Around Town: Ceremony lifts us up in insecure times
After the murders in France, it was a relief to attend the change of command ceremony for the 2d Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment in Pasadena.
The drizzle didn’t keep La Cañadans away from the ceremony at Pasadena’s Centennial Plaza in front of their City Hall.
The Battalion, fondly known as 2/23, has a bunch of La Cañada connections. The unit is housed in Blecksmith Hall, named after J.P. Blecksmith, a 1999 Flintridge Prep grad killed in the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. The outgoing battalion commander, Lt. Col. Sean Day, is related to another Flintridge Prep family. The incoming commander, Lt. Col. Garth Massey, has some very favorite La Cañada relatives. For security reasons, Around Town will not disclose their identities, but this may be the year that La Cañada builds new bridges with this local Marine reserve unit.
Last Sunday, we arrived early at Pasadena City Hall. The nearby streets had been closed off and the perimeter was secured with armed Marine sentries. The automatic weapons didn’t bother me. In an uncertain week, I knew that all would be safe inside the perimeter.
I had been struggling to come to terms with the events in Paris. When we visited France in 2004 and 2005, I was repeatedly warned: Don’t wear a Star of David. It’s not safe. There was good reason for the warnings. By 2006, a 23-year-old Jewish man from Toulouse was tortured and killed. In 2012, another extremist killed a teacher and three children at a Toulouse Jewish school. Last summer, French synagogues were attacked and rioters bore signs saying “Death to the Jews.”
By now, we’ve all heard about the French experiment — Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité — which means liberty, equality and fraternity.
If the French experiment has a future, it is because of the U.S. Marine Corps, and that’s another reason for La Cañada to forge a connection with 2/23.
The Marines saved France in 1918. The Battle of Belleau Wood raged for 26 days. The Marines did not back down. Ever grateful, France renamed the battlefield, “Bois de la Brigade de Marine,” which means “Wood of the Marine Brigade.”
The Marines still call it the Battle of Belleau Wood, which means “Freedom is not free.” Courage is the currency.
Last week, there were many acts of courage in France. Yohan Cohen, 20, stopped the terrorist Coulibaly from shooting a 3-year-old child in the kosher market and was immediately executed.
Lassana Bathily, a Muslim employee of the market, hid several hostages, at great risk to himself.
The world leaders who led Sunday’s march also acted with courage. They didn’t know if there was another activated terrorist cell. Security and body armor are no guarantee, but each of the 44 heads of state in the front row chose courage. Each act of courage transforms us.
Those were my thoughts, last Sunday, as we arrived extra early at Centennial Plaza for the change of command ceremony.
We watched as members of the 1st Marine Division Band began to warm up in small groups, tubas with tubas, clarinets with clarinets, trombones with trombones. They played note-by-note, phrase-by-phrase, one Marine leading another, as if seeking perfection. After that, the entire band gathered together for a dry run.
Chairs were set up in a reviewing area. Young Marines taped names to the seats. Others dug into boxed lunches from Panera, yet another La Cañada connection.
The air of expectation grew. The guests arrived. Then the rain stopped and the ceremony began.
The band played magnificently. The invocation and speeches were heartfelt. The Marines marched before us with precision. We watched Lt. Col. Sean Day receive the unit’s colors (flag) and pass it to Lt. Col. Garth Massey. Their families were proud.
Did I mention that the rain stopped? That freedom is not free? That these Marines always remind me of our late son?
We loved every minute.
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ANITA SUSAN BRENNER is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com and follow her on Twitter @anitabrenner.