McCOY'S MARINES-Darkside toward Baghdad - Part 5 Crossing the Bridge

San Francisco Chronicle (Believe it or Not!) ^ | November 14, 2003 | John Koopman

[river rat]

Chapter 5: Looking for weapons of mass destruction... Having it out with the sergeant major... Moving toward the bridge, the last obstacle before Baghdad... RPGs go off like bottle rockets... The Dyala Canal... Iraqis fight back... Incoming artillery kills two Marines... Bloodlust... Dead bodies and discarded AKs... Civilians die... A newly made orphan.

[river rat]

Part 5

Sgt. Maj. David Howell poses next to a portrait of Saddam Hussein outside a military complex on the outskirts of Baghdad. Chronicle photo by John Koopman

U.S. Marines from the 3rd Battalion urge infantrymen across the damaged Baghdad Highway Bridge in the southeastern outskirts of the capital city. The April 2003 push into Baghdad was made under enemy fire. Boston Herald photo by Kuni Takahashi via Associated Press

An Iraqi civilian standing next to a dead body waves a white flag as a Marine column passes on its way to Baghdad. Chronicle photo by John Koopman

[river rat]

This is 5th in a series of 6 parts..
Semper Fi

[Coop]

We find bottled water in a secretary's refrigerator and discuss whether it's safe to drink. Mangan wonders whether the Iraqis poisoned the bottles on the way out. Paranoia is good thinking, but I'm hot and thirsty. I figure the Iraqis couldn't have been nefarious enough to booby-trap a water bottle. So I take a sip. I'm still standing a few minutes later, so the other guys divide up the water and start drinking. It's cold enough to be good.

Who says reporters are good fer nuthin'? :-)

[Coop]

Don't know if you've been following this series or not, but it's impressive.

[XJarhead]

The guy's a good writer.

As a former artilleryman myself, I believe the Marine account that the shells were Iraqi. The chain of command itself would be pissed if some artillery unit screwed up that big. Counter mortar radar and crater analysis are legit tools for figuring that stuff out.

[river rat]

I had to grit my teeth at a few things he wrote...which I thought were cheap shots... Especially, since this writer is a former Marine himself...

I NEVER felt I had been lied to by a Marine officer..
Our freaking lives DEPENDED on their being truthful...
We believed and acted on EVERYTHING a Marine officer told us..as though the "word" had come from the Lord himself!

I guess you could say our "training" was successful!

Semper Fi

[XJarhead]

Some of the things he wrote ticked me off too. I was just saying that I think he has an effective writing style.

I NEVER felt I had been lied to by a Marine officer.

As a former Marine officer, that put a big ole' smile on my face. One thing that was beaten into from our very first day was that it was an extraordinary privilege to lead Marines, and it was our job to live up to that honor. And I can honestly say that the enlisted Marines I was privileged to lead were about the highest quality human beings I've met, and I've been off active duty for more than a decade. Those are the guys I miss every day.

[XJarhead]

I see two Marines crouch near an alley. One peers around the corner, then goes back into a crouch and readies his weapon. "Ready, crazy?" he asks his buddy. The other man nods and they leap into the alley.

How can you not love guys like that?

Hey, there was a report during the war about a planned operational pause discussed by the ground element commanders. The issue was debated, and the I MEF CG argued that we should keep pushing and that the Iraqis weren't enough to stop us "even on a bad day". I remember reading that, and was wondering if anyone knew of a link. Thanks.

[MissAmericanPie]

I'm still grieving over Mark, now those two brave boys in the Amtrax. I worry that the boys later will trouble themselves over the occupants of those cars that drove at them, the little girl. They can't afford to do that.

What kind of idiot drives head first into a group of under fire fighting men without stopping? It comes down to who lives, and personally I don't think one Iraqi, innocent or guilty, is worth one hair on an Americans soldiers head.

