Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud and equally honored, to be a part of your 35th reunion in honor of the 1st Amphibious Assault Battalion.  This reunion is special to me, as I am sure it is to you, due to the fact that we are all in the presence of some of our countries past warriors who were members of a unit that paved the way for the Marine Corps amphibious doctrine. For many of us in the audience tonight, there is no better place.      As previously mentioned, I currently serve in Company D, 4th Reconnaissance Bn as the Inspector-Instructor First Sergeant. Company D is comprised of over 80 Reserve Marines from all over the state and beyond who have one thing in common, to protect their country and fellow Marine as well as serve our precious United States of America.  Our active duty staff is made up of only 12 Marines and is responsible for the guidance, mentoring, and facilitation of training for all Reserve Marines in the state of New Mexico.  Additionally, we are involved with community events throughout the state and proudly serve, as you do, as the face of the Marine Corps for all New Mexicans.      As a young kid and somewhat ignorant to the world, the realization of Freedom and its price was not a part of my brain housing group.  As a child, we had to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance and as I looked up to this piece of cloth neatly colored red, white and blue the thought of where it came from or what it meant did not mean anything to me at the time . All I knew from what my mother told me was to stand up tall and speak loud.         As a young man, I quickly learned that the cost of freedom wasn't about revenge or an eye for an eye, it was about preserving our way of life, it was about our families back home and our loved ones. It was about protecting them and ensuring our beliefs and traditions were protected. I then asked myself what I am willing to pay for them and my country. Ultimately, that would be the cost of freedom.  Freedom has never been free and never will be. This belief resonates strongly in the hearts of our nation's veterans. For those who have given as well as put their lives on the line for our country, freedom has a special meaning that many will never know. We as Americans learn these lessons from our veterans, like you, who stormed Omaha Beach in World War II, who froze on Korea's Chosin Reservoir, who slogged through the steaming Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and those who killed and chased the Republican Guard all the way back to Baghdad. Not to mention those who are still fighting Al-Qaeda insurgents in Afghanistan. You and these many other Americans can speak about the meaning of freedom.      As I researched your fine Battalion and read the book "Hitting the Beaches", I became engulfed in this major piece of Marine Corps history.  I came face to face with the kind of men that I would chant about as a young PFC.  The same chants that are sung as running cadences across the Marine Corps today. You guys know what I am talking about, you know, the men that eat 2 inch thick steaks and picked their teeth with a guide on stick, at a time were Moses could have been a road guard. Ladies and Gentlemen, please believe me when I tell you that I was not trying to give you all a history lesson rather allow you all to remember, in the presence of heroes, a little piece of history that helped form and shape our great nation.      The First Armored Amphibian Battalion was activated at Camp Pendleton, California, on August 20, 1943, less than four months before they were to ship out overseas. Some of the men were recruited right out of boot camp, a few from overseas duty in Shanghai, "Gitmo," or Guadalcanal, but most came from training centers or schools.  Tankers, ordnance control, radio operators, motor transport, senior leadership, and other specialties were all summoned for this Battalion. None of them had any idea what armored amphibians might be. They turned out to be amphibious tanks, also called amtanks, or LVTAs meaning (Landing Vehicles, Tracked, and Armored). The Battalion Commander was Major Louis Metzger, just 26 years old then, but already a veteran of overseas duty, ground combat, tank and artillery schools. Everyone was young in those days; any man in his thirties was apt to be called "Pop." The Battalion called for 830 to 850 men, but more than 1100 men served at one time or another. The Battalion consisted of four line companies-Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta- along with a Headquarters and Service Company. Each line company had 18 LVTA's, H&S had 3, making a Battalion total of 75. The unit was part of the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, and the troops were assigned to a different Marine Corps division for each landing operation. The First Armored was a part of Nimitz's drive across the Central Pacific toward Japan. The Battalion trained intensively in the last months of 1943, practicing land and water operations, driving, firing, landing on beaches, boarding LVTA's from the sea, and debarking from them. There was no doctrine for these machines. Everyone learned on their own, through trial and error, for they were the first battalion of their kind (the Marine Corps actually had only three amtank battalions in the entire war), and neither the Marine Corps nor the Navy knew just how to use this new weapon, called, the Amtank. Major Metzger worked hard in the short time available to prepare the men, and the untried vehicle for combat. On January 1, 1944, the Battalion conducted practice landings on San Clemente, an island off the coast of California. These maneuvers were a disaster. The weather turned bad, the seas were rough, and no one really knew what to do with these strange vehicles. Several tanks sank, and one man, Sgt. Strothers, was lost at sea when his tank went down. On January 6, 1944 the BN set sail for their first combat mission, the invasion of Roi and Namur, two islands of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshalls. That operation began on January 31 and was soon over. For two days, the BN delivered troops of the Fourth Marine Division from sea to shore, as planned. On the first day, however, the surf was fearsome. Several of the 16-ton Amtanks were flipped right over, and more men were lost to drowning than to enemy action. Kwajalein was considered a light operation, and in