Kim Jong Un has been spewing belligerent statements ever since the United Nations imposed sanctions on his country for continuing to

South Korea

develop a nuclear capability. First, he canceled the Armistice. Then, he put his nation on military alert and stated that his country was in a state of war with the south. Is the young Korean dictator serious or is he trying to consolidate his power within his regime?

Will his jingoism lead to a shooting war in Asia? One small incident could escalate into a new Korean War. What will a war in Korea look like? For some insight, let’s take a short look at the Korean war of the 1950’s.

Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into two nations after World War II; the Communist controlled northern half and the Democratic southern half. From their separation, there was a tense standoff. Then, on 25 June 1950, North Korean troops poured across the border into South Korea in an attempt to consolidate the two nations through force of arms. The Communist forces pushed south on the Korean peninsula, capturing 90% of South Korea. The South Korean Army, and their American allies managed to defend a tiny foothold at the southern tip of the peninsula along the Pusan perimeter until America could marshal its resources.

Then, on 15 September 1950, United States Marines conducted a bold amphibious landing far behind enemy lines at the western port city of Inchon, near South Korea’s capital, Seoul. As the Marines prepared to breakout from their beachhead to sever the enemies supply lines, the North Koreans retreated. They withdrew back across the 38th Parallel and the Allied forces pushed into North Korea toward the Chinese border, hoping to rid the entire Korean peninsula of Communist rule.

On 25 October 1950, the People’s Republic of China intervened when hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops attacked across the border into North Korea. The South Korean Army and American forces were engulfed by the massive Chinese incursion. They had to fight their way south to fall back again. Marine General “Chesty” Puller, when asked, said, “We are not retreating, we are attacking in a different direction.” The Allies managed to stem the Chinese tide and set a new defensive line, ironically, at the 38th Parallel. The North and South remained locked in a shooting stalemate until an armistice was signed on 27 July 1953, but not before more than 500,000 South Koreans and 33,000 Americans were killed.

Sixty three years ago, neither the North Koreans nor the South Koreans had the military capabilities they have today. Today, more than one million troops and 20,000 armored vehicles and artillery pieces are facing each other along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and nearly half of the population of Seoul is within North Korean artillery range. Today, more than 10 million people live in, and around, Seoul. If the North Koreans start shooting, hundreds of thousands of Koreans could die before the South Korean Armed Forces and their American ally could react. Let us pray that Kim Jong Un’s bark is worse than his bite.

Richard S. Lowry has been writing about our men and women in uniform for many years. To learn more about his writing and how to purchase his latest book, visit www.richardslowry.com.

Entering Nasiriyah

It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since Jessica Lynch and the 507^th Maintenance Company rolled through the dusty streets of An Nasiriyah on March 23, 2003. Eleven of Jessica’s fellow soldiers were killed that morning, five were captured and a dozen more injured. Lynch was critically injured and near death when she was brought into a military hospital near the site of her ambush.

Within hours of the ambush, the North Carolina Marines of Task Force Tarawa moved to secure the bridges in An Nasiriyah. LtCol Rickey Grabowski’s 1^st Battalion, of the 2^nd Marine Regiment rolled into the city and encountered stiff resistance. By midmorning they had rescued nearly half of the soldiers who had been ambushed and by noon the Marines were charging forward through a hail of RPGs, AK-47 gunfire, mortar and artillery barrages. By sunset, Grabowski’s Marines had secured their objectives but at a terrible cost. Eighteen of America’s finest died and another dozen were wounded.

In all, twenty-nine Americans died that day in An Nasiriyah. Initially, the situation in Nasiriyah was so confusing and filled with the fog of war that no one knew the connection between the 507th Maintenance Company and the brave Marines of the 2d Marine Regiment. At first, Jessica’s capture was kept quiet for fear that the enemy would move her if they suspected that America knew where she was.

As the days and weeks passed, the news media moved on to Lynch’s rescue and then the fall of Baghdad. When the Department of Defense finally sorted things out and released the names of the Marines and soldiers who died that day, the media took very little interest. No one ever realized that that bloody day in Nasiriyah, on March 23rd, was the costliest day of combat for America in the long years of operations in Iraq.  Twenty-nine American soldiers and Marines were never given the national attention that they deserved for their ultimate sacrifice. This Saturday, nearly a thousand of the veterans of the fight to free Nasiriyah will be coming together at the Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia to honor those sacrifices.

Before sunrise on the 23rd of March, 2003, thirty-three soldiers, traveling in eighteen trucks, stumbled into the dusty desert city of An Nasiriyah. It wasn’t until they had driven all the way through the city that they realized that they were hopelessly lost. As soon as they turned around and tried to retrace their path, every Iraqi with a gun started shooting at the beleaguered convoy. The lead three vehicles managed to run the gauntlet and get back to the U.S. Marines’ front lines.

Five vehicles broke down and ten soldiers scrambled for cover in a nearby ditch. Surrounded, they each vowed to go down fighting. They fought to hold off the enemy for nearly an hour, when Major Bill Peeples and the Marine tankers of Alpha Company, 8th Tanks arrived to save the day. The Marines beat back the enemy and rushed the ten soldiers to safety.

The remaining seventeen soldiers were not as fortunate. Eleven were killed and six captured. Specialists Jamaal Addison and James Kiehl both died when their vehicle careened through an intersection and rolled over on its top.  Private First Class Howard Johnson II and Private Ruben Estrella-Soto’s truck crashed at the same intersection.  Sergeant Donald Walters was lost north of An Nasiriyah when his vehicle broke down. He leapt from his disabled vehicle behind enemy lines and laid down covering fire so that the rest of his unit could turn their vehicles and get out of a horrific ambush.  Private Brandon Sloan was shot and killed while the vehicle he was in was racing south. Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Mata’s truck shuddered to a stop atop a railroad overpass and burst into flames. Mata was killed, but his driver, Specialist Hudson, survived.

