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DON’T EVER FORGET
US servicemen and contractors discuss Iraq, the elections, and insurgents ...
Marine Corps First Sergeant Brad Kasal:
The insurgents are oppressing normal people. The press never reports the good things. When we open a school or fix a sewer, the things that make normal Iraqis happy, they never report it. There are plenty of Iraqis, thousands of them, who want to live normal lives. If we can help them it will be all right. The people just want peace and freedom.
Lt. Col. Mark Smith, Commander of the USMCR 2/24 Marines:
Thousands of Iraqi citizens WALKED to the polls to vote! They walked to the polls, they waited in lines for hours, and they voted. They had been threatened with death if they did so, and they voted! They voted for the first time in their lives as FREE men and women. They voted among falling mortars. In Yusufiyah, 20 separate mortar attacks were attempted. Fox would identify the origin, and counter-fire. The enemy was highly ineffective because one, he knew Fox would shoot back, and two, he has been so shot up and decimated he is using his junior varsity, which with these guys the varsity is suspect at best.
In Lutafiyah, they tried to mortar and then escape, which is what these cowards do. Too bad for this mortar crew their route of egress was cut by a Mobile Strike Team. Well, suffice it to say, one of them will never be a mortarman or anything else ever again, and two were apprehended, and all of their weaponry and mortar tubes seized! They tried to mortar in Al Rasheed as well, and were attempting to use a four man observation team to direct the accuracy of their rounds. Seems bad luck was all-around this day for the insurgents as one of our Sniper teams put an immediate and permanent halt to that activity.
Military contractor Gary Kruger:
There were people there that never had electrical power or clean water to drink until we got there and gave it to them.
I never talked to an Iraqi who wasn’t glad we were there. Those resisting us are mostly Syrians, Iranians and members of the Baath party, Hussein’s people.
Maj. Scott Stanger, operations officer in the 153rd Infantry, 39th Infantry Brigade:
The kids were all over the place, playing in the streets while their parents voted. The kids walked with us for about 2 miles while we were talking to the adults. I have never seen anything like it.
People everywhere wanted to talk to us and thank us. This is what it must have been like when the Allies liberated Paris.
Iraqis of all ages wanted to shake our hands and thank us for allowing them to vote. The kids were proud to tell us that their parents voted. Adult after adult wanted to thank us for making this day happen.
Maj. Randy Bruett, attached to the 445 Civil Affairs Battalion:
The torch of freedom lit in 1776 has now been passed to Afghanistan and Iraq. This is America’s payment for what we have received from the ancient world.
Your Marines and soldiers acted marvelously. I am struck by how young they are, yet how mature. They know that they are the true ambassadors and representatives of the United States. I still do not know how our country continues to produce such admirable young men and women.
I was responsible for the conduct of the election site in a small rural village named Nasser wa Al Salaam. This village lies between Fallujah and the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. We had two polling stations in our sector: mine, and another at an industrial factory on the outskirts of Fallujah.
Nasser wa Al Salaam was supposed to be a boring backwater with the Fallujah site the main effort. But no one told the voters this. The factory had just over 200 voters; Nasser wa Al Salaam polled nearly 5,000 voters, with almost 40 percent of them women.
The director for this polling site was Muhammad from Nasiriya, in the south of Iraq. He was nervous because he wanted everything to go well, but he was excited about making history. He told me twice, “God willing, tomorrow we will make history together!� We did.
Sgt. Michael Scott Evans II:
Please don’t ever forget what I died for, and never let anyone disrespect that.
Thank you for posting these. Very moving.
I wish Hollywood weren’t controlled by Lefties. Some of these accounts could be turned into great movies I’d love to watch with the family.
Posted by CJosephson on 2005 02 06 at 03:40 PM • permalinkUh oh… Col. Smith is not clear what his sniper teams did to halt the activity of the insurgents (why doesn’t he call them Freedom Fighters or Minutemen?), but from the context, and in light of past performance of the US military, it’s possible that they violated due process in dealing with the alleged “insurgents.”
