Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

The greatest is love
The greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

I hear people saying we don't need this war
But I say there's some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground
We didn't get to keep 'em by backin down
They say that we don't realize the mess we're gettin in
Before you start your preachin let me ask you this my friend

Have You Forgotten
How it felt that day

To see your homeland under fire and her people blown away

Have you forgotten
When those towers fell, we had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry about Bin Laden
Have you forgotten

They took all the footage off my TV
Said it's too disturbing for you and me
It'll just breed anger, that’s what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it everyday
Some say this country's just out lookin for a fight
But after 9/11 man I'd have to say that’s right

Have You Forgotten
How it felt that day

To see your homeland under fire and her people blown away

Have you forgotten
When those towers fell, we had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And we vowed to get the ones behind bin Laden
Have you forgotten

I've been there with the soldiers
Who've gone away to war
And you can bet that they remember, just what they're fighting for

Have you forgotten
All the people killed
Yeah, some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten
About our Pentagon
All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on
Don't you tell me not to worry about Bin Laden
Have you forgotten

It's been a rough day.

I'm a musician for the Army. I'm an Iraq war vet. I don't know how my day could have been good.

It was 9/11 when I started this blog project. No matter what thet time and date stamp is on this post ... or the few that precede it.

I would have done this earlier in the night, but I had to work. There was an Army Stryker unit ... you know, the guys that have been in the news, a lot, the last few months because the insurgents have figured out how to blow the crap out of our wheeled, armored vehicles (Strykers). They came home tonight. Their brigade (3,000-4,000 troops) lost 49 during their time in Iraq. I got home at, almost, 10 tonight, after playing for their welcome home.

---

We, the US of A, were given notice on September 11, 2001, that the radical elements of Islam were serious about the war that they had declared on us ... dating back to the Iranian hostage crisis or 1979.

It took the events of September 11, 2001 for us to take them seriously. 3,000 civilians, and 93 uniformed service people had to die, on OUR ground.

This is a religious war. The enemy has said that their aim is for us to convert, or die ... and they don't really care about our choice ... they, mostly, prefer die.

That is, specifically:
you, your spouse, your children,your family, your friends should die, now, because you have not converted, already; because, notice was served years ago.

Do you find that acceptable?
If you do, then why haven't you, already, converted to Islam?

So, anyway, here we are 6 years down the road from that awful day ...

I admire the people on Flight 93 that said "Let's roll."

They were heroes.

The mainstream press in the US has, mostly, ignored stories of heroism, on our side, in the war that 9/11 started.

Screw them.

I've been to Iraq. I am a member of my local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars(VFW). I'm not a "hero". I served, yes. I did my part, yes. I'm no hero, but I served with several ... to include CSM Faulkenberg, Command Sergeant Major of the 2-2 Infantry.

Some of those stories are below this post.

Read those stories, please.

I believe that the war we are fighting is just. I believe that it can be won.

More than that:
I believe it is a war that we have to fight.
I believe that we have to fight it to win.

My brain, my heart, my gut says that this is a war that we cannot to afford to lose, if we, as the "America" of the Declaration of Independence, or the preamble of the Constitution, want to continue to be who and what we are.

If you agree, then, please, follow the button link, at the end of these stories and sign the petition.

After three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army Staff Sgt. Michael A. Dickinson II of Battle Creek was preparing to leave the war.

"He told me he was on his last mission and he would be home," Dickinson's mother, Vicki Dickinson said Tuesday, a day after her son was killed by a sniper in Ramadi, Iraq. "But he's not supposed to come home like this."



Dickinson was with a Marine Corps patrol when the sniper killed him and wounded another soldier, his family was told. He was one of three American soldiers killed in separate attacks on Monday. The other two died in Baghdad.

A member of the 4th Psychological Operations Group from Fort Bragg, N.C., Dickinson was scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of the month. He was packing and training his replacement. He wanted to continue his studies to be a physician's assistant and work in a clinic in his wife's native home of Puerto Rico.

Now his mother and other members of his family in Battle Creek are preparing to travel to Fort Bragg to join Dickinson's wife, Glorygrace, their daughter, Abigail, 2, and his wife's four children for a memorial service Thursday. Local services are not yet scheduled.

A 1998 graduate of Harper Creek High School, Dickinson and his adopted brother, Darrell Morris, decided in the 11th grade they wanted to join the Army, following his late father and both grandfathers, who were in the military.

"He came from a long line of fighters," his mother said, "and he believed in his country. He left for the service one month after graduation."

Even as youngsters, the brothers awoke at 3 a.m. for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk so they would grow and be ready for the Army.

Dickinson had been working in the relatively safe area of Fallujah, his family said, but was concerned about some members of his unit in Ramadi and volunteered two or three months ago to transfer there.

Ramadi, which has more than 400,000 residents and is described as one of Iraq's most violent cities, has roadside bombings and gunbattles every day. U.S. patrols have been confined to small sections of the city, and tribal leaders who have cooperated with U.S. forces have been assassinated or forced to flee the country, according to the Associated Press.

"He was safe but he felt they needed him and he was going to be with them," his sister, Carmen, 27, said.

"He volunteered because he was confident he could bring those boys home," his mother said.

Michael Dickinson felt it was his job to make sure everyone returned from the mission and that was true even on the mission where he died, family members said.

"The Marines really respected Michael," his mother said. "The men cared about him and they said they will find the sniper who shot him. He died a hero."

Carmen Dickinson said she watched her brother mature while in the military even as she remembers wrestling with her brother when they were children growing up on Vale Street, where Vicki Dickinson still lives.

"I used to kick his butt," she said. "I would pulverize him and then I would run."

Later, she saw him developing principles.

When she snuck out of the house late at night, Michael informed their mother.