Jessica Lynch's HMMWV

Near the end to the doomed convoy, First Sergeant Robert Dowdy tried to shepherd his soldiers to safety. Private First Class Lori Piestewa was driving Dowdy’s HMMWV. Specialist Edward Anguiano, Sergeant George Buggs and Private First Class Jessica Lynch were riding in the back. Piestewa managed to maneuver around obstacles and raced all the way back through Nasiriyah when the flatbed in front of her jackknifed. Lori was unable to avoid the back of the skidding truck. She plowed into the rear of the flatbed, instantly killing Dowdy.

We know that Lori and Jessica survived the collision. It is not clear what happened to Buggs and Anguiano. Patrick Miller, Hudson, Hernandez, Lynch, Piestewa, Riley, and Shoshana Johnson were all taken prisoner. Lynch and Piestewa were separated from the others and eventually ended up in the Tykar Military Hospital. Lori died while being treated, leaving Lynch alone and near death.

The soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company that were killed that day were from all walks of life and every corner of this nation. They were a swatch cut from the American fabric and the first to die in this protracted war. Lori Piestewa was an American Indian and single mother. Brandon Sloan and Robert Dowdy were both from Cleveland Ohio. Brandon, 19, had left high school early to join the Army, while Dowdy, 38, was a career soldier. James Kiehl, 22, was a friendly computer technician who left behind a pregnant wife. Buggs and Anguiano were not even members of the 507th. Dowdy had convinced them to take one of their vehicles in tow two nights before. Their tow truck ran out of gas north of An Nasiriyah and Dowdy, Piestewa and Lynch had picked them up.

By noon, the Marines were pressing north to secure two vital bridges in An Nasiriyah. The fighting started long before they reached the Euphrates River but it wasn’t until they moved into downtown Nasiriyah that all hell broke loose. Alpha Company secured the Euphrates River Bridge while Bravo Company swung out to the east side of town. Charlie Company raced over the Euphrates River and charged through “Ambush Alley” to the Saddam Canal Bridge.

North of the Saddam Canal

Eighteen Marines died in Charlie Company’s battle for that northern bridge. Donald Cline was a twenty-one year old husband and father of two young boys. Patrick Nixon loved history and wanted to eventually be a teacher. Phillip Jordan was a career Marine and loving husband and father. Fred Pokorney was a giant of a man who had just been promoted to 1st Lieutenant.  Sergeant Michael Bitz was the father of two young boys and one-month old twins. David Fribley and Brian Buesing were both Florida natives. Fribley joined the Corps after 9/11 and Buesing had been in the Marines since he graduated from high school. Brendon Reiss was the son of a decorated Vietnam Veteran and Randal Rosacker was the son of a Navy Master Chief submarine sailor. Jose Garibay and Jorge Gonzalez were both from Southern California. Thomas Slocum was a 22 year old from Colorado and Nolen Hutchings was from South Carolina. They were both troubled teens who had worked to turn their lives around in the Corps.

Tamario Burkett was a young Marine from upstate New York. Kemaphoom Chanawongse was born in Thailand and came to the United States at nine years old. He was the first to have a Buddhist funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. Johnathan Gifford wanted to be a Marine since he was a little boy. Michael Williams joined the Corps late in life. At 31, he was just a Lance Corporal but older than most of the young officers he worked for. On his trip over to Iraq, he emailed his girlfriend and asked her to marry him. Thomas Blair was not a member of Charlie Company. He was part of an anti-aircraft unit that had been assigned to Charlie Company. He too, went directly into the Marine Corps after high school graduation.

Twenty-nine lives ended too soon on that clear Sunday in March. Twenty-nine families grieve to this day. These soldiers and Marines died before there was a daily box score in the newspapers of America. They have been buried under thousands more stories. Donald Cline and Michael Williams died because they chose to help their wounded comrades.

Many more soldiers and Marines would have died that day had it not been for the Herculean efforts of men like, Private First Class Patrick Miller, Sergeant Michael Bitz, Gunnery Sergeant Jason Doran, Lieutenant Mike Seely, Captain Eric Garcia, and Major Bill Peeples. These men are true American heroes.

           Read about these brave young men and women in the only book to tell the entire story of America’s first major battle in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Marines in the Garden of Eden, Berkley, New York, 2006, is available at all fine bookstores and online booksellers. It is available in Trade Paperback and in many eBook formats.

We lost 84 brothers and the USS Herring to the sea on the first of June 1, 1944. According to Japanese records, these brave men and their submarine went down fighting, all perishing at sea[1].

Herring was a young submarine. She was under construction when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After the attack, Herring was rushed to completion – launched on January 15, 1942 and then commissioned in May. The brand new submarine participated in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, where she sank the 5,700 ton cargo ship – Ville du Harve. For the next year, she made a total of five war patrols in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, returning to New London on July 26, 1943.[2]

Two weeks later, Herring sailed for Pearl Harbor. After her transit and a stint of rigorous crew training, she sailed again on November 15th for her sixth war patrol. This time, Herring’s fury would be unleashed on the Imperial Japanese Navy. Herring sank two cargo ships on that patrol; the nearly four thousand ton Hakozaki Maru on December 14^th and the sixty-one hundred ton Nagoya Maru on New Year’s Day of 1944[3].

