Our Final Visit To The Marine Corps War Memorial

The Marine Corps War Memorial depicts the flag raising atop Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima, one of the later Pacific campaigns against Japan during World War II. The statue was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Joe Rosenthal. The memorial is dedicated to all Marines who have given their lives in service to our country since the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps in 1775. Around the base of the memorial are inscribed the campaigns in which U.S. Marines have been engaged throughout our country's history.

As printed on the shirt I wore for the Marine Corps Marathon, each of my male ancestors have been U.S. Marines since my family immigrated to the U.S. from Cornwall, England in the late 19th century. My great-grandfather Herbert was a member of the first Nail generation born in Pennsylvania.

Herbert Nail enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1918 towards the end of The Great War (later World War I). He was a member of one of the last units to ship over to France before the armistice. He earned the rank of Private-First-Class before being discharged during the military drawdown following the "war to end all wars".

My grandfather Bruce Nail likewise enlisted as a Marine in 1943 during World War II. He served in the Okinawa campaign and later in China after the Japanese surrender. He earned the rank of Sergeant before being discharged at the end of the war.

My father James Nail enlisted as a Marine in 1967 after dropping out of college. He was lucky enough to serve in Hawaii for two years before shipping out to Chu Lai, Vietnam near the end of his enlistment. He earned the rank of Sergeant before his discharge.

As for me, the farthest I ever travelled from home was 29 Palms, California. I too dropped out of college in my second year and enlisted in the Marine Corps. I trained to be a truck mechanic (although in the Marines we keep a wrench in one hand and a rifle in the other). My service followed Desert Storm and concluded before 9/11 so I fortunately did not deploy overseas.

It is humbling to be able to point to markings on the memorial and to be able to connect with a relative through time to when they may have felt just as you do. That shared moment of "what did I get myself into"; a feeling of fear of the unknown, and mastering that fear by carrying on anyway. You come to realize that your worst day pales in comparison to having to charge out of that landing craft or step off of that helicopter into an immediately uncertain future.

So for me, it was meaningful to run this race for all that it represented. I did not know it at the time, but I started training for this race 869 days ago with a 30 minute walk. Reversing 15 years of physical neglect does not happen overnight. Training for and running a marathon takes as much mental toughness as it does physical stamina. There were many times during my training, and even a few during this race when I questioned my ability to finish what I had started. This history is part of what made it possible for me to succeed.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and for supporting this personal endeavor of mine.

Heading Home

Before heading home, we took one final trip to the USMC Iwo Jima Memorial so Jim could get a few photos with his MCM Finisher’s Medal (and gear.) I'll share a couple photos, but Jim will give you some more details on this in his own post.

Heading out of DC, we stopped at the Udvar-Hazy Center, an additional part of the National Air and Space Museum. A series of airplane hangers, it houses many of the aircraft from America’s past, so you can only imagine the size. We saw the Concord, the Enola Gay, and most notably to Jim, the Space Shuttle Discovery.

The drive home was long and it rained the entire way, but we made it back safely with many more great moments and stories to share!

A Few Final Stops

Our last full day in DC found us revisiting some of the Smithsonian buildings and catching a few new exhibits.

First stop of the day was the American History Museum. In addition to the inventions and innovations in American History, we also saw Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers, Edith and Archie Bunker’s Chairs and the Star Spangled Banner from 1812. The flag is kept in a dark room to prevent any further damage, so no pictures allowed!

On our way over to the American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery, we walked by the Navy Memorial where they must have been recording some sort of commercial or video to play during football. We aren't really sure which, but it was fun to watch! Of course, I had to partake in the french coffee shop, where we ordered hot chocolate and a pastry. Ask Jim about the "hot" in hot chocolate!

Catching the Football

We did make it to the Portrait Gallery to see the Presidential Portraits and the 20^th Century Americans Display. There is an exhibit called Eye Pop as well that featured current celebrities, which I enjoyed as well.