"He felt obligated to tell," she said, "because he was worried about me being on the streets and he felt what he was doing was right."

In school, Dickinson wasn't the best student.

"He was smart but he didn't like school," Carmen Dickinson said. "His life was social, he slid by."

"He believed in doing his homework," his mother said, "but not in turning it in."

Active in football and basketball and in the band, Dickinson is pictured in his high school yearbook wearing a football jersey, a gold chain and his signature smile.

Al Miller, principal of Harper Creek High School during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years, remembers Dickinson's grin.

"He was always friendly and outgoing," said Miller, who currently serves on Harper Creek's school board. "He had a positive attitude and always dealt with people in a mature and positive way. He was admired and respected by both staff and students."

In another yearbook photo, Dickinson is featured with fellow student Shannon Hill while participating in the school's annual holiday project, in which students donated their time, food, money, clothes and toys to help 25 Harper Creek families during the holidays.

Miller said Dickinson would come back to the school and visit after graduation. The two would engage in casual conversation.

Michael Nauss, assistant superintendent of Harper Creek Community Schools, said Tuesday he spoke with Vicki Dickinson and offered condolences on behalf of the Harper Creek educational community.

"As a district, we work to develop responsible citizens of a global society," Nauss said. "Michael's service to our country is an honorable example of what it truly means to be a responsible citizen."

It was in high school that Dickinson began spending time with his best friend, Jason Feasel.

"I considered him my brother," Feasel said Tuesday at his Springfield business. "I have known him since seventh grade but we started hanging out our freshman year. We did everything together. When you click with someone you just click with them. He was easy to get along with and he was a great guy.

"He would do anything for anyone just like he did for his country."

Feasel was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in July 2003 and, when Dickinson returned from Iraq that month, the first stop was Feasel's hospital room.

"It meant a lot to see him coming through he door," Feasel said.

"He had just bought a DVD player and he said, 'Hey man, you got a better use for this.' And I watched a ton of DVDs. He would give you the shirt off his back."

Feasel talked to Dickinson on Thursday. "He was telling me the place he was at was crazy and he was so happy to come back home. He was talking about his daughter and he had pictures to send me but he I didn't get those pictures."

Feasel also watched his friend mature and become a family man.

"I lost my best friend. It's a killer. But I am glad I got to be part of his life and I am glad he got to be part of mine."

Dickinson didn't tell his family much about the war or his job.

"We didn't understand how much danger he was in," Carmen Dickinson said. "He didn't talk about things over there."

"But he supported the military," Vicki Dickinson said. "What they asked of him was what he was going to do. It was his job and he was going to do his job."

She said people should remember her son as someone who was caring and "who took his responsibility in life seriously and wanted to do nothing but good."

"And what is more patriotic than giving your life for your country — willingly. He thought he was needed so he answered the call. I am very proud of my son."

FORWARD OPERATING BASE RIPLEY, Afghanistan, June 14, 2004 — To many of his fellow Marines in Company C, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, Sgt. Anthony Viggiani is the ideal Marine.

In the eyes of subordinates and seniors alike, the Strongsville, Ohio, native embodies those qualities that make Marines special: dedication, professionalism, strength, commitment, strong morals, and bravery. Now they have an additional quality to add to that list -- tough as nails.

During a recent firefight with anti-coalition militia in south-central Afghanistan, Viggiani's actions further elevated him in the eyes of the rest of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable).

When a pair of Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters spotted approximately 20 heavily-armed militia fighters fleeing into the hills during a cordon-and-knock operation in a nearby village, Co. C immediately pursued on foot. Leading his squad over a steep, rock-strewn mountain, Viggiani was at the head of the advance when they came under heavy enemy rifle fire.

"The rounds just started pouring in," he said later that day, "and we weren't really sure where they were coming from."

On the slope opposite the valley below him, approximately 100 meters away, Viggiani and his Marines watched as two other Marines, Cpl. Randy Wood and Lance Cpl. James Gould, were wounded by enemy rifle fire.

Aware that the fire was coming from the slope in front of him, Viggiani pressed forward cautiously when he and 1st Sgt. Ernest Hoopii came under concentrated fire themselves.

The 24-year-old Viggiani then found he was mere feet from the cave housing the enemy sniper still firing at Wood and Gould, who had since taken cover behind a too-small rock.

"I was able to look down a break in the rocks and saw a bit of cloth move, so I got off three or four shots and then dropped the [fragmentation grenade]," said Viggiani.

Combined with rifle and machine-gun fire from Wood and Gould's squad, the grenade explosion silenced the enemy position, which was later found to have housed three militia fighters.

Sometime during the fight, Viggiani was struck in the lower left leg by an enemy bullet, fired by fighters further up the valley. Seemingly unmindful of the wound, Viggiani continued to engage the enemy with rifle fire until the area was cleared and a total of four dead and one wounded enemy fighters were found.

Mere minutes after the fight, with typical Marine élan, Viggiani dismissed the wound that stained the front of his trouser leg a deep crimson.

"It stings a bit, but it's nothing," he said as he paused for a photograph in front of the cave he helped clear mere minutes after the fight.

Despite recommendations from his fellow Marines, Viggiani refused to leave his platoon and seek aid at the battalion landing team's mobile command post. With a small dressing and a few aspirin, Viggiani shouldered his rifle and trudged further into the rugged mountains in pursuit of Taliban and militia fighters.

By U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Keith A. Milks
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit

Jared Hubbard died along with his best friend, Jeremiah Baro, who joined with him, in an IED explosion in Iraq. Jared was survived by his brothers Jason and Nathan, Jason's wife Linnae Hubbard, his sister Heidi and his parents, Jeff (a retired Clovis, CA police officer) and Peggy Hubbard.