Lieutenant Commander David Zabriskie, Jr. assumed command of Herring after her sixth patrol. Zabriskie, a Naval Academy football star, was an experienced submarine officer. He had six war patrols under his belt, on which he had participated in the sinking or damaging of seventeen enemy vessels[4]. His courage and skills on those patrols earned him a Silver Star and command of his own boat. David Zabriski, Jr, was a rising star in the US submarine service. Zabriskie, Herring and a seasoned crew set sail for the boat’s seventh patrol and on March 24, 1944, she almost sank a Japanese carrier. The carrier’s escorts detected Herring as she moved in for the kill and drove her deep before she could get a firing solution. Herring escaped the attack and returned to port to prepare for its eighth and final patrol.

Under Zabriskie’s aggressive leadership, Herring’s last patrol would prove to be her most successful. Herring motored out of the harbor at Midway Island for the last time on May 16^th, 1944. She rendezvoused with USS Barb (SS-220) on May 30th and the two captains coordinated their upcoming combined operations. That night, Zabriskie and his crew encountered three Japanese cargo ships, accompanied by the Japanese destroyer escort Ishigaki. Herring attacked Ishigaki first, sinking the convoy’s only protection. Then Zabriskie turned on the Hokuyo Maru, sinking her too[5]. The other two ships bolted, but were hunted down and sunk by Barb.

Zabriskie then headed for the Japanese anchorage at Matsuwa Island. He moved in close to shore and sank two Japanese cargo ships at anchor in the shallow waters near the island on the morning of June first[6]. During the bold attack, a Japanese shore battery opened fire and Herring took two direct hits to her conning tower, mortally damaging the ship[7]. She led a short life – loved by her crew – so much so that they all battled the sea with her to the end.

These men gathered with their friends and neighbors to stand on the Lexington Green in the chill of a New England Spring morning to defend their homes and families from an increasingly more tyrannical British occupation. Warned earlier by Paul Revere and other riders, the militia assembled on April 19^th, 1775,  in the center of their town to stand and say ‘No more,’ to British rule. No one knows who fired the first shot, but one of the American Militia fell to “the shot heard round the world.” That morning, eight brave men were the first to fall – defending our beloved country.

John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Caleb Harrington, Jonathon Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, Jonas Parker, and Asahel Porter should be forever remembered as the American patriots who were first to stand on the front line, defending the American dream. These men changed the course of history. Yet, their plaque is hidden away, near Section 1, never visited by tourists, never mentioned on the Cemetery tour and forgotten by history.

This Memorial Day, take a moment to tell your children about the brave men who stood shoulder-to-shoulder to defend their homes and ended up stoking the fire that forged a new nation. We all owe a debt of gratitude to these men for their ultimate sacrifice.

Visit www.RichardSLowry.com to learn more about Richard and his writing.

As I conducted my research to tell these amazing stories, I have uncovered details that have not been presented to the American people. I have painstakingly studied the story of Jessica Lynch, Rafael Peralta and the battles of Nasiriyah and Fallujah. I have amassed and read thousands of pages of documentation. I have become an expert on the war in Iraq and I have tried to tell the stories of American men and women who did not pick this fight, but fought it anyway. March 23 will mark the ninth anniversary of the first major battle of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the bloodiest single day for America in that long war. Twenty nine Americans were killed in the battle of An Nasiriyah. Here is the beginning of their story.

On March 22, 2003, American Soldiers and Marines were charging across the Iraqi desert, on their way to Saddam’s center of power – Baghdad. The Marines of Task Force Tarawa had been ordered to drive toward the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. There were several bridges in, and around, the dusty city that provided the only viable Euphrates River crossing point. Two critical bridges crossed the river and a third forded the Saddam Canal, north of Nasiriyah.

1^st Battalion, 2d Marines were ordered to secure the eastern Euphrates River Bridge and to then push through the city to secure the northern bridge which spanned the Saddam Canal. Movement across the Iraqi desert was slow-going and Task Force Tarawa arrived at Jalibah late on March 22, 2003.

Around midnight on 22/23 March, the Marines of 1^st Battalion, 2d Marines were awakened and ordered into their vehicles. They waited there for about an hour and then they moved north toward the intersection of Highway 7 and Highway 1. The Marines moved through the cloverleaf intersection and were headed north on Highway 7 toward Nasiriyah when a small column of Army supply trucks, headlights blazing, raced up the road behind the Marines.

Lieutenant Colonel Rickey Grabowski, believing these to be support vehicles for the Army armored unit he was supposed to relieve, ordered his vehicles off the road to let the soldiers pass. But, this was not a 3d Infantry Division logistics unit. It was Captain Troy King and half of his 507^th Maintenance Company. King’s company had become separated in the Kuwaiti desert when several of his vehicles broke down. Captain King was racing forward with 32 of his soldiers in 16 vehicles. They sped past the Marines and headed directly into Nasiriyah.

By 0600, Captain King had led his convoy up a deserted winding highway, across a railroad overpass and past a yellow sign displaying “WELCOME” in large black block letters below what was obviously the same message in Arabic. He led his convoy past a company of dug-in Iraqi tanks, and then through an area filled with giant oil storage tanks.  Dozens of large power lines crisscrossed the road and cluttered the sky. King continued forward into the southern portion of An Nasiriyah. He passed a garbage dump and then a gas station. He drove right through a modern intersection equipped with freeway-style traffic signs, stop lights and a small guard shack built to provide shade for a traffic cop. This major intersection was adorned with a statue commemorating the Iran/Iraq War.

At this intersection, Highway 8 went off to the west, through the southern portion of An Nasiriyah. Captain King missed the large signs, missed the traffic lights, missed the statue, and the left turn onto Highway 8. Instead of heading west toward the Third Infantry Division, he led his soldiers straight into Nasiriyah on Highway 7.

