Flags of our Fathers Fund Raising Event
On Oct 20th, at the premier of Flags of our Fathers, Larry McLaughlin and Sam Justice had a successful fund raiser at the Cobb Theaters Lakeside 18 in Lakeland. The two campaigned all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday to raise funds for the monument. The turn out for the movie was great and all that saw the movie stated it was excellent.

We would like to thank the ones that came out to assist us in raising the money to include: Lakeland Marine Recruiters SGT Ramos and Deemo also Tom and Sheila Leavey, Eileen McLaughlin, Kyana Justice, and John Fierro from Marine Corps League #1107.

Special thanks goes out to Mr. Hicks, an Iwo Jima Navy Veteran. Mr. Hicks brought his original Invasion map of Iwo Jima for us to display. Mr. Hicks was on one of six mine sweeper ships that arrived at Iwo Jima Valentines Day and departed Feb 18th the evening before the invasion, Feb 19th 1945. An interesting fact of this is that none of the six Mine Sweeper Ships were fired upon during the operation.

D.O.T Application News
We received the Application from the Department of Transportation. The application named items to complete before the D.O.T would accept the application. The Basic information they needed were things such as; A survey of the property, a complete engineering of the structure, a financial statement. When the application is accepted, we will receive a contract which is in much more detail. At that time we will send members a notification. Contributions will be our main goal after we receive the contract. So any help you can provide by giving or providing names of individuals or corporations that can help will be appreciated. You might mention to them they can now donate online VIA the Website.

Delays in Communications
We would like to apologize for any delays in communications regarding the monument. We have a new staff at this time which will keep you updated. Some memberships had a long delay in receiving their membership cards and we know that some were promised a newsletter for some time. We are working to better our communications.

T-Shirts Available Online
You can now purchase IwoJimaMonument.org T-Shirts right from the website. Just go to the website, and then click on the link “T-Shirts Available”. You then add your shipping information, next you will be sent to our checkout page where you can use your Credit Card or Paypal account. The shirts Are Pocket T’s and the only color we have now are black. We have Sizes S-XXL. Checkout the website for more information. The Shirts are also available on Ebay, just search for Iwo Jima Shirt.

Make a donation in 3 easy steps
Our website now can accept donations using a Visa, Master Card, America Express, Discover or Paypal. This will make it easier for some to make donations. You do not need a Paypal account. There are only 3 easy steps. 1, go to IWOJIMAMONUMENT.ORG and click on the link “Make a Donation”. 2, this will then take you to a secure checkout on the Paypal site where you can enter your info securely. Since this is done via Paypal, IWOJIMAMONUMENT does not have to keep track or record your personal credit card information, the entire process is handled by Paypal. 3, you are then taken back to the IWOJIMA website. Paypal’s industry-leading fraud prevention measures and their one-of-a-kind method of keeping your financial information private make them safest way to pay online. You can still snail mail us a check if you prefer. Click here for details.

A Special Thanks to Brett Hitzel
We would like make a special thanks to Brett Hitzel. He has worked tirelessly on our website and added many new features just recently, to include the t-shirts and the Paypal addition. He has done all this after his 70 hour a week career and we want him to know we really appreciate it. Thanks Brett from all of us.

Things for Consideration
It was brought to our attention during the fundraiser that although civilians, the Merchant Marines lost many during WWII and every conflict that the U.S. has ever had. That said we are considering placing their Logo along side the five main branches on our website to honor them. We would like our member’s feedback on this. Most other units like the Seabees and others, are honored under one of the five main military branches. Since the Merchant Marines Lost so many lives during the War, we were thinking they should be honored as well. Please send your feedback to olebucksgt@att.net and sam_ justice3@yahoo.com.

Click here to see photos from the fundraiser.

Questions or Concerns
olebucksgt@att.net
Or send mail to:
Iwo Jima Monument
1130 N Lake Parker Ave
E136
Lakeland FL 33805