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December 12, 2004

A Marine company and a month in Fallujah

"Marines talk of guns and God on the front lines."

In the Christian Science Monitor Dec 10 edition, there is a fascinating article about U.S. Marines in Fallujah, Iraq. No comments to offer here, the article is a good one, it's a must-read for for every American in order that more is "felt" about just what our guys are still going through in Fallujah'

FALLUJAH, IRAQ - The first few pages of Marine Cpl. Tim Milholin's small zip-up Bible are stuck together - drenched "too many times" from the sweat of battle, he explains. It lives under his armored vest in his chest pocket, with an inscribed metal plate: "The Lord is my strength and my shield."

Corporal Milholin, a 21-year-old machine-gunner with a pencil-thin mustache, is girded for war in Fallujah with both book and sword. He is as well-versed in the King James text as he is in the killing potential of hollow-tipped bullets or the amount of C4 plastic explosive and TNT needed to blow through an Iraqi door. To him, they are all essential tools of his warfighting trade, as important as the photo of his wife, Brianne, that's tucked inside his helmet.

"I pray earnestly every day, and believe that God puts his angels out before us, to protect us," says the marine, who fires up his camp stove daily before daybreak to brew coffee for the unit during the violent days of Operation Dawn in Fallujah. Since the dark night of Nov. 8 when they rolled into the dense urban environment of this now-empty city of 300,000, US forces have been in their toughest fight since the Vietnam War. As they search for their enemy, breaking through one closed door after another, the Raider platoon - the Death Dealers, as they dub themselves - are on the front lines in a city hammered to rubble.

Click on Image to enlarge - 'I pray earnestly every day, and believe that God puts his angels out before us, to protect us,' Corp. Tim Milholin.

Every day, sometimes twice or more in a 24-hour period, the scouts gather for final orders.

The moment of deepest contemplation comes before each attack, often early in the morning, as on the group's seventh day in Fallujah. In near silence and darkness, they clean weapons once more, pack rifle magazines with bullets, and load gear belts with explosives.

Not all are religious, but a few scouts, like Corporal Milholin, keep small Bibles in their chest pockets, close to pounding hearts.

Click image to enlarge - "Every time I see an Iraqi, I could be face-to-face with the guy who killed my best friend." - Lance Cpl  Matt McClellan.

Many use a black permanent marker to ink their hands or gloves with their blood type and "kill" numbers - information that will enable news of casualties to be passed immediately over the radio. It's a habit that's taken on greater significance in the course of a month of battle that has killed or wounded more than 20 percent of Charlie Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) battalion.

Not all are impressed. "I don't write any of that [expletive] on me," says Lance Cpl. Matt McClellan (X58, B+), a tattooed serial rule breaker. "It's bad luck."  Read More...

Posted by Hyscience at December 12, 2004 10:30 AM

• A Marine company and a month in Fallujah - Dec 12, 2004