He continued past a manned Iraqi Army checkpoint, and then over the Euphrates River Bridge. Iraqi pickup trucks, loaded with armed Iraqis and machine guns mounted in their beds, began shadowing the American convoy.  Captain King pressed on, obviously incapable of reading a map. He proceeded north across the Saddam Canal Bridge and through more Iraqi defenses. By now, he should have been 100% sure that he was lost. Yet King drove right past the 23rd Brigade’s abandoned headquarters building and turned left on Highway 16. Less than a mile down Highway 16, King approached another “T” intersection with Highway 7. He led the doomed convoy past the Al Quds’ Headquarters and north for more than a mile before he finally realized that he was hopelessly lost.

Finally, King decided to retrace his steps back through Nasiriyah to find the correct route. Just as they were turning to head back down Highway 16, they began to receive sporadic small arms fire. Bullets whizzed overhead and hit the vehicles. The shots seemed to be coming from everywhere. The convoy immediately sped up to get away from the hot fire zone.

Leading the convoy in his HMMWV, King sped forward at such a rate that the larger vehicles were unable to keep up. As the convoy raced forward, ever increasing distances separated the beleaguered vehicles. King drove past the right-hand turn that would take his convoy back down Ambush Alley. In his panic, he continued east on Highway 16.

Not far behind, Sergeant First Class Anthony Pierce and Specialist Timothy Johnson noticed that Captain King had missed the turn. Lacking a working radio, they accelerated their 5-ton truck to catch up with Captain King to tell him that they knew the way back to the turn. Meanwhile, First Sergeant Robert Dowdy approached the Highway 7 intersection at the tail of the fleeing convoy. Dowdy radioed ahead to tell Captain King that the convoy had missed the turn. They all needed to turn around – again.

Still under fire, the convoy continued east on Highway 16, frantically searching for a spot to turn the larger vehicles around. They continued to roll east, farther and farther from Highway 7. There was no decent place to turn around. They pushed east for three kilometers before finally coming upon a suitable spot to turn all of the vehicles. In his small vehicle, King quickly turned around and sped back west.

When the soldiers in the convoy, still under fire, reached the intersection where they needed to turn south, they all turned to retrace their path back through Nasiriyah. Captain King bolted south across the Canal Bridge and through the city, leaving his soldiers in the slower vehicles to fend for themselves. Lori Piestewa, First Sergeant Dowdy, Private First Class Jessica Lynch, Sergeant George Buggs, and Private First Class Edward Anguiano stayed behind with the slowest vehicles.

The faster group of vehicles, led by Captain King and his driver, Private Dale Nace, sped through the city under increasing fire. Pierce and Johnson followed King south as they raced their 5-ton tractor-trailer back through the city.  Sergeant Joel Petrik and Specialist Nicholas Peterson managed to keep their tractor-trailer going fast enough to keep up with Captain King’s Humvee. The three vehicles rushed south through “Ambush Alley” as the Iraqis attempted to block their passage with vehicles and debris. Swerving and dodging the obstacles, they pressed forward over the Euphrates River Bridge.

As they drove south, Petrik noticed a dump truck in the road ahead. The Iraqis had driven the truck onto the road to use as a barricade. An Iraqi officer was standing in the road, waiving for Nace and Captain King to stop. Nace accelerated and the Iraqi dove for cover behind the barricade. Pierce and Johnson swerved around the dump truck and followed King south. By the time Petrik and Peterson had reached the roadblock, the Iraqi Officer was back on his feet in the middle of the road with pistol drawn and he was firing at the approaching eighteen-wheeler.

Petrik and Peterson returned fire with their M-16s and the Iraqi jumped to safety again. Petrik swerved around the right side of the dump truck and momentarily off the road. Now there was an Iraqi Technical directly ahead of them. Petrik jerked the wheel back to the left and his large truck jumped back up onto the road. The gunner in the Technical sprayed the passing truck with machine gun fire as Petrik raced past.

Once past the roadblock, there was a short pause in the shooting. Petrik’s rear view mirror had been shot out so he asked Peterson, “How many vehicles are in back of us?” [1]

“None,” Peterson replied.

“None?” Petrik couldn’t believe it. “Look again!”

Peterson checked again. There were no vehicles in sight. Petrik was flabbergasted. Where had all the other vehicles gone? Petrik considered stopping and waiting for the rest of the Company, but the enemy fire picked up again and then he saw four Iraqi tanks. There were two tanks on either side of the road.

Meanwhile, Grabowski’s tanks were approaching the city from the south. As Captain Scott Dyer’s tank approached two farm houses, Major Donald “Hawk” Hawkins looked to the house on the left side of the road and saw a man in a white robe (man-dress) literally picking up children and throwing them into the over loaded rear bed of his small pickup truck. “That’s not a good sign,” Hawk thought, just as small arms fire erupted and mortar rounds exploded nearby.

The lead tanks quickly turned and charged the farm houses. Dyer stopped his tank about 40 yards from the house on the west side of the road. Hawk and Dyer could hear the small arms fire but could not determine where it was coming from.  Suspecting that they were being shot at from the house, Captain Dyer directed Hawk to fire his machine gun into the building and a vegetated area to the north. The tankers violent response drove the enemy fighters from their cover and both farm houses were quickly secured.

As the tankers were fighting at the farm houses, King’s three lead vehicles sped south through a hail of gunfire, past the Iraqi tanks and over the railroad bridge. At the crest of the bridge, Petrik noticed more tanks in the distance. They were American M1 tanks. Petrik thought, “Please don’t let the Abrams shoot, because they don’t miss.”

King, Nace, Johnson, Pierce, Petrik and Peterson raced south toward the Marines on Highway 7. Just as the tanks were pulling back up onto the road, Peeples’ tankers saw the vehicle racing south, pulling a flaming trailer toward the Marines. Despite the adrenalin rush of “first contact” the reserve tankers had the discipline and maturity to wait to fire until they could make a visual ID. To their surprise, it was Captain King’s HMMWV. Everyone held their fire. Around 0730, King’s Humvee, a small truck and a semi barreled south past Peeples’ lead tanks, and screeched to a stop.

