Sgt. Maj. James Baum pays his respects to his fellow Marines who were killed in the Battle of Ramadi from February to September 2004. Baum was a sergeant serving in Echo Company with the 2nd Battalion/4th Marines during the battle. A plaque was unveiled in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024 to honor and remember the 33 Marines and one sailor who gave their lives during the battle. Sgt. Maj. Baum continues to serve at the Marine Raider Training Center in North Carolina. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Veterans of Camp Pendleton’s 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines gathered Saturday, April 6, at Park Semper Fi in San Clemente to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Ramadi and remember 33 fallen troops.
The event, which was expected to draw hundreds, 33 Gold Star parents and past commanding officers, included an installation of a plaque dedicated to the Marines and sailors who gave their lives in the service of their country during the seven-month battle in the Iraqi city in 2004.
Gold Star Mother Dianne Layfield, left, hugs a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Battle of Ramadi with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Layfield’s son, Lance Cpl. Travis Layfield, was killed during the battle in 2004 and is now memorialized on the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in Park Semper Fi. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Guests stand for the National Anthem during the dedication ceremony for the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The plaque is dedicated to the 33 Marines and one Sailor who were killed in the Battle of Ramadi in 2004. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Gold Star Mother Dianne Layfield wears a pendant with a photo of her son, Lance Cpl. Travis Layfield, who is memorialized on the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Marine Corps veterans of the Battle of Ramadi while serving with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines from Camp Pendleton take photos of the newly dedicated Ramadi Memorial Plaque in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A Marine plays Taps as an officer salutes before the unveiling of the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The plaque is dedicated to the 33 Marines and one Sailor who were killed in the Battle of Ramadi in 2004. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
The Ramadi Memorial Plaque, dedicated to the 33 Marines and one Sailor from the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines from Camp Pendleton who were killed in the Battle of Ramadi, is unveiled in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A Marine veteran of the Battle of Ramadi points to the name of the Corpsman who lost his life along with 33 Marines during the battle from February to September 2004. The Ramadi Memorial Plaque was dedicated during a ceremony in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Marine Corps veterans of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines from Camp Pendleton attend the dedication of the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The plaque is dedicated to the 33 Marines and one Sailor who were killed during the Battle of Ramadi in 2004. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Pam Hallal addresses those gathered for the dedication of the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The plaque is dedicated to the 33 Marines and one Sailor, including her son Pfc. Deryk L. Hallal, who were killed during the battle of Ramadi in 2004. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sergeant Joe Hayes addresses those gathered for the dedication of the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Hayes served in Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines during the Battle of Ramadi in 2004 where 33 of his fellow Marines and one Sailor were killed. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sgt. Maj. James Baum pays his respects to his fellow Marines who were killed in the Battle of Ramadi from February to September 2004. Baum was a sergeant serving in Echo Company with the 2nd Battalion/4th Marines during the battle. A plaque was unveiled in Park Semper Fi in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024 to honor and remember the 33 Marines and one sailor who gave their lives during the battle. Sgt. Maj. Baum continues to serve at the Marine Raider Training Center in North Carolina. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Gold Star Mother Dianne Layfield, right, receives a hug at the dedication ceremony of the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Layfield’s son Lance Cpl. Travis Layfield is one of the 33 Marines and one sailor who were killed during the Battle of Ramadi from February to September 2004 and is now honored and remembered on the plaque. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Gold Star Mothers Pam Hallal, left, and Dianne Layfield get ready to unveil the Ramadi Memorial Plaque in Park Semper Fi during a dedication ceremony in San Clemente on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Their sons, Pfc. Deryk L. Hallal and Lance Cpl. Travis Layfield were killed in the Battle of Ramadi and are now memorialized on the plaque. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
The ceremony included the 1st Marine Division Band Brass Quintet, a greeting by San Clemente Mayor Victor Cabral, the Marine Color Guard, comments from Gold Star mothers Dianne Layfield and Pam Hallal, and a welcome from Wayne Eggleston, a former San Clemente mayor and executive director of Park Semper Fi.
Each of the 33 Marine names on the plaque was read aloud by retired Sgt. Joe Hayes, who also served with the battalion in Ramadi.
Cabral called those who died while deployed in 2004 to the Al Anbar Province during Operation Iraqi Freedom heroes, saying they all “gave the ultimate sacrifice —and many more were wounded in Ramadi in one of the deadliest and critical battles of the war.”
The 2/4 battalion arrived in Ramadi, Iraq, on April 6, 2004. Under attack, they fought in battles throughout the city; 12 Marines were killed the first day. After six more months, 34 Marines and a Navy corpsman were killed.
“To remember them, to speak their names, is to ensure that their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” said retired Sgt. Matthew Boelhower, who served with Golf Co 2/4. “Our hope is that whoever walks past this plaque will see these names, forever continuing their remembrance. These warriors fought and died beside their brothers. Those who survived them live each day for them, for their sacrifice, and for their memory.”
“The city of San Clemente is honored to have Park Semper Fi as a resting place,” said Eggleston, who in 1996 created the Heritage of San Clemente Foundation to benefit the battalion of local Marines who were also adopted by the city that year. “Park Semper Fi is sacred and hallowed ground and a place where loved ones can reflect and remember their heroes.”
Eggleston spearheaded creating the park as a permanent reminder of Marines at the Pier Bowl. The grounds overlooking the ocean just north of San Clemente Pier host Marine Corps and Navy celebrations, including Veterans Day events, memorial services, weddings, and reenlistment ceremonies.
A life-sized bronze of a Marine was dedicated at the park on Nov.12, 2005, in commemoration of the Marine Corps’ 230th birthday.
“I hope that every time that we pass this magnificent park we remember the brave men that served our country proudly,” Cabral said, adding the city is “proud to the be home” of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines.
“Your service inspires us to work a little harder,” he said, “and be just a bit more dedicated in our stewardship to make San Clemente worthy of being your home.”
