The last few days that we were in Fallujah were slower. We had time to walk around and sleep. It was also a time that I struggled with as one of our missions had been to block Iraqis from swimming across the Euphrates river. Sgt. White talks about this in his book as "like shooting fish in a barrel" Click on the picture of him playing the mandolin to read about it.
Nov 20,2004
Things have slowed down the past few days. We have been finding things to do on our roof to help the time pass now that we are not getting shot at as much. Mario Tobias, the driver for our LAV, found some onions and that started it. After the grilled onions we made flat bread, then donuts with cinnamon and yesterday, I bought some eggs while on patrol and we had them today for breakfast.
Yesterday we patrolled through a village where we had taken fire from days before. Things went smoothly. We took over 100 detainees and found a couple weapons caches. Days earlier when we made contact we killed nine of them and Wilson was the first CIC guy to be shot. From what I've heard, he will be okay. He was shot in the calf, in and out. A guy with him got jacked up, shot in the pelvis. A LAV from 3rd Plt. was hit by a R-PG. It went right through the scout compartment. Lucky for the scouts they were not in it.
The looks that we got as we returned to base camp were those of respect. Everybody had been watching us on TV all month. They had been seeing our wounded and dead being flown in and out. They knew what we had been going through yet they had no idea. We walked with a strut.
Nov 28th,2006
We got back inside the wire on Thanksgiving Day just in time to have a huge Thanksgiving meal. Yesterday we celebrated the 229th birthday of the Marine Corps – late (10 Nov). After the cake cutting ceremony and a steak and lobster tail dinner, we were given 2 Budweiser and a shooter of Bacardi. Somehow I ended up drinking 4 beers and three shooters. Everybody had a good time.
It was more in celebration of still being alive than the birthday or Thanksgiving. We fought those bastards for almost 20 days straight. We killed more than I can count. We detained hundreds if not a thousand. We destroyed their city, and they still have the will to fight. They won't give up. Nobody could expect it to happen overnight. I can not put into words the satisfaction of taking control of the bridge were the Iraqi's hung four American civilian security contractors.
I am glad that I survived but wish that we all would of. I am proud of how my men fought and without loosing our moral compass. Not everybody in that city was the enemy, but it was hard to tell sometimes.
The memories of that Thanksgiving have so far stayed with me through the years as my reason to give thanks. To have survived the bloodiest battle of the war and to have had my men survive as well, is something that I am grateful for often, but always on Thanksgiving. Although some Marines woke up in Germany and some not at all, I know that the Marines that wake up today are happy to be alive.
I believe the memories of Fallujah will stay with me forever, and there are to many to write down and a lot that I will never share. They are the ones that choke me up hearing the National Anthem and let me watch the fireworks on the fourth of July as more than just a show.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
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