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Combat Engineer Company, Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, Marines and sailors took a day off of their three-week training schedule at Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji, Japan, and joined accomplished Mt. Fuji hikers, Aug. 24.
The hike up the 12,388 foot mountain was meant as a reward to the Marines and sailors' hard work during their training.
Early in the morning, the service members assembled into a formation, loaded the buses and headed towards the Fujinomiya Trail, one of many starting stations on the mountain.
At the beginning of the trail, most of the service members bought the popular Fuji sticks, wooden hiking sticks with a Japanese flag and bell attached to the top meant to be branded at different checkpoints, marking each location's current elevation.
It didn't take long for some of the Marines to find out what a workout the hike entailed.
"After about 30 minutes, most of us were getting winded," said Sgt. Daniel C. Verduce, the operations chief of Combat Engineer Company. "The higher we hiked, the colder it got and the more our muscles ached. But once we reached the top, we knew it was worth it."
They were divided into groups, competing against each other for bragging rights. The group led by 1st Lt. Travis C. Rape, CEC commander, made it to the top in three hours.
Nonetheless, it wasn't about the glory of who conquered Mt. Fuji first. The day was about climbing a mountain that the Marines and sailors will remember for a long time to come, said Staff Sgt. Chris D. Goepper, the company's ammunitions chief.
| Date Taken: | 09.14.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2007 03:19 |
| Story ID: | 12364 |
| Location: | MOUNT FUJI, JP |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 15 |
This work, CAB Marines conquer tallest mountain in Japan, by MSgt Bryan Peterson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