Sitting atop his M1 tank, Major Peeples watched the beleaguered vehicles approach. Captain King jumped out, pistol drawn, and took cover behind the passenger side door.

Major Peeples climbed down from his tank and briskly walked over to King. “What in the Hell is going on?”[2]

“I got more people up there!” King replied, motioning north. King was almost hysterical.

“What is the situation up there?” Peeples tried to get a picture of what he was up against. “Where were you receiving fire?”

King was frazzled. He couldn’t provide any useful information.

Peeples tried once again. “How many soldiers are left up there?”

“I, I just need, I need you to go get some people. I got people up there.” King babbled.

“Okay, Fine!” Peeples left King standing in the road and returned to his tank. Major Peeples got on the radio and reported his bizarre find to Grabowski – then ordered a section of his tanks forward. When Hawk saw the tanks moving north he told Captain Scott Dyer, “I have to be with the lead trace.[3]” So Captain Dyer ordered his tank forward too. Dyer’s driver gunned the engine, and followed Peeples north. As they rolled forward, Hawk, unable to contact the Air Officer, started calling out on the guard frequency[4] for Cobra support.

Captains Matt Schenberger, Brian Bruggeman, and Lieutenants Travis Richie and John Parker had parked their two HML/A 269 Cobra helicopters for the night near Jalibah at a nearby makeshift airfield and had slept on the desert floor next to their refueling trucks. On the morning of March 23, 2003, they climbed into their birds, cranked their engines and lifted into the morning sky. As soon as they were airborne, they were alerted to Hawk’s call. They turned north and raced toward An Nasiriyah to help their fellow North Carolina Marines.

Hawk told the pilots to start searching for more of the 507th soldiers with their high powered optics. As Team Tank charged forward to rescue King’s soldiers, other Marines escorted King south to the relative safety of Grabowski’s Battalion Command Post. The bounding maneuver that Hawk had demonstrated, practiced and was admonished for while at Camp Shoup, was now seamlessly being put into practice by the Air-Ground team of Cobras and tanks.

Separated from Captain King and the lead vehicles, Army Specialist Jun Zhang and Sergeant Curtis Campbell led the second group of helpless vehicles in another 5-ton tractor-trailer. Private First Class Marcus Dubois and Corporal Damien Luten followed in a second truck. CW3[5] Marc Nash and Staff Sergeant Tarik Jackson were towing a trailer with their HMMWV and Private First Class Adam Elliot and Sergeant James Grubb followed in their empty fuel truck. Finally, Sergeant Rose and Corporal Francis Carista rounded out the second group in their 5-ton tractor-trailer.

These ten soldiers raced south in their five vehicles. Zhang, Dubois, Jackson, Elliot, and Rose swerved around obstacles and drove over the Euphrates River Bridge. They raced south past the intersection with Highway 8, past the dug-in tanks, and up onto the railway bridge, only to find a terrifying sight.

The Iraqis had blocked the southern end of the bridge by pushing two dilapidated buses across the road. Iraqi fighters peppered Zhang and Campbell’s vehicles with small arms and RPG fire. Campbell recalled, “I have never been so scared in my life.”[6] While rolling down the bridge, their vehicle was hit repeatedly by RPGs and small arms fire. The vehicle rolled forward from momentum only. Mortally wounded, the engine had ceased to work. Somehow Zhang managed to maneuver the truck around the roadblock of buses but their tractor-trailer soon rolled to a terrifying stop.

Zhang and Campbell immediately jumped from their disabled vehicle. Zhang jumped onto Dubois and Luten’s truck as it passed but Campbell, who had been riding “shotgun,” was now left alone with the disabled truck. He tried to return fire and was shot in the thigh.

Nash and Jackson screeched to a stop and picked up Campbell. The HMMWV kicked up dust and stones as it accelerated to continue south. But the three didn’t get very far before their Hummer was hit and disabled. Dubois, Luten, and Zhang raced south and soon they noticed vehicles on the highway ahead – lots of vehicles. They thought the vehicles on the southern horizon were more Iraqis so they quickly turned their truck around and returned to their stranded friends just south of the railroad bridge. Ten soldiers were now huddled in a trench along the side of the road. The small group formed a defensive perimeter. Rose dressed the others’ wounds as they waited for the Iraqis to overrun their position. Each of the ten soldiers had resigned himself to the fact that the situation was hopeless and that he would probably die soon. They all decided to hold on as long as they could. They agreed that they would go down fighting and not be captured. One said, “I am going to take fifteen or twenty of them with me.”[7]

Major Peeples’ tanks tried to advance by bounds up the road, but the narrow road was raised above a muddy delta and there was very little room for the tankers to maneuver around each other. On his second bound, Captain Jim Thompson radioed Peeples. “Hey, I see them,”[8] he reported. Thompson abandoned the bounding over watch and with the cover of the Cobras, raced forward toward the embattled soldiers of the 507th.

Running low on ammunition and with five wounded, the ten stranded soldiers had been lying in the trench for nearly an hour, waiting for the Iraqis to close in on their position. Suddenly, Staff Sergeant Tarik Jackson, the most seriously wounded, cocked his head, “Listen!” he exclaimed. “Do you hear that? It sounds like our tanks!”[9]

Someone peeked up out of the trench and saw Captain Thompson’s tanks approaching. Thompson’s tankers began picking targets and methodically destroying the enemy with main gun rounds while Hawk’s Cobras swooped in and attacked the enemy from above.

After spending forty-five minutes of sheer hell, believing that they were going to die that day, the sound of M1 tanks and Cobra helicopters immediately rallied the despondent soldiers. They would survive. The Marines had saved the day. Peeples’ tanks rolled up and straddled the trench at the “Garbage Dump,” just south of the railroad overpass.

