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July 12, 2004
New from the Green Side
Major Bellon has updated The Green Side. I was touched by his description of an in-country memorial service for fallen Marines.
One of our companies lost five killed and more wounded in a series of attacks. I am very fond of this particular company commander and his Marines. They are a special group in the community of elite people. This commander truly loves his Marines. He personally lost the gunner on his vehicle among the KIA. You are always close to your Marines, but inevitably you are closest to those on your crew or your radio operators or just those that you work closest with day in and day out. In a period of 7-8 days, this small group of men lost five of their own and several more seriously wounded. Words cannot describe the kind of hammer blow that goes through young men when their buddies are killed or evaced. It hits commanders the hardest and the better the commander the harder the blow. It hit this commander incredibly hard. There really is not much you can say to Marines at times like this. You just kind of be around them. I really am not 100% sure how, but this young captain allowed himself some short time to grieve and then was out in front of his men leading by example the very next day on both occasions. His guys are once again back on their mission and looking for ways to improve and take the fight back to the enemy. The dead Marines are never far from their minds, but they are able to get back to work by drawing closer and recommitting themselves to close whatever holes that made them vulnerable in the first place.Earlier in the week, we were having a memorial service for another Marine that was lost in an ambush just outside of Baghdad. These services are always very moving as the Marines step out in front of the gathered masses and share their memories of the fallen. It always strikes me how heartfelt and well spoken the Marines are when they talk about their buddies. The stories are vivid and often funny and almost always heartbreaking.
There is always a picture of the Marine and out in front of the gathering is a single rifle stuck into the deck by its bayonet crowned with a helmet. The fallen Marine's dog tags hang from the rifle's handgrip and a pair of boots sit in front of the rifle. At the end of the service, each Marine in attendance marches in front of the rifle, clutches the dog tags and pays his last respect, one at a time.
The final man to speak at this service was our Regimental Commander. Again, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. Of all the commanders that I have seen, I have never seen one that has cultivated more loyalty among his Marines.
He stepped out in front of the Marines and in a very poignant way reminded them that even though their friend and fellow Marine had died at a very young age, he died selflessly, among his brothers and with his honor in tact. The CO spoke of honor briefly and reminded the Marines that it is the one gift that a man gives himself and the one character attribute that makes each man a king. The fallen Marine's buddies should feel proud that the Marine that was lost was so fondly thought of and that even in his young life he was able to give himself the gift of honor. He ended his piece by referencing a recent article in a national publication. The author had gotten himself into a number of insurgent cells from southern Iraq to Baghdad to Fallujah. The author spoke about the terrorists' commitment and motivation to continue their cause. Surprisingly, it was not religion or ideology; it was hate for American and the West. Toward the end of his article, he asked one terrorist what he would do if the Americans were driven from Iraq and went back to America. The terrorist stated after some reflection that he and his men would follow us there....
And there you have it. We can fight this war over there or wait until it reaches our shores. It happened on September 11, 2001. It will happen again, if good men and women do nothing. When my son came home last year, he said that the biggest motivating force for himself and his friends was their certain knowledge that they were keeping our country safe so that we could enjoy the freedoms we take for granted. These young men made that sacrifice for us. It's not a small thing.
Posted by Deb at July 12, 2004 07:30 AM
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