Fallen Marines

www.americanthinker.com ^ | November 25th, 2004 | Maj. Zarnik, USAFR

[SAMWolf]

Fallen Marines November 25th, 2004

I want to share with you my most recent Air Force Reserve trip. I had decided to go back into the Air Force Reserves as a part time reservist and after 6 months of training, I have recently been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and have been fully mission qualified as an Aircraft Commander of a KC-135R strato tanker aircraft.

On Friday of last week, my crew and I were tasked with a mission to provide air refueling support in order to tanker 6 F-16's over to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. We were then to tanker back to the states, 6 more F-16's that were due maintenance. It started out as a fairly standard mission - one that I have done many times as an active duty Captain in my former jet - the KC10a extender.

We dragged the F-16's to Moron Air Base in Spain where we spent the night and then finished the first part of our mission the next day by successfully delivering them to Incirlik. When I got on the ground in Turkey, I received a message to call the Tanker Airlift Control Center that my mission would change. Instead of tankering the F-16's that were due maintenance, I was cut new orders to fly to Kuwait City and pick up 22 "HR's" and return them to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

It had been a while since I had heard of the term "HR" used, and as I pondered what the acronym could possibly stand for, when it dawned on me that it stood for human remains. There were 22 fallen comrades who had just been killed in the most recent attacks in Fallujah and Baghdad, Iraq over the last week.

I immediately alerted the crew of the mission change and although they were exhausted due to an ocean crossing, the time change and minimum ground time in Spain for crew rest, we all agreed that it was more important to get these men back to their families as soon as possible.

We were scheduled to crew rest in Incirlik, Turkey for the evening and start the mission the next day. Instead, we decided to extend/continue our day and fly to Kuwait in order to pick up our precious cargo. While on the flight over to Kuwait, I knew that there were protocol procedures for accepting and caring for human remains, however, in my 13 years of active duty service, I never once had to refer to this regulation. As I read the regulation on the flight over, I felt prepared and ready to do the mission. My game plan was to pick up the HR's and turn around to fly to Mildenhal Air Base in England, spend the night, and then fly back the next day. This was the quickest way to get them home, considering the maximum crew duty day that I could subject my crew to legally and physically. I really pushed them to the limits but no one complained at all.

I thought that I was prepared for the acceptance of these men until we landed at Kuwait International. I taxied the jet over to a staging area where the honor guard was waiting to load our soldiers. I stopped the jet and the entire crew was required to stay on board. We opened the cargo door, and according to procedure, I had the crew line up in the back of the aircraft in formation and stand at attention. As the cargo loader brought up the first pallet of caskets, I ordered the crew to "Present Arms." Normally, we would snap a salute at this command, however, when you are dealing with a fallen soldier, the salute is a slow 3 second pace to position. As I stood there and finally saw the first four of twenty-two caskets draped with the American Flags, the reality had hit me. As the Marine Corps honor guard delivered the first pallet on board, I then ordered the crew to "Order Arms" - where they rendered an equally slow 3 second return to the attention position. I then commanded the crew to assume an at ease position and directed them to properly place the pallet. The protocol requires that the caskets are to be loaded so when it comes time to exit the aircraft - they will go head first. We did this same procedure for each and every pallet until we could not fit any more.

I felt a deep pit in my stomach when there were more caskets to be brought home and that they would have to wait for the next jet to come through. I tried to do everything in my power to bring more home but I had no more space on board. When we were finally loaded, with our precious cargo and fueled for the trip back to England, a Marine Corps Colonel from first battalion came on board our jet in order to talk to us. I gathered the crew to listen to him and his words of wisdom.

He introduced himself and said that it is the motto of the Marines to leave no man behind and it makes their job easier knowing that there were men like us to help them complete this task. He was very grateful for our help and the strings that we were pulling in order to get this mission done in the most expeditious manner possible. He then said -" Major Zarnik - these are MY MARINES and I am giving them to you. Please take great care of them as I know you will." I responded with telling him that they are my highest priority and that although this was one of the saddest days of my life, we are all up for the challenge and will go above and beyond to take care of your Marines - "Semper Fi Sir" A smile came on his face and he responded with a loud and thunderous, "Ooo Rah". He then asked me to please pass along to the families that these men were extremely brave and had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and that we appreciate and empathize with what they are going through at this time of their grievance. With that, he departed the jet and we were on our way to England.

I had a lot of time to think about the men that I had the privilege to carry. I had a chance to read the manifest on each and every one of them. I read about their religious preferences, their marital status, the injuries that were their cause of death. All of them were under age 27 with most in the 18-24 range. Most of them had wives and children. They had all been killed by an " IED" which I can only deduce as an [improvised] explosive devices. Mostly fatal head injuries and injuries to the chest area. I could not even imagine the bravery that they must have displayed and the agony suffered in this God Forsaken War. My respect and admiration for these men and what they are doing to help others in a foreign land is beyond calculation. I know that they are all with God now and in a better place.