Cobras and Hueys swooped in and braved anti-aircraft fire to protect the soldiers on the ground. The pilots reported large numbers of fighters moving toward the trapped soldiers.  They flew in low and fast, engaging enemy troops and weapons systems.  Every now and then, anti-aircraft artillery fire would climb up after them.

At one point, there was so much air coming in that Hawk couldn’t keep all the call signs straight; many of which were similar sounding names. Because they were ‘troops in contact,’ all priority for air had shifted to Task Force Tarawa. At one point there were two sections of Marine F18s, one section of Navy F14s and a British Tornado that checked on station in addition to the division of Cobras.  Do to his unfamiliarity with the capabilities of the British Tornados, and less than ideal experiences with F14s providing close air support, Hawk elected to stick with using Marine Corps Air whenever it was available.[10]

Working as a combined arms team, Peeples’ tankers, the aircraft overhead and the artillery were able to destroy several platoon-sized enemy formations, two ZSU 23-4[11] antiaircraft weapons, several mortar and artillery positions, as well as two T-55 tanks spotted moving toward the ambushed soldiers.

As soon as Dyer had seen Campbell and his comrades huddled in the ditch, he called for a cas-evac. Alpha Company sent two AAVs with Gunnery Sergeant Justin LeHew and First Sergeant James Thompson’s Casualty Collection Team forward to assist the wounded soldiers. The Iraqis were still firing as Thompson rolled up in his AMTRAC, A312.[12] Peeples’ tankers continued to lay down covering fire as First Sergeant Thompson, Gunny LeHew and their corpsmen ran to the aid of the wounded soldiers.

As they loaded the casualties on to their track, Thompson noticed some commotion near the soldiers who were not wounded. Chief Warrant Officer Marc Nash was refusing to get into the AMTRAC.

“I can’t leave my men behind, First Sergeant,”[13] he protested to Thompson. “I got men all over the place. They ambushed us bad.”

Thompson tried to calm Nash. “Hey Sir, the Marines have landed. You gotta leave them. You can’t stay here.” Thompson didn’t wait for a response: he just dragged Nash into the track. “We will do everything we can to find them.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eleven Soldiers of the 507^th Maintenance Company died in that ambush and eighteen Marines were killed later that day as they moved to secure the bridges. Let us never forget the dedication and sacrifices of these men and women. Please take a moment to remember these Soldiers and Sailors. They will not be completely gone until they are forgotten:

Specialists Jamaal Addison, Specialist Edward Anguiano, Sergeant George Buggs, First Sergeant Robert Dowdy, Private Ruben Estrella-Soto, Private First Class Howard Johnson II, Specialist James Kiehl, Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Mata, Private First Class Lori Piestewa, Private Brandon Sloan and the real hero of the 507^th Maintenance Company, Sergeant Donald Walters.

Later that same day, eighteen Marines died in Charlie Company’s battle for the northern bridge. Donald Cline was a twenty-one year old husband and father of two young boys. Patrick Nixon loved history and wanted to eventually be a teacher. Phillip Jordan was a career Marine and loving husband and father. Fred Pokorney was a giant of a man who had just been promoted to 1st Lieutenant.  Sergeant Michael Bitz was the father of two young boys and one-month old twins. David Fribley and Brian Buesing were both Florida natives. Fribley joind the Corps after 9/11 and Buesing had been in the Marines since he graduated from high school. Brendon Reiss was the son of a decorated Vietnam Veteran and Randal Rosacker was the son of a Navy Master Chief submarine sailor. Jose Garibay and Jorge Gonzalez were both from Southern California. Thomas Slocum was a 22 year old from Colorado and Nolen Hutchings was from South Carolina. They were both troubled teens who had worked to turn their lives around in the Corps.

Tamario Burkett was a young Marine from upstate New York. Kemaphoom Chanawongse was born in Thailand and came to the United States at nine years old. He was the first to have a Buddhist funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. Johnathan Gifford wanted to be a Marine since he was a little boy. Michael Williams joined the Corps late in life. At 31, he was just a Lance Corporal but older than most of the young officers he worked for. On his trip over to Iraq, he emailed his girlfriend and asked her to marry him. Thomas Blair was not a member of Charlie Company. He was part of an anti-aircraft unit that had been assigned to Charlie Company. He too, went directly into the Marine Corps after high school graduation.

Please hold these men and women in your thoughts today and read Marines in the Garden of Eden to learn the story of each and every one of these American heroes.

I am an ordinary American citizen and I am at the end of my rope too. I have been a longtime supporter of the war on terror and I am appalled at your lack of support for the men and women that have sacrificed so much to put your sorry ass in power.

Few, here in America, realize that your family has benefited financially from America’s support of your government. How many millions of American dollars have you personally placed in your pocket in the last ten years? And, how many tons of heroin have you personally smuggled out of your country and into the US?

Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, I am all for pulling all our Soldiers and Marines back into our bases. If I were in charge, I would take it one step farther. I would start bringing all of our troops home – today. I would also stop all American payments to your corrupt cronies. There should not be another drop of American blood spilled nor another penny spent on a country as corrupt, immoral and ungrateful as yours.

Have fun in your talks with the Taliban and ISI after we leave.

Peace out.

Richard S. Lowry

Sgt Oscar Canon

An active-duty Marine major who is currently serving in Afghanistan just sent me this message. It speaks for itself:

Where is the outrage with our media and with the consumers of that media? Where are the priorities of our countrymen? A hero dies and receives not one ounce of media coverage. A drug addict dies, and flags are lowered to half-mast while receiving untold amounts of media attention. Maybe this is the way it is supposed to be.

