On March 24, two members of Post 2 in Connecticut will depart for a trip to the island of Guam, and on March 29 fly to the island of Iwoto. There they will take part in an international ceremony called " Reunion of Honor" held between the United States and Japan to honor and remembers all who fought and died on Iwo Jima.
Joe Caminiti, 100, is one of two known Iwo Jima survivors to be alive in Connecticut and one of fewer than 200 throughout the nation according to the Iwo Jima Association of America. Joe is one of eight attending this event. As it stands, he may be the only survivor from the whole East Coast attending. Joe will also be honored on Guam as being part of that campaign.
Joe will get a chance to walk the beach where he landed Marines on that first day of battle; walk over the train he crossed that first time there; and stand where he witnessed the flag raised. During the battle, as a member of a track he transported supplies to the fighting and removed the dead. He was charged to transport the wounded. If they were really bad, he disobeyed his orders to bring them back to the aid station and transported them directly to the awaiting medical ships, saving the lives of fellow Marines. Joe was on the island all 36 days of fighting.
Joe will be traveling with the historian from Post 2. They will return by March 31. Joe had a birthday wish: to know how many Iwo Jima survivors were still alive and do something greater than what he has done to honor them in the past. God heard his words.

Meanwhile, reporter Ryo Kiyomiya of The Asahi Shimbun waited for nearly four hours in D.C. at the airport to get a flight to travel to Bristol, Conn., to interview Joe. Ryo is working on a story about his journey. The story was so important that she was willing to spend the whole weekend getting the story.
The story will be published in English and Japanese in both the United States and Japan.
Ryo was escorted by Post 2's historian. The first stop was the Iwo Jima Survivor's Monument in Newington, Conn., to see Joe's stone there and record the monument the survivors built. A number of them were members of Post 2.
Next, off to the Woody Williams Gold Star Family Memorial Monument in Berlin, Conn., which Joe had a part in. On the day before the dedication, Joe received a coin by Wiliams' grandson; Williams had had a fall and was unable to travel to see Joe. A short time afterwards he passed away.
Ryo stopped at Mission BBQ in Southington. The staff made a special dessert for her with Japanese caricatures on it. She promised the staff to send them a copy of all her articles about Joe. The staff loves Joe.
On Saturday evening, Ryo sat down with Joe and Gerry for an interview; she had many questions.