The stop in Mildenhal was uneventful and then we pressed on to Dover where we would meet the receiving Marine Corps honor guard. When we arrived, we applied the same procedures in reverse. The head of each casket was to come out first. This was a sign of respect rather than defeat. As the honor guard carried each and every American flag covered casket off of the jet, they delivered them to awaiting families with military hearses. I was extremely impressed with how diligent the Honor Guard had performed the seemingly endless task of delivering each of the caskets to the families without fail and with precision. There was not a dry eye on our crew or in the crowd. The Chaplain then said a prayer followed by a speech from Lt. Col. Klaus of the second Battalion. In his speech, he also reiterated similar condolences to the families as the Colonel from First Battalion back in Kuwait.

I then went out to speak with the families as I felt it was my duty to help console them in this difficult time. Although I would probably be one of the last military contacts that they would have for a while - the military tends to take care of it's own. I wanted to make sure that they did not feel abandoned and more than that appreciated for their ultimate sacrifice. It was the most difficult thing that I have ever done in my life. I listened to the stories of each and every one that I had come in contact with and they all displayed a sense of pride during an obviously difficult time. The Marine Corps had obviously prepared their families well for this potential outcome.

So, why do I write this story to you all? I just wanted to put a little personal attention to the numbers that you hear about and see in the media. It is almost like we are desensitized by the "numbers" of our fallen comrades coming out of Iraq. I heard one commentator say that "it is just a number". Are you kidding me? These are our American Soldiers not numbers! It is truly a sad situation that I hope will end soon. Please hug and embrace your loved ones a little closer and know that there are men out there that are defending you and trying to make this a better world. Please pray for their families and when you hear the latest statistic's and numbers of our soldiers killed in combat, please remember this story. It is the only way that I know to more personalize these figures and have them truly mean something to us all.

Thanks for all of your support for me and my family as I take on this new role in completing my Air Force Career and supporting our country. I greatly appreciate all of your comments, gestures and prayers.

May God Bless America, us all, and especially the United States Marine Corps.

Semper Fi

Maj. Zarnik, USAFR

[SAMWolf]

Posted for alfa6, who has to work the day after Thanksgiving.

[SAMWolf]

Pinging the Foxhole

[Americanwolf]

great post thanks for sharing.

[semaj]

Semper Fi Colonel! Semper Fi! Thanks for the post SAM. A powerful reminder to all of us, that we have a lot to be thankful for.

[bluesagewoman]

This article means a lot. Thanks for posting it.

[krunkygirl]

We have much to give thanks for...

[HiJinx]

Thanks for bringing us this pilot's story. We need to remember each soldier or Marine who has sacrificed for our ideals, for our sakes.

[Bedford Forrest]

Outstanding Post. Semper Fi to the Colonel and his people. And God save and protect the souls of the fallen Marines and their loved ones.

[Saratogamema]

Speechless with tears. May God take them to a better place and may he bring peace to their loved ones through the prayers of all that knew them and all who never did but are awed and grateful nonetheless.

[Read2Know]

"We have much to give thanks for..."

My feelings exactly.

[ballplayer]

God Bless them all

[VOA]

"The head of each casket was to come out first. This was a sign of respect rather than defeat."

As a never-served civilian, I make my following remarks with respect and as a
citizen that is naive about the loss of a loved one in the military service.

But, as the following link (and posted excerpt) will show, I had a certain epiphany
after the new-photos of flag-draped caskets were "leaked" to the press during Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
My personal felling is that a memorial is constructed (and it should be) when The Coalition
wins The War On Terror...it should be a simple "walk-through" sculpture of based
on the photos. E.g., like the people paying respects would walk through a "cut-out" of a
fuselage of a tranport loaded with the flag-drapped caskets and the names of the
lost heroes inscribed on what the inside of the shell (like the interior surface of
the jet transport.

Freeper "VOA" especially appreciates this passage from the linked article:
"you can see that nothing much changes in the behavior of bastards"
And VOA thinks that Edith Roosevelt should be given at least half as much ink
as Teddy in the history books.


URL of pertinent article by Karl Zinsmeister:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14068

Excerpt from the article:

In 1918, Teddy Roosevelt’s son Quentin (who had left Harvard during his sophomore
year to serve in World War I) was shot out of the sky
in one of aerial warfare’s
early dogfights. German propagandists took photos of his maimed body amidst his plane’s
wreckage and, hoping to dampen American morale, mailed one to Mrs. Roosevelt.
(It’s an old tactic. Substitute “posted on the Web” for “mailed” and you can
see that nothing much changes in the behavior of bastards.)

Edith Roosevelt, however, refused to be cowed. She insisted that the picture
of her son’s crumpled body be displayed and cherished as
a symbol of her family’s
sturdiness and their pride in sacrifice for a high cause. As I traveled across Iraq
with American soldiers
this spring, I thought of what that tough lady did. She pushed aside her own grief,
which was surely enormous, and expressed admiration
and undying love for her
son by celebrating his bravery—and, most importantly, by refusing to abandon his fight.

[Mr. Lucky]

Wow.

[Shery]

Timely post, but so sad! May God grant rest to their souls, and to their families!

[WVNan]

Too sad SAM. This just breaks my heart. I do so hate that we have to lose these fine young men. They are the best we have.

[alfa6]

Thanks BTTT

Best Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks for posting it, Sam.

God bless our troops.

[SAMWolf]

Makes it a little more personal than the news reports

[Victoria Delsoul]

That's for sure. :-(