Marine Aviation Tower arrives in P'cola

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - Until recently, there were only two national Marine Corps memorials: the Iwo Jima Flag Raising and the Beirut Barracks Bombing Memorial.

Now, Pensacola will host a third memorial: The Marine Aviation Memorial Tower. 

Patriot Guard Riders escorted the tower to the city of five flags all the way from Ohio.

The only prerequisite to be a rider in the Patriot Guard is respect for those who risk their very lives for this country's freedom and security. 

Gary Carpenter rides for that cause, and so much more.

He said he rides as a tribute to the young man who once tagged along - his grandson, Marine Cpl. Ethin Usborne.

"I remember when he was a little boy on my lap. That's what I remember," Carpenter  said. "He's ridden with me ever since he went into the Marine Corps. He's been riding right with me every mission I go on. So I'm pretty proud of him and what he's accomplished."

Usborne served a tour in Afghanistan and is currently stationed in Okinawa. 

Carpenter, an Army veteran, honors him every chance he gets. Thursday, that meant riding across the country starting in his hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio.

"I traveled about 800 miles to get this done," Carpenter said.

With others in the Patriot Guard, Carpenter escorted the Marine Aviation Memorial Tower, which will soon grace the grounds at Veterans Memorial Park.

"The tower represents those who have really sacrificed, and in this case on the battlefield, and on many cases with their lives, the ultimate sacrifice," said tower committee member David Glassman.

"It's a small down payment on a debt that we can never repay," Carpenter said.

It took four years to bring the tower to Pensacola. It celebrates 100 years of Marine Aviation.

The tower will be dedicated during a ceremony Sunday.  It gets underway at 11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.