I hope they consentrate instead about how precious their lives are to us back home and not burden themselves with what they had to do to insure that we are not forced, because of some PC agenda, to grieve over the loss of their lives.

[NormsRevenge]

Bump

[river rat]

"....and the I MEF CG...."

I can't help you there...but this forum has some incredible research resources, and someone may be able to send a pointer to that comment..

But it would be interesting to learn if perhaps the CG's belief had anything to do with the Colonel that was relieved of his command during the approach to Baghdad....

Scuttlebutt is that the relieved Colonel was "moving with too much caution"......"too slow to protect the flanks of his sister Battalions"..

Can anyone point to any reliable info on this Colonel??

Semper Fi

[XJarhead]

Two guys with whom I was pretty tight -- one of whom I shared a house with in Quantico -- commanded infantry battalions during the war. I still communicate with one of them, so I'll see if I can find out anything.

Relieving a regimental commander in the middle of an offensive is pretty serious stuff. The CG had some big cojones to do that, but you can't quibble with the results.

[river rat]

We had a young Lt. with Col. McCoy's Bn.(3/4) during the run up to Baghdad... and was actually the Lt. sitting on his vehicle while the Marines were helping the Iraqis bring down the Statue of Saddam in the square before all the world's TV cameras....

His armored Platoon was closer to the tip of the spear than the unit hosting this writer.... There were a lot more contacts with unfriendlies and far more hair raising firefights than this reporter related... Small unmounted unit WIA/KIA were also higher as would be expected from the leading elements...

The next time I'm near a major Marine facility -- I'm going to attempt to see some of the archive film... I've heard that there is LOTS of film, from the ground and from the Predators, choppers and fixed winged craft overhead...

It's amazing how hospitable the Corps is to us old farts...
It's relatively easy to get onboard and be treated with kindness and hospitality -- even if they don't let you see "everything" or wander "everywhere".... And, we're ALWAYS offered a fine meal...

Believe it or not....the MOST hospitable facility we have ever visited, was my alma mater -- Parris Island.

Semper Fi

[river rat]

My recollection of the rumor, was that it was a Battalion Commander, not a Regiment Commander..

Perhaps a Major or Lt. Col and not a full bird.

But, of course - with advancing age - I can't trust my short term memory ....

Long term memory is still crystal clear....figure that!

Semper Fi

[XJarhead]

It's amazing how hospitable the Corps is to us old farts.

Young Marines always treat the old guys great. When I was at Quantico with the artillery unit, my dad (a former Marine) and another old guy/former Marine came to visit and went down to the gun line. You should have seen the way those kids treated those old vets. It was a mixture of awe and respect that was great to see. Part of the whole mystique of being a Marine.

Eh, I shouldn't think about this stuff so much because it makes me want to kick myself for getting out.

[VOA]

bump

[Cap'n Crunch]

Good read. Thanks Devildog.

[river rat]

"....it makes me want to kick myself for getting out.

Anytime you start thinking crazy like that, take a long quiet look at your children and try to imagine what your grandchildren will be like...

If the odds run normal for you.....you'll have a LOT more time to enjoy your grandchildren and through their eyes and imagination - you can relive your own youth again, this time with the ability to satisfy your and their every wish!!!!... It's a damned blast!!!

Don't even think about putting that at risk -- again!
You've been there, done that -- and it's time to turn away and let the young'uns handle business..

It may be hard to admit...but I believe they are better than we were -- and a LOT better equipped.

It always comforts me to see, that at the core it's still the Corps....

Semper Fi

[river rat]

"...Who says reporters are good fer nuthin'?"

That's mean! Especially when speaking of the imbedded journalists... Now then, it works for Reuters and CNN scabs.

I'm reserving judgement on this journalist, until I hear from "our Lt" - after he reads the series emailed to him..
I really can't speak to the completeness, fairness or truthfulness until I've heard specifically from those that were "there"...after they read the complete series....

I'll post that, when I get it..

Semper Fi

[fnord]

thanks