contrast we will say that casualties were light. Next, the battalion was taken to Guadalcanal. There, the Marines hacked out a camp in the jungle at Tetere Beach and spent four months training for their next operation. On May 31, 1944, they embarked for the invasion of Guam in the Marianas. The plan for the Marianas was to take Saipan and then Guam. The Saipan landing was on June 15, and the assault on Guam was to come three days later, on June 18. But the Japanese Imperial Navy broke up that schedule. They sailed out of the Philippines to challenge the invasion, but instead ran head on into disaster for themselves. In the Philippine Sea, Adm. Marc Mitscher's carrier planes shot down 243 Japanese planes. That was known as the famous "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." Either way, the schedule to hit Guam on June 18 was disrupted. The Japanese naval challenge and stiff resistance on Saipan puzzled the unit while crippling many assets. The convoys had been hit twice, with minimal damage, by Japanese torpedo bombers. But the real problem was that, after many weeks at sea, Amtanks, which had not been designed as long term troop transports, were running low on fuel, food, and water. The Guam force was ordered to Eniwetok for restaging, and then back to Guam for the invasion there on July 21, over seven weeks after the initial Guadalcanal departure. Upon arrival and in keeping with the battle plan, two separate simultaneous assaults were made, one on the beaches near the village of Asan by the Third Marine Division, the other near the village of Agat by the First Provisional Marine Brigade. Amtanks from our C and D Companies, plus three amtanks from our H&S Company, led the attack on the Asan beaches. Amtanks from our A and B companies led the attack on the Agat beaches. In terms of casualties and tanks lost, those landings on Guam were the most costly of the whole war. Japanese 75mm guns positioned on high ground could fire down directly on the Amtanks as they crossed the reef. It was like shooting ducks on a pond. The reef was soon littered with burning vehicles and dead Marines. After the main assault, the main concern was defense against counterattack from the sea, while maintaining position on the beach. The Guam operation was over in three weeks. On August 12, with half the battalion afflicted with dengue fever, the unit boarded their vessels for their return to Guadalcanal. The second stay on Guadalcanal lasted about five months, in which time the BN received a new Amtank model. The LVTA-4 replaced the old LVTA-1. It had a 75mm howitzer mounted in an open turret instead of the 37mm cannon. This not only gave the unit more firepower, but also made possible a new mission. Beach assault would remain the primary mission, but with the added enhancement of being able to operate as artillery. After large-scale naval and troop maneuvers in Guadalcanal waters, the BN left Guadalcanal for the last time on March 12, 1945, bound for Okinawa. For this invasion they were operating with the Sixth Marine Division. The Okinawa assault was on April 1, 1945, and it just so happened that this day was both Easter Sunday and April fool's Day. Luckily for the Marines, Japanese General Ushijima played an April fool's Day trick of his own. Contrary to previous Japanese strategy, he elected not to defend the beaches to the death, as had been expected, but to concentrate his forces in strong defensive positions in the southern part of the island. Needless to say, the landings were unopposed. The First Armored Amphibious BN engaged primarily in artillery and beach defense, and by all accounts was very effective. At first, they were in the northern parts of the island supporting the Sixth Division as artillery, but also by firing into caves on Motobu Peninsula and helping take small offshore islands. After the 6th Marine Division had secured northern Okinawa, the Division, including the 1st Amphibous Assault BN, transferred south, where the Japanese were staging their main defense. The BN worked as artillery by day, beach defense by night, and led minor beach landings in support of the push southward. It just so happened that 75mm ammunition was in more plentiful supply on the island than the heavier stuff, so they never ran out of ammo. They moved often, digging new foxholes, under fire much of the time, and living in rain and mud. Okinawa lasted three months for the BN, from April 1, 1945 to July 4. After Okinawa the unit was transported to Saipan, our second and last rear area, much different from Guadalcanal. They were there in August, training for the invasion of Japan, when the atomic bomb ended the war. High-point men began to leave very soon after, but most of the guys returned by troop transport in November. The First Armored Amphibian Battalion was deactivated at Camp Pendleton, California, on 30 November 1945. After 27 months and 12 days of battle, bloodshed, extremely active service and embracing their machine the battalion ceased to exist. After more than two decades following their deactivation, First Armored Marines began to gather annually for reunions, each year in a different U.S. city. In 1992, they decided to support the publication of a battalion history. The result, in 1996, was the book, "Hitting the Beaches, a 446-page anthology of personal reminiscences of the men of the First Armored. There, the story of the great Americans can be found in their own words. In closing, this book, for me, was that of a text book. Why you may ask? Because I learned so much from its pages and will now be able to pass on this knowledge to future generations. I was reminded that the strength of our Corps was not from our brilliance but from our camaraderie and the sacrifices you were willing to make for a fellow Marine. Gentlemen, you all did so much with so little. Let me assure you that the trackers of today's Corps are a pampas breed that love to wear old, salty, oil filled utilities. Their favorite thing to say is YAT YAS, loud and proud. For those of you who may not know, this stands for YOU AINT TRACKER. YOU AINT SHIT. This alone, says it all in their world. I, as well as today's trackers, know  they wouldn't have this esprit and camaraderie  if it wasn't for the hard work ,dedication ,and love for our great nation that our old corps heroes displayed while battling on the beaches they assaulted . Thank you so much for your time. SEMPER FI! and God bless.