Jeff Hubbard, the boys' father, said after the Jared was killed, "I don't care about the politics. Jared is a hero, he fought for freedom, he fought for us."

Nathan, 21, and Jason, 31, joined the Army two years ago in response to their middle brother Jared, a Marine sharpshooter, being killed in Iraq.

They said they were, "going to finish the job Jared started." Together they enlisted, knowing they would be immediately deployed to Iraq.Nathan Hubbard, 21 (pictured right), was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq on Tuesday, August 21, 2007.

In the longest flight of his life, Jason will fly back, his hand on Nathan's coffin, from Iraq later this week.

These men are both patriots, they are heroes, they are the essence of the courage and honor that can be seen throughout our military men and women.

Thank you Nathan. Thank you Jared. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.

According to United States military policy, Leigh Ann Hester should not be in direct combat. The long debated issue of whether women should have a front line role in battle is often blurred in this assemetrical 360 degree battlefield that has become our nation’s newest World War.

Regardless of how one feels about a woman’s participation on the battlefield, Hester displayed fidelity and valor that trancends gender, and when that small aspect of this story is removed, she maintains a place in the hero roll call of Iraq. As with all other professional soldiers in the military, when given the austere conditions of battle, she was able to focus and hone her craft at the highest levels.

Outside Salman Pak, Iraq on March 20, 2005, as a member of the 617th Military Police Company, an Army National Guard unit out of Kentucky, Hester’s squad was pulling security for a supply convoy on a Main Supply Route when anti-Iraqi forces ambushed the column. SGT Hester’s squad leader, Staff Sergeant Timothy Nein, hastily enveloped possible enemy egress routes. When his squad flanked from the side of the road, insurgents were cut off from any possible escape. At that point, SGT Leigh Ann Hester brilliantly led her fire team through the “kill sac” and into a doctrinaly sound position to engage and destroy fleeing insurgents. When she personally led her team into a trench line, she tossed fragmentation grenades and fired 40 mm M203 high explosive rounds that quickly overwhelmed the enemy and allowed her fire team to achieve and maintain fire superiority. Hester and SSG Nein then cleared two other trenches, at that time she engaged and destroyed three insurgents with her M4 rifle.

When the smoke cleared, her unit was responsible for 27 dead insurgents, six wounded and one insurgent detainee. For these actions, SGT Hester became the first female soldier to receive the Silver Star (the third highest award for combat valor) since World War Two. SSG Nein was also awarded a Silver Star.

Hester, 23, is another glowing example of the quality of warrior this generation provides its nation throughout this Global War on Terror. Her actions that day in March 2005 were directly responsible for saving lives and represent the finest traditions of the United States military.

Whether women should be in the front lines of combat is a moot point when aggressed by this fantical Islamist enemy today in Iraq. When bullets and rockets are slamming into peers and subordinates, valor and selfless service are called upon. As long as this nation has defenders of freedom like SGT Leigh Ann Hester who can expertly excute their duties in such an overwhelming manner, we realize more fully all the contributions that are needed for victory in this fight against those who plot to destroy our American way of life.

You can read more about Sgt. Hester here.

Lance Cpl. Benjamin Gonzalez said he wants to start wearing shorts in public this summer, something he won’t do until he’s tattooed.

So what does he want to write on his leg?“Freedom isn’t free.” Perhaps even a picture of the Silver Star he was awarded March 25 during a ceremony in his hometown of El Paso, Texas.

“I don’t like to show off so much, but that’s something I would like people to see,” Gonzalez said.

This way, he said, he won’t have to explain his disfigured, scarred legs to anyone or worry about being mistaken for the victim of a simple motorcycle wreck when the truth is so much more extraordinary.

Gonzalez and the rest of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, had been moving through Fallujah, Iraq, the night before taking up a position on a bridge at the northern edge of the city the morning of June 18, 2004.

From the position he shared with three other Marines along the road, Gonzalez kept watch over pedestrians until around 9:30 a.m.

“I got off post and I was actually going to go to rest and check on all my gear, and that’s pretty much when it happened,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez remembers the sound of the insurgent releasing the spoon of the old, pineapple-style grenade and the “clink” the grenade made when it hit the ground in his fighting hole.

“Unhesitatingly and with total disregard for his own personal safety, Lance Corporal Gonzalez threw himself on his fellow Marine, shielding him from the blast,” according to his award citation. But that’s not exactly how Gonzalez describes it.

Gonzalez said he was actually about to jump away from the grenade when he saw his fire team leader “sitting there without a clue.” He said he didn’t exactly “throw himself” on his team leader.

“I can’t really remember much of those details, but I guess I hugged him,” Gonzalez said.

When the grenade detonated, the team leader was unharmed, but Gonzalez, who absorbed the blast, was riddled with shrapnel.

“I got burned. It broke both of my legs and broke and fractured other parts. It messed up my nerves really bad. I have permanent trauma. I can’t feel my feet or move my ankles. I have shrapnel in my stomach, too,” Gonzalez said.

“This must have been the crappiest grenade ever made because we were all really close. The detonation was one to two feet away from my legs. If it was one of ours, it would have taken us all out.”

Gonzalez was still conscious after the blast. A corpsman gave him general anesthetic, and he was medically evacuated.

“I was told I had gone through Germany for a day and a half, but I woke up in Bethesda and thought I was still in Iraq,” said Gonzalez, referring to the National Naval Medical Center north of Washington, D.C.

Gonzalez, who is on temporary retirement and can rejoin the Corps after he heals, has not regained full mobility or feeling in his feet and legs.

But he was able to stand in formation as his Silver Star was pinned to his suit jacket by Capt. William Zirkle, who, as a first lieutenant, was Gonzalez’s commanding officer at the time of the attack.

