Ten members of the United Veterans Club Honor Guard helped celebrate Slips’ life and military service. One of them was his son, also named Ed.

“I’m very proud to be his son,” said the 74-year-old Grand Islander.

The Battle of Iwo Jima lasted from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945. Iwo Jima later became an important landing stop for B-29s that were in trouble, the younger Slips said.

One of the speakers, Jay Vavricek, talked about the valor and bravery of the American soldiers on Iwo Jima. There were 21,000 Japanese soldiers on the island at the beginning of the battle.

Vavricek referred to a sign on the wall that says, “Love is deciding to do what’s best for another even when it is costly.”

Terry Slips said her father-in-law was not in the first wave of Americans that landed at Iwo Jima, “thank God, because we still have him. He may not have made it home, like so many others.”

After his military service, Slips spent 20 years with the Grand Island Fire Department.