We better get Ramsey Clark over there ASAP to investigate. And Noam Chomsky.
Posted by Steve Skubinna on 2005 02 06 at 04:05 PM • permalinkThat would be this Brad Kasal: (link below)
Semper Fi, 1st Sergeant
One of the most important and rewarding tasks of a Senior Non-Comm is to look out for and take care of the men in his charge.In certain situations, that can include putting your life on the line for them.
Marine 1st Sergeant Brad Kasal understands that. And it’s an understanding he’s demonstrated that his men can trust.
Marine 1st Sergeant Brad Kasal (in the middle). This photo(*) is from the most recent major offensive in Fallujah. 1stSgt Kasal sacrificed his own safety to save a room full of fellow Marines. He ended up taking several AK rounds in the leg. Most of his lower leg was blown away but you can’t tell it from this pic. He took rounds in the back which his armor saved him from. He took one round through his butt which passed through both cheeks leaving 4 holes in him. And he also took the brunt of a grenade blast. He jumped on top of a younger Marine to cover him from the fire. He killed the enemy who did most of the damage to him and his men, and despite a massive loss of blood he never stopped fighting. Notice that he’s still holding his pistol. He has been put in for the Medal of Honor for his actions on that day. He already has several Purple Hearts for previous battles throughout his career and he has turned some down so that he could stay with his unit.
1st Sgt Kasal’s Marines aren’t the only ones that have appreciated having him around, either.
And I’d like to add my appreciation, too. Semper Fi, 1st Sergeant.
(*)picture at
Silent RunningThis, along with the lack of reporting on the UN corruption scandal, further demonstrates the utter failure of the Australian media to adequately cover the Iraq conflict. They are either completely and utterly out of their depth (majority) or simply antagonistic to Bush and Howard (minority). Either way, they suck.
Steve Skubina — Yes. And then tell Col. Smith’s snipers what hotel they’re staying in.
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 02 06 at 08:16 PM • permalinkWell done, Tim – good to hear this perspective after that “it’s good to shoot some people� bloke last week.
On a related note, here’s a quote for your consideration. Daniel Pipes, Bush appointee and hard-line pro-war spokesman, is in Australia at the moment and is concerned about the election and the occupation:
I heartily endorse the U.S. government’s goal of making Iraq a democracy. But I worry about the timetable to attain it. I expect that the elections to be held on Jan. 30, 2005, are premature and will set democracy back more than forward it.
Before they [the elections] take place, the country needs to learn the habits of democracy and civil society – the rule of law, minority rights, voluntary associations, loyal opposition, and so on. Elections should begin with the legislative branch and at the municipal level. The interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, should be given a chance to take control of the country before ethnic and other fissures can rear their heads. Shi‘is need to get used to participating in power or else the tyranny of the majority looms as a real danger.
In all, I see this as a classic instance of American impatience. It’s been a mere 22 months since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein; elections for chief of government should take place more like 22 years later.
Pipes reckons that the elections were held too early and that civil society needs time to develop and he is fearful that the new government may base the constitution of sharia law. He also says that the ethnic and social tensions that Saddam suppressed for so long may resurface violently, just as they did in Yugoslavia.
Interesting views – keep an ear out for him.
(Had trouble posting, so I hope this doesn’t come up twice.)
I especially like Maj. Stanger’s word picture. My favorite images from the election are not of the purple fingers, though they are wonderful, but of the masses of courageous, determined Iraqis making their way through dusty streets to their poll places. Amazing.
And from Maj. Bruett: The torch of freedom lit in 1776 has now been passed to Afghanistan and Iraq. This is America’s payment for what we have received from the ancient world. Lovely, just lovely. Every time I think I couldn’t possibly be prouder of our men and women in uniform, I read something like this.
Thanks, Tim.
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2005 02 07 at 11:27 PM • permalink
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Glad to see our Soldiers and Marines taking it to the enemy. The fact that this war is being won in the face of a ruthless and pitiless enemy, and an equally ruthless international press, makes their performance even more remarkable.
Great post, Tim. It’s posts like these that make you one of the best.
NewSisyphus