April 10, 2006
Marine caught in grenade blast gets Silver Star
By John Hoellwarth
Times staff writer

Sergeant First Class Juanita Wilson is already a patriot for what happened to her and her unit while serving in Iraq. What happened after is what makes SFC Wilson a remarkable inspiration. SPC Wilson, serving with the Army Reserve 411th Engineering Battalion based out of Hilo, Hawaii, was seriously wounded when her convoy was ambushed by a roadside bomb and rocket propelled grenade attacked in August of 2004. After losing her left arm in the attack, SFC Wilson repeatedly focused her concern and efforts on other injured members of her convoy and unit until help finally arrived.

That selfless dedication to others and her commitment to her nation didn’t end on that Iraqi road in August 2004. After returning to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, she went through extensive rehabilitation and had time to reflect on her many options. Throughout continued painful surgeries and long hours of intense rehabilitation, Wilson persevered with the same Warrior ethos she showed in the summer of 2004. Not only has she started a new chapter in life through her recovery, she continued another by reenlisting on the steps at the Capitol Building on April 6, 2006.

SPC Wilson’s complete dedication to duty in the face of devastating injuries and personal hardships make her an inspiration to the tens of thousands of service members who choose to reenlist every year to serve their country in the Global War on Terror. The Army states that two out every three eligible soldiers continue to reenlist. Going into the 3rd Quarter of the fiscal year 2006, the Army was 15% ahead of its re-enlistment goal of 34,668. And approaching May 2006 their numbers have topped 40,000.

At the start of the article, the writer calls Juanita Wilson "Sergeant First Class", the rank higher than I, currently, am. It is abbreviated as "SFC". At several points in the article, she is referred to as a "SPC". That is the official Army abbreviation for the rank of Specialist. That is the rank I held from April of 1990 to March of 1992. It is equivalent to Corporal.

I don't know rank she was/is. It doesn't matter. She is a hero.

The writer, on the other hand, needs to get his abbreviations straight.

The citation accompanying his Silver Star Medal detailed how a well-emplaced and determined enemy ambushed Rubio and members of his team along the Euphrates River in a complex attack. As Rubio and an assault element swept through the ambush site, insurgents detonated an improvised explosive device. Rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun and small-arms fire followed immediately after the explosion, wounding three Marines.

Realizing the severity of the Marines’ wounds, and bleeding profusely from his own, Rubio low-crawled across open terrain, exposing himself to enemy fire to provide triage. Simultaneously taking care of three urgent surgical casualties, Rubio coached his fellow Marines who were assisting other casualties as incoming enemy fire intensified.

After stabilizing the wounded for casualty evacuation, Rubio directed the platoon to provide covering fire as he and several Marines began moving the casualties towards safety.
Without regard for his own life, he once again exposed himself to the heavy and accurate enemy fire, moving the
Marines from the ambush site to the shoreline.

Rubio’s Silver Star Medal elevates him to a distinctively exceptional category of valor among Navy corpsmen since the commencement of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Only two others have been awarded the Silver Star, none have received the Medal of Honor, and only one hero has been presented the Navy Cross.
Rubio does not consider himself a hero, though.

While addressing the audience, he revealed who he believes are the true heroes, mentioning his two sons by name and that of the mortally wounded Marine lance corporal who shielded Rubio from 90 percent of the IED's
shrapnel during the engagement.

“When people ask me what it is like to be looked upon as a hero, I don’t see myself as such, because Joshua and Mathew and every son and daughter who’s out there and who has family members in Iraq, they’re the heroes,” he acknowledged while fighting back emotion. “They’re the ones who sacrifice their fathers and their mothers. That takes honor, courage and bravery to go home every night and pray that their fathers and mothers come home safe.
"And Brian Parrillo, this is for you, brother," he said. "Thank you for bringing me home.



CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, May 1, 2006 —U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Juan M. Rubio, 32, of San Angelo, Texas, was awarded the Silver Star Medal April 27 for conspicuous gallantry against the enemy Jan. 1, 2005, while serving as a Marine platoon corpsman in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Silver Star Medal is the U.S. Navy’s third highest award for gallantry in combat, following the Navy Cross and the nation’s highest award, the Medal of Honor.

Rear Adm. Thomas R. Cullison, commander, Navy Medicine East and commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Va., made the presentation in front of the Naval Hospital located aboard Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.

During the ceremony, Cullison spoke about the bond that Navy Medicine, particularly Navy corpsmen, share with Marines.

“When we serve with the Marines and the Marines are with us, it’s a relationship that you can find nowhere else,” said Cullison. “The acceptance between these two groups is like no other. The responsibility that we put on our young corpsmen in battle to perform and to save lives is incredible.”

Clarifying that point, Cullison compared the controlled environment that he and other surgeons work in with the help of many others.

“Young corpsmen who go to Field Medical Service School - usually straight out of high school - perform to save lives in combat, just as Petty Officer Rubio did, and they are amazing!” he said.

Representing the Commanding General, 1st Marine Division, Marine Maj. Gen. R. F. Natonski and Command Master Chief Kelvin Carter hand-carried the award to Texas from Camp Pendleton, Calif., and assisted Cullison with the presentation. He also brought a personal message with him for Rubio.

“I talked to all the Marines and sailors in Iraq before I left, and those back in Camp Pendleton, and they want me to tell you, ‘good job, and outstanding job!’ They are damned proud of you," he said. "Please continue what you have done for our great nation, the Marine Corps and Navy team, and also for the hospital corps community.”

Rubio had already earned the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the Jan. 1, 2005, engagement while serving with 4th Platoon, Small Craft Company, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, U.S. Marine Forces Central Command.

