“I love you all, thank you for being here.”
Retired Marine Sgt. Jack Thurman repeated that sentiment over and over to the gathered police and firefighters, many of them military veterans, who had gathered in Thurman’s driveway to help the World War II veteran celebrate his 97th birthday on Tuesday.
His daughter, Karen Thurman, had told her father that they would be taking their new RV on its maiden voyage for a fishing trip in Wyoming, a trip that they did end up taking, after well wishes from over a dozen first responders, veterans and family members.
Thurman, who served as a Marine sniper providing cover on the island of Iwo Jima on the Pacific Front, enlisted on his 18th birthday, and turned 19 on the island.
Now, on the same day decades later, Abe Hill, a veteran and an officer with the Loveland Police Department, spoke on the importance of honoring people like Thurman.
“We believe we need to honor all of our veterans in our community, especially Sgt. Jack Thurman,” Hill said. “That generation, World War II, there’s not many of them left. Once we found out it was his 97th birthday, we said we need to get up here and honor him the way he should be honored.”
Thurman, who, according to his daughter, was close friends with Ira Hayes, a Navajo “code talker” who was featured in the iconic photograph of the raising of the American flag over Iwo Jima, was also featured in another famous photograph, the “gung ho” photograph, which featured a number of United States military personnel, including the six flag raisers, raising their weapons after the conclusion of the battle of Iwo Jima. Hayes grabbed Thurman from where he was standing nearby and pulled him into the photo, Thurman’s daughter Karen said.
“My dad was one of the snipers who covered for the flag raisers,” Karen Thurman, a Navy veteran herself, said. “He was one of the first that landed on Iwo Jima…He did a lot out there, cleared out a lot of pillboxes, bunkers, carried ammunition back to the group when they were out.”
Thurman, born in South Dakota, moved to Colorado in 1958, and lived in an assisted living facility after his wife died, and has spent the last five years living in Loveland with his daughter.
“It’s an honor to be able to take care of him,” she said.
She also shared her appreciation to the police officers and firefighters that appeared Tuesday morning.
“For them to take the time out to do something like this, it’s amazing,” she said. “We’re very fortunate to have these guys.”
Thurman received an American flag that flew over the Loveland Police Department just this weekend, and rang one of the bells used on Veteran’s Day to honor those who served.
“Iwo Jima was just unbelievable, and I went through the whole thing,” he said. He also expressed his appreciation for the first responders who attended.
“You know, when we were on Iwo Jima, we thought about things like that,” he said. “The guys back home, taking care of the families, taking care of grandpa and grandma.”
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