A reenlistment ceremony on Iwo Jima not easily forgotten

CAMP ZAMA, JAPAN - On Feb. 23, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines heroically raised the United States flag twice on Mount Suribachi. More than 73 years later, on Feb. 22, 2018, two noncommissioned officers from the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity-Japan located at Camp Zama, Japan took historic steps of their own on that very same mountain. Sgt. David D. James and Sgt. Eric J. Smith raised their right hands to support and defend the United States in a special reenlistment ceremony made available to personnel stationed in Japan. Smith said of the event, "Being able to reenlist on Iwo Jima was the biggest honor imaginable. To renew my dedication to a great nation on an island steeped in selfless sacrifice and extreme courage was beyond anything I could have dreamed of."