MARINE BARRACKS WASHINGTON, Washington D.C.(Oct. 28, 2005) -- The annals of Marine Corps history are filled with stories of men and women who have sacrificed their all in service to their country. Puller, Basilone, Lejeune, Butler, Daley—names that are synonymous with valor in combat and Marine Corps lore.

"There is a fellowship of valor that links all U.S. Marines, past, present, and future," said Joseph Alexander, retired Marine Colonel in his book The Battle History of the U.S. Marines: A Fellowship of Valor.

Now, another story of valor can be added to the Marine history books and for one Marine officer assigned to the Corps' "Oldest Post," that story is one of modesty and simply taking care of his Marines.

Dallas native, Capt Joshua L. Glover was presented the nation's third highest award for valor in combat—the Silver Star medal.

Glover, a 2001 United States Naval Academy graduate, received his award during a chilly early morning ceremony held aboard the Post Oct 28, 2005 from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael W. Hagee.

The 26-year-old received the award for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as 81mm Mortar Platoon Commander with Weapons Company and Quick Reaction Force Platoon Commander, 1st Marine Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on April 13, 2004 in Al Fallujah.

When asked about the award, Glover humbly diverts attention away from himself.

"I received this award because of something we did as a platoon, and I am really proud of what we accomplished that day," he said.

Occurring during the second of his three deployments to Iraq, Glover led and directed his platoon through enemy lines to recover classified material from a downed CH-53 helicopter. The platoon was attacked by Iraqi forces employing machinegun, small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Glover skillfully maneuvered his force and assaulted through the ambush to friendly lines, inflicting numerous enemy casualties.

After successfully completing the mission, Glover was ordered that same evening to recover a destroyed Assault Amphibious Vehicle and assist in the rescue of a besieged rifle platoon deep behind enemy lines. Glover and his Marines found themselves up against a company-sized Iraqi force along the enemy's main line of resistance where as stated in Glover’s Silver Star citation, "...he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire as he engaged enemy targets at point-blank range while directing the rifle platoon's relief and coordinating recovery operations."

Glover attributes the battle as a success because of the hard work of the Marines in his charge, and his common sense approach to leadership.

"When you train Marines you have to get them to focus on the basics. In a chaotic situation such as combat, the basics will get them through," said Glover.

According to Glover, it's more than just training that makes a platoon of Marines successful in combat. Strong leadership in your Non-Commissioned Officers is vital. In order to be successful, with the dispersion between elements in today's combat environments, your NCOs have to be equipped and empowered to make decisions, he said.

And through something very challenging, Glover has earned a new outlook on his life.

"I have learned to appreciate what we have here in the U.S., both the general safety we enjoy and the quality of our lives," said Glover.

And while the battle for which Glover was awarded was a success, he feels the enormity of the price that was paid.

"I lost a Marine that day, as did another unit in the battalion. We can not separate [the victory from the loss], and I think we need to do our best to make them and their families proud," he said.

For those Marines who have been called upon to defend freedom in far off lands, sacrifice is the common thread that binds them together. The desire to join their brethren in combat keeps them ready to go. And, at the Corps' "Oldest Post," another story can be added to the history books—-one of sacrifice, humility and valor.

Source: http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...E?opendocument

On September 17, 2004, while on patrol with Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, in Fallujah, Iraq, an IED exploded into a humvee killing a Marine and an Iraqi Interpreter. Not even 10 days prior, his former platoon had seven Marines killed in action when a vehicle borne IED drove into their patrol. The attrition from the blast was so severe that the platoon, known as Pale Rider Three, would be disbanded and the surviving Marines sent to other platoons in Fox Company.

Immediately reacting to the explosion, Doc Worley went into automatic pilot. No one needed to explain to this Corpsman the importance of his job after an enemy attack. Worley grabbed his aid bag and took off toward the thick smoke, preparing himself for the worst-case scenario of this close quarters explosion.

As Worley sprinted across a bridge, a secondary IED exploded only a few feet away from him, ripping off his left leg instantly. Experiencing mind-numbing pain throughout his entire body, Worley began to assess his own condition, something he had done countless times for others. He put himself through the life saving aid procedures as he had so many other times to others, when there were too many injured for one Corpsman to handle. Worley applied a tourniquet just above his own left knee, an extremely painful procedure that was vital in saving his own life.

Focusing on getting to his injured Marines who lay ahead of him, Worley refused to succumb to the overwhelming odds that were presented to him with little cover and in excruciating pain. As enemy AK-47 rounds impacted all around his position, he attempted to crawl forward toward the vehicle when again his movement was stopped, this time by the sharp twinge of five 7.62mm rounds tearing into his right leg.

What makes men like Doc Worley perform acts of uncommon valor is a steadfast dedication for the mission and undying selfless dedication to his comrades.

Having every reason to make his way to safety, Worley opted to continue his movement forward toward other wounded Marines to help them.

When his Marines were able to achieve fire superiority and control the battle space around the vehicle, and extract the injured, Worley continued to give first aid instruction in attempts to treat his buddies who were gravely wounded.

Doc Worley recently returned home to Paulding County, Georgia, after 19 months of surgeries and rehabilitation at Bethesda and Walter Reed Hospitals. Doc Worley is a passionate and articulate supporter of the mission today in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a founding member of Vets for Freedom and is currently medically retired from the Navy. For his brave actions, he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for Valor.

