By Andrew Lubin

There are no plans for beer and barbecues onboard the USS Iwo Jima today. With the scorching Middle Eastern sun reflecting off the steel flight deck, and the temperature easily reaching 120 degrees before noon, few Marines are hanging about in the sun relaxing.

July 4 is a work day for the Marines on board the USS Iwo Jima, the flagship of the 24 Marine Expeditionary Unit. This is just one of many such work days since this group of 2,200 Marines left Camp Lejeune on June 8 for their deployment back to the Middle East. A holiday and vacation schedule doesn’t count for much out here, where life and death issues truly mean life and death.

After four years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, there are few illusions left about this war being romantic or glorious. If it’s hot on board, it’s worse on land. Lots of Iraqis and Muslims still don’t like Americans. The Taliban seems to be making a comeback in Afghanistan. While Marines continue to fight and die daily, politicians in Washington jockey for advantage in order to get themselves re-elected in November.

The media reports on the ugly parts of the war, and not the many successes. It’s easy for the Marines to feel ignored out here, especially when their friends and families back home are making the Fourth a long weekend. So while shipboard food and shipboard life is not as good as hanging around the Lewiston malls, it’s still far better than next month’s possibility: eating sandy MRE’s while surrounded by a billion swarming flies on some shot-up base in Ramadi or Fallujah.

But with the exuberance and belief in their mission, along with their enthusiasm in being a Marine, enduring the heat, the flies, the dirt, and all the rest are considered a badge of honor amongst these young men. Marines based in other parts of the world, like on the forward bases in Okinawa, are well aware of what their peers are enduring in the combat zone, which is reflected in their training.

Lewiston resident LCPL Kyle Arsenault just returned from his seven-month tour in Camp Hanson, and remarked on the training they endured. “We lived trained in the snow and ice in Japan for a month, and then spent weeks outside during the South Korean winter. We might not sleep; we lived outdoors; they made things as realistic as possible, including using live ammunition. A lot of Marine history and tradition was written in Korea; the story of the Marines at the Chosin Reservoir made us think of what our brothers are experiencing in Iraq,” Arsenault said.

This is a good day for us at home to reflect on the meaning of Independence Day, and the sacrifices made by those who died so we can celebrate it. But as we’re reflecting on the meaning of the Fourth, it’s your Marines on board the Iwo who are getting ready to take the fight to the enemy.

Their commanding officer, Col. Ron Johnson, wrote “While we don’t know yet where we’ll be needed most, the desire to land and get in the fight is barely containable. And as the MEU commences its fourth tour of duty since 9/11, no one has more appreciation for the sacrifices involved than I do. Most of us are returning for our second or even third combat deployment. This is the most experienced group of combat veterans the MEU has ever known. I am humbled and honored to lead such a group of warriors, who willingly, even eagerly, go into harm’s way, giving up the best years of their lives to serve our country.”

So as you watch the fireworks this weekend, and gather with your families in order to celebrate your Independence Day barbecues, hoist a glass to the Marines of the 24 Marine Expeditionary Unit as we’re taking the day off from work.

Capt. David Nevers said he and his Marines are working onboard the USS Iwo Jima to ensure America has an Independence Day next year. “I can’t really say over the non-secure net exactly where we’ll be on the Fourth, but we’ll be underway, steaming toward the fight. Our helicopters will be in the air, and Marines throughout the ship will be working and training. Attending classes, running or hiking on the flight deck, firing or cleaning their weapons, beating the hell out of each other while honing their hand-to-hand combat skills. In other words, preparing for combat. What better way for Marines to celebrate Independence Day?

What better way indeed. Semper Fi.

Andrew Lubin is a writer and historian living in Pennsylvania, and is the author of the critically acclaimed “Charlie Battery: A Marine Artillery Battery in Iraq.” Next month, he will travel to the Middle East with the Marines to work as an embedded reporter.