July 25, 2006
Letter From A Marine
In my local paper today, there was a letter from a Marine who had served in Iraq. He was responding to someone who had written to the Editor condemning the Marines who are being investigated in the incident in Hidatha. His letter was something that reached my heart and even without his permission, I would like to reproduce it here for you, my beloved readers, it is that touching and that important:
To The Editor:I've never met Mr. A, though he lives in a town just a few miles from me. I've never been to Iraq. But I can tell you this, Mr. A.'s letter smacks of truth, hardship and a firm knowledge of the combat conditions in Iraq and I honor him for his service. Mr. A. some day, I hope you will let me buy you a beer. Posted by GM Roper at July 25, 2006 07:35 PM | TrackBack
In response to Lee B.'s letter on Haditha:I guess you were there at Haditha to witness these acts of desperation. I am a Marine combat veteran who served at Haditha in Iraq's Al Anbar province.
Maybe I missed you there when my fellow Marines would get ambushed on a daily basis in Haditha, or when my patrol was shelled by mortars and two juveniles were spotting for the insurgent mortar team.
I guess you were there when two Marines from my company were killed when their patrol was ambushed in the city, hit by an IED (improvised explosive device) under the watchful eyes of Iraqi civilians in the area who did nothing to warn them it was there. An IED is usually an artillery round, sometimes several artillery rounds tied together and set off by a remote control device. It is intended to cause massive trauma and death. The insurgents use this indiscriminately and they don't care if civilians are near our patrols.
Were you there when we found 10 Iraqi civilians beheaded, left on the side of the road by insurgents? Or when our sniper team caught two individuals planting two IEDs along our patrol route. One of them was a police officer, the other was a teenager. They were eliminated under our ROEs (rules of engagement), which define what they were doing as a hostile act and hostile intent.
I'm sure you remember going house to hourse, clearing each building in Haditha, or getting shelled every day while you set up and guarded a voting site for the citizens of Haditha. We were willing to provide escort for them because of the insurgency in Haditha, but I read there were no insurgents there, just women and children.
Haditha is a very active insurgent region. I can's answer for my fellow marines with Kilo 3/1 because I was not there with them. But I have experienced their struggle and fought in the same area. You say the firs casualty of war is truth. Well then, with all due respect, go to Iraq and see the truth for yourself. It will open your eyes. Semper fi.
Rene A.
Alamo, Texas.
That is a great letter, GM...
Hell, I'd like to buy him a beer myself.
Posted by That 1 Guy at July 25, 2006 06:57 PM
Great letter!
More of our troops should start writing letters like that, maybe some semblance of reality would be introduced to those accustomed to getting all their news from the MSM.
Posted by Seth at July 25, 2006 07:17 PM
Haditha is the CESS POOL of cess pools in Iraq. My X was there and he saw a lot of what this Marine writes of. Using young girls and women, the terrorists would blow up any American patrol coming through. The Highway of skulls, where the 10 beheaded bodies were found- heads hooked up on poles with the bodies under them on the ground.
The media doesn't share these details. They don't get it even when IT is staring at them in gross detail.
Posted by Raven at July 25, 2006 07:25 PM
that's absolutely right...perhaps more letters from our troops might shame some of these folks into just shutting up...
Posted by ric ottaiano at July 25, 2006 07:28 PM
Count me in for that beer too GM!...nothing like hearin it from the ole Source eh?..:)
Posted by Angel at July 25, 2006 08:20 PM
Ric, nothing will shut these folks up, because they are stuffed to bursting with a sense of their own smugness and self-superiority. Too bad we can't get together a group to act as wranglers and start rounding them all up and bringing them over for a short stay. We'll let them be in charge of their own security, because as the MSM tells them (and they parrot back) there's no reason for US troops to be over there any more; we're just interfering, and our presence is causing the problems now. We'll just work on bringing in care packages and goody bags for the troops until our little groups come crawling back to us (in whatever pieces are left) begging to go home. Wouldn't that open a few eyes!
Unfortunately, these people don't have any shame either (because you have to have morals and a conscience to be able to have shame). So I guess what we're all going to have to do is start grabbing our vets, buying them beers at whatever rate our wallets can handle and kick the hell out of anyone who looks crossways at us for doing it.
(Sorry GM; I'm in a crabby mood tonight about people acting like jacka$$es to/about the troops!! It used to piss me off when I was in, and it burns me up even more now, seeing how shabbily they're treated by our MSM and all the socialist elements in our society. They all need a good kicking!... and then some!)
Posted by Katje at July 25, 2006 08:38 PM
(Contritely, and a little more pleasantly now:)
Actually, what we should all do is contribute a small paragraph or two to GM that he could print out and send to the editor of the same paper, about Mr A, and his fellow Marines, voicing our thanks and support. That'd be a good way of doing something positive for them, as well as rubbing it in the eye of the jerks who complain about them (who always go berserk to see outpourings of love and thanks to the troops!) So here's mine:
(Mr A -GM fill in his name for me), having heard of your wonderful letter which reminds us not only of all the work you Marines have to do day in and day out, for so many people who aren't even smart enough to be grateful for it, and of the dangers you go through daily as we go about our lives back here, I just wanted to tell you that not a day goes by that I do not think about you guys and the dangers you face, and the heat, stench, annoyance and fear that are part of your daily parcel. Somehow it sounds weird to me to say I'm "proud" of you (does that make sense?), but I can say that I honour each and every one of you for doing it. To me, you are the Men (and the Women - if there are any reading this!) who define our generation. Please DON'T fall for the propaganda you read in the press - you're all doing a GREAT job and you have an enormous fan club waiting for all of you back home! Take care of yourselves, and remember: We're thinking of you and longing for your return!
Posted by Katje at July 25, 2006 08:53 PM
Katje, thanks for your suggestion. It's good to be able to do something positive...
Mr A, thank you for your reminder to walk in another's shoes before criticizing them. Thank you for spelling out the evil that you must content daily against on our behalf in a distant land so that we may enjoy the fruits of peace on our own soil, the dangers to life and limb that you endure daily, and the agonizing decisions you must make on short notice as to friend of foe among the Iraqi population. We salute your faithfulness (fidelis). God speed and a safe return!
Posted by civil truth at July 26, 2006 11:28 AM
The ill-informed jackal that the Marine was responding to is a member of the faculty of South Texas College....wouldn't you know it, another lefty academic.
Posted by tad at July 29, 2006 09:19 PM