Read more about Doc Worley's story here on CBS News

(James Matteson, father of fallen hero JC Matteson, is a proud member of Vets for Freedom)

Staff Sergeant James “JC” Matteson
United States Army
2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry “Ramrods”3
rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division “Big Red One”

Before becoming a scout in the Army’s famed First Infantry Division, known widely as “The Big Red One”, JC Matteson grew accustomed to standing apart from his peers. A gifted athlete attending South Western high school outside of his hometown of Celorn, New York, Matteson was a star football player, but more notably known for his gregarious personality, steadfast loyalty and infectious sense of humor. While joining Task Force 2-2 Infantry out of Vilseck, Germany, Matteson became part of a second family of scouts, tankers and infantrymen that all grew close together through two consecutive foreign deployments in less than 24 months. His 2-2 Infantry spent nine months in Kosovo as they readied for their year long deployment to Iraq’s Diyala province in the winter of 2004.

Preparing themselves for the massive takedown of the Zarqawi held fortress that the city of Al Fallujah had become in November of 2004, SSG JC Matteson, the son of former Army tanker and Vets for Freedom member, James Matteson, would be the tip of the spear of the Army’s ever growing responsibilities in the assault.

Minutes into the fighting, SSG Matteson was only meters away when his TF 2-2 IN lost its Command Sergeant Major Steven Faulkenberg to an enemy sniper. As a gunner for his platoon sergeants humvee, SSG Matteson had volunteered to maintain this duty as to allow others to take advantage of their two week Rest and Relaxation leave.

On the night of November 11, 2004 three of his scouts entered, in an attempt to clear, an insurgent occupied structure at OBJ Lion. All three scouts were shot immediately upon entering the barricaded structure. Without hesitation, SSG Matteson tossed a smoke grenade allowing concealment as he personally helped ensure the scouts were evacuated for treatment. In the melee and only feet away, he exchanged gunfire and his continuous area suppression allowed needed time for his peers to establish a deliberate counter attack on the structure, ultimately ending with the building’s collapse and all insurgents inside pacified.

SSG Matteson had ample time to get down from his turret and allow the Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1A2 Abram tanks to take the lead in the fight to repel the ambush. Soldiering as he did the day previous, SSG Matteson stood firm and returned fire under withering enemy machine gun suppression. His weapon system was heard firing accurately and consistently, until a lone rocket launched from close quarters took this young American patriots life. Many on the ground confirmed that SSG Matteson engaged the insurgent before and after the RPG was launched, further demonstrating this NCO’s dedication and passion for his scouts and comrades. The courage demonstrated that early morning on November 12, 2004 earned SSG Matteson a nomination for the Silver Star, a Bronze Star and a purple heart for outstanding valor in the face of imminent danger.

Recently in his hometown of Celorn, New York, his father James Matteson took his own money to construct a memorial in the small villages’s Memorial park. A fight ensued that would later prove to show how partisan politics can attempt to tarnish the legacy of a true hero. Against the wishes of the citizens of Celoron and all who knew him, the town’s leadership decided that they would rather pay tribute to Celoron’s famous daughter Lucille Ball, rather than allow Mr. Matteson to honor his hero son. Over a period of six agonizing months, backpedaling under petty excuses while causing unnecessary pain to JC’s family and friends, the town refused to allow a war memorial to be constructed in the memory of JC Matteson. Instead, they worked feverishly to use the grounds of the Memorial park to begin construction of a bandstand in the memory of Desi Arnez the late husband of the comedian Lucille Ball.

Finally finding a home in neighboring Jamestown, New York, Mr. Matteson has not only shared his son’s memorial with his community, but has also paid tribute to other Task Force 2-2 soldiers killed in action in Iraq as well as using his son’s memorial to honor other fallen veterans from Celoron who died in previous wars.

Mr. James Matteson is member and supporter of Vets For Freedom. We honor his commitment to our troops and the memory of his son, SSG JC Matteson.


I had several friends in 2-2. It was never my honor to meet JC. But I knew, in passing, CSM Faulkenberg. His death is a loss to all that knew him. Duty First!

Second Battalion, First Marine Regiment (2/1), First Marine Divison

Echo Company: WARHAMMER

(From MICHAEL CORONADO of The Orange County Register)

CAMP PENDLETON Ca – The armor-piercing round ripped through the right shoulder of then-Lance Cpl. Carlos Gomez-Perez, leaving a fist-sized hole.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but the stocky, young Marine felt no pain during the April 2004 firefight.

One floor below him, as Iraqi insurgents fired relentlessly, Gomez-Perez could hear his fellow Marines shouting.

The El Cajon resident propped up his M-16 and pulled the trigger despite his bloodied chest, his thick, wide frame keeping his shoulder intact. He lobbed a grenade with his good arm.
Beside him, Marine Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin, 21, wounded by gunfire, was losing his fight for life. Below him, the shouting continued.

"All I heard was screaming and screaming," Gomez-Perez said.

Gomez-Perez decided he would die before he would be taken prisoner and made a bold move to lead his fellow Marines, several wounded, against their attackers.

His actions that day would earn him the Silver Star for heroism in battle, awarded at a ceremony Wednesday.

Gomez-Perez was challenged in life at an early age.

When he was 9, he ran across the I-805 Freeway in San Diego County with his mother and two sisters in tow, crossing illegally into the country – a journey that started in Mexico City. By 12 he started working to earn money for the family.

His mother, Blanca Gomez, a custodian, said that on their journey north the family waded across a channel filled with water using plastic trash bags to stay dry.

"That was a very sad day because we were uncertain of what would happen," she said.

That was 15 years ago.

On Wednesday, Gomez watched a formation of Marines pay honor to her son, a fire team leader for Company E with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and listened to a general describe how a country is thankful for her boy.

"We have a true hero here," Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski told Blanca Gomez – now a legal resident – and the rest of his family. Gomez-Perez became a U.S. citizen in 2004.

Now, discharged from the Marines, he says his shoulder still hurts and finding work is difficult.

