Today I have promised to write about a Marine who has contributed to the efforts that are focused on saving the environment. I am going to write about Leon Cooper. Cooper is a veteran, a former Marine who took part in the invasion of Tarawa.
What is Tarawa, and how does it relate to the issue of the environment? Tarawa is an island in the South Pacific. Marines invaded that island in November of 1943. So many Marines died during that invasion, that the beach on which they landed is called Red Beach.
Because Tarawa now has a growing population, it has trouble finding a place to put all of its trash. Cooper learned that a good deal of trash is now washing onto the beach. Since cooper viewed that same beach as being a rather “sacred” area, he wanted to clean that beach.
Of course, Cooper does not live on Tarawa. He now lives in Malibu, CA. Cooper has contacted his state senators and his congressman. They support his efforts, but the beach at Tarawa remains full of inorganic trash. Cooper has learned about an activist named Alice Leney, a woman who has initiated a recycling program at Tarawa. Still, that is not going to let residents on the Island clean an entire beach.
Cooper continues to contact authorities, seeking help achieving his goal– a clean beach on Tarawa. Cooper’s dedication to this effort can be best understood by those who know the details surrounding the invasion of Tarawa. Next week I will share those details with my readers.