On Valentine’s Day, former Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Oscar Canon, a Marine that I had the honor of serving with in 2004 when I commanded Company K, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, succumbed to a staff infection. That staff infection appears to have been directly tied to the 87 surgeries on his leg that stem from injuries he sustained on September 23, 2004.

I first met then Corporal (Cpl) Canon immediately after taking command of Company K in June 2004. He was impressive, competent, hard working, and eager. He absolutely loved his wife Jennie and talked about her all the time. During the initial invasion of Iraq he was referred to as “Contact Canon” because he was continuously engaged with the enemy. When we first met he was the mortar section leader in our company and had a competently trained section–not bad for an organization that is supposed to be led by a much more senior Marine wearing the rank of Staff Sergeant. During our final work ups prior to deployment a Sergeant reported in to take charge of the section, so Cpl Canon stepped down and filled the role of Gunner/Mortar Squad Leader. On Sep 23, 2004, on our last day of relief in place w/ Company E, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, driving down the same road that E 2/1 had driven down countless times, less than 500 meters and in plain view of the observation post along Main Supply Route Mobile where Cpl Canon was to stand duty, the 7-ton in which Cpl Canon was riding struck an improvised explosive device (IED), wounding Cpl Canon and others. The IED initiated a complex ambush. Many Marines fought with valor to break the enemy’s will and save Cpl Canon.

Cpl Canon was medevac’d back to the States. He and his wife divorced and he underwent 87 surgeries on his wounded leg in an attempt to recover to normalcy. I know at one point he ran Marine Corps Marathon with a senior officer while he was still in uniform. I just learned that Canon donated his kidneys and his liver to 3 people and will be buried in Arlington in a few weeks.

Attached is a link to an NPR article written about Canon in 2005, when he had a mere 33 surgeries under his belt.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4867889

Through it all one must wonder why Canon and others like him receive no attention and why the consumers of media care about drug addicts instead of heroes that gave all defending their country. Where is the outrage?

SF
Drew

Richard S. Lowry has been writing about the Marine Corps for many years. To learn more about his writing and how to purchase his latest book, visit www.richardslowry.com.

This is the first flag carried into battle by the United States Marine Corps

I will never forget the clear sunny morning of September 11^th, 2001 and, I will never forget the cowardly attack that was perpetrated on America that day. 9/11 changed our lives forever. Americans lost their innocence on that day. I remember telling my sons that America would never be the same.

Nearly three thousand innocent Americans were killed in the 9/11 terror attacks and each family lost a mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter. None deserved their violent end in the terror of flames and crumbling concrete. We must never forget those we lost that day, including the hundreds of police, EMTs and firefighters who charged into Harm’s way to help others.

Our lives were indelibly changed yet over the years; many Americans have lost sight of why we went to war. We went to war to hunt down and bring to justice the fanatic terrorist leaders who ordered the 9/11 attacks. The hunt focused on Osama bin Laden and his reviled al Qaeda network.

In the process, America went after the radical fundamentalist government of Afghanistan who harbored bin Laden and his group, al Qaeda. The Taliban were quickly deposed and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who had gone to Afghanistan to fight and kill Americans, was wounded while serving as one of bin Laden’s lieutenants.

Zarqawi managed to escape the American onslaught and ended up in a hospital in Baghdad, where he was nursed back to health. Once Abu Musab al-Zarqawi recovered, he slipped out of sight. I have been told by a former Army intelligence officer that he was then ordered by Osama to find a new location for al-Qaeda to train and plan. Bin Laden needed a new base of operations after the Americans had driven his followers out of Tarnak Farms in Afghanistan.

Zargawi found an ideal location on a small finger of land in the mountains of Northern Iraq. He founded his own terrorist organization, Ansar al-Islam, and built the largest terrorist training camp in the world. The facility was up and running in 2002 and it is believed that al-Qaeda was training its people in the newly established camp long before the 2003 invasion.

Everyone remembers the American invasion into Iraq from the south, but few know of the Special Forces Operation – Viking Hammer – in which Kurds and Americans attacked and cleared Zarqawi’s training facility, in March of 2003. Unfortunately, Zarqawi slipped away again. Few know that the American military chased al-Qaeda into Iraq. American forces then spent many years hunting down and eliminating al-Qaeda leaders throughout the country.

Unfortunately, most remember the Abu Ghraib scandal in which a handful of demented American soldiers abused some Iraqi prisoners. Most don’t remember that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi savagely beheaded Nick Berg in his next stronghold inside Fallujah.

Never forget, that we were attacked and never forget that we have been working all these years to bring 9/11’s perpetrators to justice. Fly your flag today, just like you did ten years ago. Show the world, friends and enemies alike, that we will never forget.

Bryan and Braydon Nichols

Last weekend, on August 6^th, 2011, our nation lost thirty of its finest Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors in the single largest loss of life for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Thirty fathers, sons, husbands and brothers lost their lives in a horrific Special Operations helicopter crash in Afghanistan’s Tanji Valley. Eight brave Afghan soldiers were also killed in the crash.

It is believed that the helicopter was downed by a rocket-propelled grenade, fired by a Taliban insurgent while it was transporting elite Navy SEALs to the scene of an on-going fire fight. US Army Rangers had been searching for a Taliban leader when they came under fire and a gun battle ensued. The Rangers called for reinforcements and the CH-47 helicopter was shot down while bringing the SEALs in to thefight.

All week, we have heard story after story focusing on America’s most elite Special Operators – the Navy SEALs. But, a ten year old boy, Braydon Nichols, wanted to know why his father’s photo was not included with those we had been seeing all last week. His father was the pilot of the Chinook helicopter. His father was his hero. His father was a member of another elite American unit. His father was a member of the U.S. Army’s 158th Aviation Regiment – a unit which ferried Rangers and SEALs in and out of Harm’s way.