At the ceremony Wednesday at the seaside base, Gomez-Perez wore a Texas flag in his coat pocket, a tribute to Austin, who died that day from his wounds despite being revived twice, Gomez-Perez said.

"It runs through my head every day," said Gomez-Perez, who is indifferent about receiving the award. "I really don't know what it means."

Instead, he remembers the day, the fighting, the wounded and his actions.

"What could I have done differently?" he said he asks himself. "Austin - he's the one who died because I couldn't save him."

FORWARD OPERATING BASE RIPLEY, Afghanistan (June 4, 2004 ) -- When the lead elements of a large 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) and Afghan Militia Force (AMF) convoy recently entered a village in central Afghanistan, nothing seemed out of place and it looked as if another quiet day would soon draw to a close.

However, in a flash, all that changed when the specter of Taliban insurgency reared its ugly head.

As four machine gun and anti-tank missile-toting Humvees of Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 6th Marines' Combined Anti-Armor Team pushed through the village and spread out to assume blocking positions on its far side, the lead vehicle noticed three Afghan men attempting to nonchalantly walk out of the village and into the surrounding mountains.

"I saw them walking away from the village and up a hill," said 1st Lt. Chris Niedziocha, who hails from Montgomery County, Penn. and serves as the CAAT platoon leader. "We immediately went after them and when we got closer they started running.

"Meanwhile, the other three CAAT vehicles had been converging on Niedziocha's position, fighting through the difficult terrain and confusing village layout to reach their platoon leader.

As Niedziocha's vehicle (dubbed Light Horse 1-1) pulled up to a stop behind the three men, Niedziocha and his driver, Lance Cpl. Ray Colvin, got out to order them to stop when one of the three stopped, turned, drew a Russian-made AK-47 assault rifle from under his clothes and opened fire on the Marines. The vehicle's gunner, Cpl. Curtis Spivey, of Vidalia, Georgia, was the first to respond to the threat.

"Spivey let go a few bursts with the 240 [M240G machine gun mounted atop the Humvee] and all three of the bad guys jumped into a trench and began firing on us," Niedziocha said.

In a span of only a few minutes, Niedziocha and his crew had accomplished the first two edicts of their battalion commander's instructions to 'find, fix, and finish' the enemy and set out to accomplish the third as well. Carrying their M16A2 assault rifles and with grenades bulging in their pockets, Niedziocha and Colvin began pushing forward while Spivey jumped from the vehicle and grabbed the rifle from CAAT's forward air controller, Capt. James 'Big Jim' McBride who was busy radioing for air support.

"Beaver [Capt. James Hunt] was controlling some helos for Charlie Company so when we broadcast that we were in contact, they switched over to support us," said McBride, an EA-6B Prowler crewman from Butte, Montana. McBride and his radioman, Lance Cpl. Jason Heighland, of Eaton Rapids, Mich. stayed on the vehicle to provide security as their comrades advanced.

The helicopters weren't the only ones to hear the announcement of troops in contact. Driving Light Horse 1-6, Sgt. Dan Trackwell, a machine gunner from Klamath Falls, Oregon was already speeding toward Niedziocha's and the call spurred him on. Sitting beside Trackwell was his assistant driver, Cpl. Nicholas Marrone of Saranac, New York, and riding on top was his MK-19 heavy machine gunner, Lance Cpl. Jonathan Freeze of Naples, Florida.

"As soon as I heard them say 'contact' all bets were off," said Trackwell, who 'stood' on the gas pedal and plowed over the rough, uneven terrain as the sound of firing began to fill the air.

On the hill, Niedziocha, Colvin, and Spivey moved forward firing their weapons as the enemy fighters would pop up, fire a few rounds, and then move right or left inside the trench to repeat the process. When Spivey ran out of ammunition in McBride's rifle, he tossed it aside, pulled his 9mm pistol, and began tossing hand grenades into the trench, as did Niedziocha. Colvin, carrying a M203 40mm grenade launcher underneath his M16A2, began accurately lobbing rounds into the trench as well.

"When one of the grenades went off," Niedziocha explained, "all I saw was turban and equipment flying, so I knew we had gotten at least one of them."

By the time the grenades starting flying, Light Horse 1-1 had pulled up and Trackwell and another Marine began moving forward and firing at the enemy while Marrone and Freeze stayed on the vehicle. Manning the 40mm 'up gun,' Freeze opened fire on Trackwell's command and lobbed 25 40mm grenades onto the hillside directly over the trench where the Taliban had taken refuge.

At almost this same instant, spotting the yellow smoke billowing from the signal grenade tossed by McBride, one of the UH-1N Huey helicopters overhead banked sharply and the door gunner, Cpl. Samair Alyassini of San Jose, Calif., let loose a sustained burst of around 100 7.62mm rounds into the trench.

Between the barrage of grenades, and rifle and machine gun from both the air and ground, the enemy fire ceased as all three Taliban fighters died where they chose to make their last stand.

"That was the closest fighting we've seen," said Colvin after the brief, yet intense firefight. "Usually we use our weapons to create a stand-off, but we weren't more than five or ten meters from these guys."

"It was the hottest fight yet," reflected Niedziocha, who had led his platoon through at least eight sharp engagements last month.

A thorough search of the slain enemy fighters revealed, in addition to their personal weapons, a wide array of explosives and bomb-making materials that are commonly used in constructed improvised explosive devices.

Discussing the wide range of armament and fighters brought to bear in the fight, Freeze summed up their collective feelings.

"It doesn't matter who got them, just that they aren't around to hurt us or anyone else ever again."

In addition to BLT 1/6 and HMM-266 (Rein), the 22nd MEU (SOC) consists of its Command Element and MEU Service Support Group 22. The MEU is in Afghanistan conducting combat and civil military operations as Task Force Linebacker.

