driving rain, or hurricane force winds nor earthquakes could shake the Marine Corps Tankers Association from meeting to dedicate their monument, held 27 August 2011. Dedicated in memory of all fallen USMC Tankers, the monument marked a time of unity and remembrance, and celebrated in Esprit de Corps for all tankers victorious in all climes and places.
General Al Gray; USMC Retired, key note speaker recounted certain events leading to the continual development of the M 48-A1 tank and gave credit to Pete Byrnes for his contributions. The special event was held in the Chapel OB the National Museum of the Marine Corps; in Quantico Virginia.
Moreover, amidst a Marine Band ensemble, Colonel Conwill R. Casey, USMC Retired President (MCTA Association) recognized our present Iwo Jima Veterans and other distinguished guest; including Colonel Walt Ford USMC Retired, Marine Corps Association & Foundation Editor .
After which, Mario A. Tamez, Chaplin read a poem in honor of the occasion;
“We gather here today to dedicate this memorial to Marines who are and were Tanker’s of the Corps. They came from every walk of life to serve their nation in peace and war.
Their memorial will forever be a part of Marine Corps history a standing symbol to duty, honor and country. Though modest in size, it will be enormous in meaning to those with whom it will identify.
Now and in the future it will be the bridge that connects the present to the past. It will remain, through time, a token of our gratitude to every tanker from the first to the last.
What better place than here to honor these men, the likes of which we shall never see again. They were and will always be Birds of a Feather, Marines that lived and fought and died together.
Our brothers now know we still hold true to our motto “Semper Fi”. Always faithful is still alive and like that Corps will never die”
-Leo A. Gildersleeve USMC (Retired) MCTA, Oceanside, CA 92054