Of the 30 Americans lost, 17 were Navy SEALs and 15 of the 17 belonged to the top-secret unit that conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Five were men with particular specialties who regularly worked with the SEALs. The other eight included three Air Force forward air controllers and five Army helicopter crew members, including the pilot of the aircraft, Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols.

Bryan always wanted to be a solider. He enlisted in the military before he had graduated from high school and worked his way up through the ranks until he eventually had the opportunity to pilot the same type of helicopter his father flew in Vietnam – a Chinook.

Bryan’s son, Braydon, also dreamed of flying alongside his father one day. Let us honor this boy’s remembrance and never forget Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, United States Army – an American hero. And never forget the other twenty-nine brave Americans lost in that crash.

Thank you for your service to our nation –

Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.

Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.,

Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.,

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers, 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W.Va.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Mich.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.

Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah

Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.

Cryptologist Technician (Collection) Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minn.

Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo.  He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Aurora, Colo.

Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan.  He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.

Sergeant Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb.  He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand Island, Neb.

Sergeant Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash.  He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.

Specialist Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan.  He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.

Technical Sergeant John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla.

Staff Sergeant Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif.

and

Technical Sergeant Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pa.

Braydon Nichols posted a photo of his father online, saying; “please don’t forget about my Dad.” Please reach out to the children of these men to let them know how much we all appreciate their dedication to our nation. Please let them know we will never forget their Dads.

Turk was born Marion Turner on April 22, 1918 in Moultrie, Georgia and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1939. He became an Electrician’s Mate and immediately volunteered for the submarine service. He served aboard USS Sealion and USS Perch.

While serving aboard Perch, the boat was attacked by Japanese destroyers on March 1, 1942. The Captain quickly submerged the boat, as the enemy quickly closed in on the American submarine. The relentless depth charge attack drove the boat down to 135 feet. Turk and his friends worked through the night patching leaks and they were finally able to resurface early the next morning to get fresh air and recharge their batteries.

The enemy ships spotted Perch when she surfaced and attacked – again. This time the depth charges exploded dangerously close, rupturing one of Perch’s ballast tanks, belching oil and bubbles toward the surface. Perch waited in silence until it was safe to surface again. They patched up all they could but the damage was too severe to allow Perch to submerge again. Unable to submerge, the boat’s captain, Lieutenant Commander David A. Hurt ordered the ship to be abandoned and the submarine scuttled.

Years later, Turner recalled: “… as we were given the order to ‘abandon the boat’ when Perch was going down, our captain was the last man off the conning tower. We were in the water for awhile before the Japanese came by to rescue our crew. We did not know if they were going to shoot us or abandon us to the sea. Hurt was having difficulty treading water as the Japanese ship was rescuing the crew using a rickety ladder.”

The captain told Turner that he “wasn’t going to make it,” and said, “Just leave me Turk, I no longer have the strength to go on, save yourself … leave me.”

“I wasn’t going to listen to that,” Turner remembered, “so I dove down and came up right under him, and I pushed him right up the ladder with him still protesting,”

The entire crew survived that day, but six died later in Japanese POW camps as they all endured cruel beatings, starvation and tropical diseases for three and a half years. Fellow POWs remember Turk for his indomitable spirit. Daily, he would tell his friends, ‘We will be saved tomorrow.’ Turk, his friends and the captain were not rescued until the end of the war. After more than three years of captivity, they returned home to the United States October 17, 1945.

Turk Turner remained in the Navy until he retired on December 1, 1959. He settled in Virginia Beach and because of his POW experience with survivors of the Bataan Death March, became a friend of USS Bataan. Turner made many visits to events sponsored by Bataan until his death on February 28, 2011.

Over sixty years after receiving his injuries while in captivity, Turner was presented the Purple Heart Medal, January 2, 2011 during a ceremony held at King’s Grant Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.

“Turk showed us all courage and humility during and after facing the enormous struggle of a POW,” said Captain Stephen T. Koehler, who as the commanding officer of USS Bataan, pinned the medals on Turner. “He gave us perspective when we thought we were having a bad day. It only takes a thought of him with his struggle over 60 years ago, and the way he handled it with a positive attitude to shed light on our current day-to-day problems.

“He became a friend and inspiration to both me and the crew of Bataan with this positive attitude and his zest for life,” Koehler continued. “He spent a lot of his time with my young Sailors telling stories and relating his time in submarines and as a POW, for which I am grateful. He was truly a great influence on Bataan Sailors in our quest to keep Bataan’s heritage part of our ship.”

Ted Davis, a retired U.S. Navy captain and former commanding officer of the USS Grenadier SS 525, echoed Plantz’s praise.

“There is nothing Turk wouldn’t do or has not already done for his country, his service, his friends, and his family,” said Davis, a long-time friend and member of the Hampton Roads Chapter of the U.S. Submarine Veterans, Inc. “Turk showed us the way a hero walks, softy with love in his heart. He may have spent many tours in Hell, but he served God and country for life.”

This morning, after a short speech and prayer, Turk’s remains were passed to Captain Stephen Koehler, who reverentially placed the ashes under an American flag. Then, Turk was committed to the deep to the sharp shrill whistle of a Boatswain’s Pipe and a final hand salute.

Farewell my brother, may you rest in peace.

Richard S. Lowry is currently embedded with the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, on-station in the Mediterranean Sea with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, aboard USS Bataan LHD 5. Richard is a contemporary military historian, award-winning author and former submarine sailor. He is a member of USSVI’s Central Florida Base and served aboard the USS Ulysses S. Grant SSBN 631 from 1968 to 1975. During that time, he made eight deterrent patrols. Read more about Richard and his work at www.richardslowry.com.