Jim lamented how when he was in DC as a kid he didn't get to see the dinosaur bones, so to combat his years of disappointment, the Natural History Museum was next. Not really into the dinosaur thing, I opted for a visit to the butterfly garden in the museum to take a few photos. While I had some camera difficulties in the garden, Jim found his own disappointment as the dinosaur exhibit is being refurbished. While he saw a few skeletons, we will have to plan another trip in 2017 for him to see more. I at least managed a few photos of the butterflies.

Our final stop of the day was Hill Country BBQ for a bite to eat. As you can imagine, it wasn’t a small bite. Jim enjoyed about 2 pounds of meat while I tried the mac and cheese and bourbon mashed sweet potatoes. We both enjoyed the cornbread!

Hill Country BBQ - Pork Ribs, Beef Brisket, and there's Chicken hiding under the paper!

All in all a good day!

Passions - Planes and Books

Even though Jim ran the marathon, it was both of us who woke up sore on Monday morning. While Jim was nursing aching legs, I was suffering from a stiff neck. While we later determined it was from hauling a backpack and camera around DC during the MCM, it made a day a sightseeing tough, especially with our first stop being the National Air and Space Museum where it required looking up.

Jim has always loved flight and space, so he was in heaven. Here is a shot of him reading the plaque about the mural in front of him.

The afternoon took us to our scheduled tour of the Library of Congress. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "I cannot live without books" - so true for me! My passion has always been books. I just can't get into the whole e-reader thing, needing to have the paper and physical tome itself. Needless to say, the Library of Congress was my heaven. Little did we know the beauty of the building itself. Full of marble and mosaics, the Library of Congress is amazing. We saw a reading room, admired the architecture, and visited the library of Thomas Jefferson that is currently on display. The books in his collection are what reestablished the Library after the original was burned. Given the breadth of his collection, it was a great new start to the Library. Needless to say, the Library of Congress was the highlight of the trip from me, just based on the nature of it being a library.

Mission Accomplished!

OORAH! The race is behind him and while he's walking a bit slow (more like the Tim Conway shuffle), Jim's finished his first MCM and his third marathon for the year!

We want to thank everyone for their support, their warm wishes, and good thoughts today. Here are some pictures from on the course. With over 33,000 runners, it was impossible to get to the finish line when Jim crossed so I snapped some photos as he neared the 20 mile marker. Enjoy!

This was leaving the National Mall.

Finish Line... We had to walk back to take a picture!

Jim's Finisher's Jacket and Medal.

Updates From the Course

Here are some of Jim's checkpoint times... More when he finishes! 

OORAH!!

Jim Nail, 30K, 3:20:56. Pace 10:47. ETA: 12:54 PM

Jim Nail, 13.1, 2:19:44 Pace 10:40. ETA: 12:51 PM

Jim Nail, 20K, 2:12:38. Pace 10:41. ETA: 12:51 PM

Jim Nail, 10K, 1:05:24. Pace 10:32. ETA: 12:47 PM

Fueling Up for Race Day!

We started Saturday morning with the MCM bRUNch. Normally a 5K run followed by breakfast, this year, the DC Parks Department would not allow the run, so I was able to go with Jim. 

Held at the USMC Memorial in Arlington, we were milling around the memorial before the brunch only to see a group of busses coming in with a police escort. Off the buses came an Honor Flight from Florida. It was the most amazing and emotional sight. This one really spoke to me...

The bRUNch featured Bart Yasso, the Chief Running Officer from Runner’s World Magazine and MCM Hall of Famer and Historian George Bankton. Jim also partook of the “Schmacon,” beef bacon. It’s not available in stores yet, but Jim is already a fan!

Tracy, Bart Yasso, CRO of Runner's World and Jim

For dinner, we went the the Carbo Dining In for a pasta dinner.  In addition to lots of pasta and rolls, we were entertained by the "Victory Belles" from the National WWII museum. They were great and will be singing the National Anthem at the Opening Ceremony for MCM. It was a great day... now on to the race!

The Victory Belles and USMC Quantico Honor Guard