For more information on the 22d MEU (SOC)'s role in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, visit the unit's web site at www.22meu.usmc.mil.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/863AE5855BA4173B85256EC700550361?opendocument

From Tony Perry, LA Times
CAMP PENDLETON — It has become one of the iconic pictures of the war in Iraq: blood-soaked Marine 1st Sgt. Brad Kasal, grim-faced and still clutching his service pistol, being helped from a firefight by two younger Marines.

Although wounded by seven AK-47 rounds and hit by more than 40 pieces of hot shrapnel from a grenade, Kasal refused to quit fighting and is credited with saving the lives of several Marines during the U.S. assault on insurgent strongholds in Fallouja in November 2004.

"He was hurt bad, but for the most part, he was more worried about his Marines than himself," said then-Cpl. R.J. Mitchell, one of the Marines involved in the firefight in a two-story stucco house.

Kasal has undergone 21 surgeries and months of painful rehabilitation to repair his injuries and attempt to save his right leg.

Today, the 39-year-old Iowa native will be promoted to sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank in the Marine Corps, and receive the Navy Cross for combat bravery, second only to the Medal of Honor. Only nine others have received the Navy Cross for service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, said Kasal "set an example for future generations of combat leaders to emulate."

The picture, taken by Lucian Read, a photographer for World Picture News who was embedded with the Marines, has been widely reprinted. It was used on the back cover of "No True Glory," an account of the fight for Fallouja by Bing West, the premier historian of Marines in combat in Iraq.

Kasal, in his second tour in Iraq, was with the Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, during the assault. At the height of the fighting Nov. 13, Marines were going door to door. Insurgents were often waiting upstairs to rain down AK-47 fire and grenades.

When Kasal learned that three Marines were pinned down in one house, he and other Marines went to their aid.

Once inside the house, Kasal barked orders to younger Marines to cover vantage spots where insurgents might be hiding. He turned into one room and immediately ran into an insurgent who cried out in Arabic. The two exchanged gunfire; the insurgent missed and Kasal killed him.

Other insurgents fired at the Marines from upstairs, hitting Kasal and others. Kasal fought his way to a wounded Marine and used a tourniquet on his leg to keep him from bleeding to death. When he spotted an insurgent's grenade, he sheltered the wounded Marine with his body to protect him from the blast.

Kasal refused medical attention until other Marines were helped and made sure Marines in the street knew there were Marines inside so none would be hit by so-called friendly fire.

"Although severely wounded himself, he shouted encouragement to his fellow Marines," the Navy Cross citation states. By the time he was evacuated, Kasal had lost about 60% of his blood and was barely conscious.

Marines who knew Kasal before the fight were not surprised at his actions. "He led by example — always," said Mitchell, 26, who was wounded for the fourth time during the fight and is now medically retired from the Marine Corps and studying to be a motorcycle mechanic in Phoenix.

Kasal said the picture and the acclaim it has brought him should not overshadow the actions of other Marines in the same fight. "That house was full of heroes," he said.

Doctors initially told Kasal that his right leg below the knee was so badly mangled it might not be saved, and that subjecting himself to surgeries and rehabilitation could prove futile. Four inches of bone had been shot away.

Kasal opted against amputation, knowing that it would mean the end of his career in the Marines. "I decided to gut it out and work through the pain," he said. "I wanted to do whatever was needed to keep it going."

Six days a week, he does two to four hours of rehabilitation. Recently, the onetime high school wrestler and football player was able to run for the first time since Fallouja. "It wasn't pretty, but I was able to do it," he said.

Kasal, who is single, has been assigned to a recruiting station in Des Moines. He did three years as a recruiter in the 1990s in Minnesota, the only stretch in his 21 years in the Marine Corps in which he has not been assigned to an infantry company.

His goal is to get strong enough to return to the infantry and go back to Iraq. "We started it; we need to finish it," he said. "I believe in what we're doing. I'd go back in a heartbeat."

What is more outrageous than what Capt Brian Chontosh did on March 25, 2003 on Highway 1 toward Ad Diwaniyah while a platoon commander with the Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, is that some of you are hearing about this here for the first time.

At any other time in our nation’s brilliant military history, Brian Chontosh would not be serving in anonymity somewhere in a state side duty position. Rather he would be telling his story and selling war bonds, while Hollywood executives fought over the honor of telling his story. Some may have recognized Captain Chontosh from Greg Palkot’s feature story on Fox News’ coverage of the November 2004 battle of Fallujah. There Chontosh prowled the deadly streets with his rifle company, crushing the terrorists who had –until then- laid siege to the city.

However, Chontosh’s first battlefield heroics occurred in his first deployment to Iraq during the invasion and liberation of the country. On March 25, 2003, then First Lieutenant Chontosh, recognized his unit was caught in a “kill zone” on Highway One leading to Ad Diwaniyah in the initial campaign to Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After punching his vehicle through a breech, he was immediately taken under withering machine gun fire from a crew served weapon in a trench. Chontosh plowed toward the machine gunner, trusting his .50 caliber gunner to silence the enemy, which was done almost immediately.

Chontosh then dismounted his vehicle and armed with only his M16A2 and a M9 pistol began to systematically clear the trench that his vehicle was now inside. With a complete disregard for his own personal safety, Chontosh twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack.

When one of his Marines following behind found an RPG, Chontosh decided to personally use it to destroy another unlucky clump of enemy soldiers thinking they could overpower the brazen Marine. Essentially any Saddam loyalist in the way of Brian Chontosh that day was extremely unlucky.

When his dedicated and bold personal attack had ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of the enemy trench and lying behind him and at his feet were the remains of over 20 enemy fighters. For these actions, Brian Chontosh was awarded the second highest award given for combat valor, The Navy Cross.