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Posted on 08/26/2005 7:39:27 AM PDT by Lacey
Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla is out of Iraq, recovering from gunshot wounds in a Tacoma hospital.
Although not well-known, Kurilla — the highest ranking soldier from the Fort Lewis-based Stryker Brigade to be seriously wounded in battle — has a dedicated following on the Internet.
For more than eight months, a blog written by independent journalist Michael Yon has chronicled the battles, strategies and sorrows of Kurilla's unit, the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry ("Deuce Four").
Yon's periodic dispatches often describe details and tactics of the Iraq war not found in the mainstream media. Kurilla is portrayed as tough, dedicated and possessed with an uncanny ability to avoid enemy bullets.
That changed last Friday when Kurilla was shot during close combat.
In a harrowing series of photographs, Yon captures the moment Kurilla fell. The images along with Yon's narrative are posted on his Web site: http://michaelyon.blogspot.com.
Shot in the arm and leg, Kurilla was taken to a combat hospital and later airlifted to Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma.
Yesterday, he declined to release the status of his condition.
Military-related sites on the Internet lighted up with news of Kurilla's injuries, indicating national interest in the fate of the 49-year-old Tacoma resident.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Kurilla received his commission as a second lieutenant in May 1988.
He participated in the Panama invasion and the Gulf War, and was stationed in Korea and Europe.
Last fall, Kurilla deployed with the 1st Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, which patrols Mosul, a mostly Sunni Arab city of 2 million.
His 700-soldier battalion experienced some of the fiercest fighting of the war. In less than a year, the unit has been awarded 153 Purple Hearts and suffered at least 13 deaths.
Kurilla is known both by locals and visiting journalists in Mosul.
Reporters from The Associated Press, Chicago Tribune and other organizations quoted Kurilla as he explained the insurgency and efforts to train Iraqi forces.
Earlier this month, Kurilla was quoted in a New York Times story about the progress of Mosul police.
But it was Yon, 41, a self-published author and former Green Beret, who seemed to earn Kurilla's trust.
A self-described "independent, informed observer chronicling the monumentally important events in the efforts to stabilize Iraq," Yon solicits donations on his Web site to buy equipment and defray expenses.
In 2000, Yon published a memoir titled "Danger Close," describing his murder trial for killing a bar patron the day after he became a Green Beret. He was acquitted.
In his blog, Iraqi insurgents are "terrorists" and the United States is making progress in its nation-building efforts.
In the violent, unpredictable world that Yon chronicles, Kurilla is cast as unafraid of the enemy and deeply committed to his men.
Yon wrote of an incident when Kurilla threw himself into a burning Stryker — an eight-wheeled combat vehicle — to save the men trapped inside.
Of the Deuce Four, Yon noted: "One young soldier told me, 'This is my family. Colonel Kurilla is like my dad. He would die for me.' "
Last week, Kurilla and his men chased a black car through Mosul.
When an Army marksman in a helicopter disabled the car, the men inside fled, and opened fire.
Leading three soldiers, Kurilla ran through a maze of shops and alleys.
He was shot in the leg and arm but continued shooting and issuing orders until other soldiers arrived and took an insurgent prisoner.
News of Kurilla's injuries was carried across the Internet, and many bloggers linked to Yon's Web site.
Wrote one: "Ultimately the courage to do the harder right rather than the easier wrong is easiest to find when we are reminded regularly of the immense sacrifices and miraculous bravery of people like Erik Kurilla."
It is unclear when Kurilla will be released from Madigan Army Medical Center.
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company
But .. why did his "dispatches often describe details and tactics of the Iraq war" ..??
Is that wise .. to be putting "tactics" of the military on a world-wide blog ..??
I've heard Yon compared to Ernie Pyle. But I've read Pyle's books, and for all the huge respect I have for Pyle he never wrote the kind of harrowing reports that Yon has written.
Yon is a one-of-a-kind writer who may be studied and quoted for a long time in the future. We're lucky to have him.
Go to the blog.. he talks a lot about what he publishes, doesn't publish, and why.
Don't believe the MSM when they accuse Yon of posting improper information. They're just trying to insult one of the best war writers in the world -- someone who is making the rest of the press look really bad.
Yon is a former special forces soldier and he knows what he's doing. Read his reports for yourself if you're still unsure.
Looking back to how I felt trudging through I-Corps mountains and jungles --- I come to see I still feel close to the same way.
We need to go back to those days were the leader (king, etc) was expected to LEAD his men into battle. The generals were to be right alongside the 'leader' in FRONT of the troops.
Then came lawyers who advised the generals - beginning with Napoleon (french isn't he? interesting!) to lead his troops from as far away as possible. That was the end of Honor, Courage, Morals.
Each battle - each war - the leaders seemed to totally disappear from any danger.
Interesting, no?
Lt.Col. Erik Kurilla is one of the few true leaders! He could even be a Marine!
;>)
( sorry! I hit post before I had the chance to add this)
ping
I just discovered Michael Yon and Lt. Col. Kurilla.
Two American Hero's who deserve every accolade and appreciation that we can offer.
Someone posted the Kurila photos.
Gets hit, rolls comes up shooting.
God bless every one of them.
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Evergreen State ping
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Have you read Yon's "Gates of Fire" dispatch? Absolutely awesome.
http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/
Maybe we should send him something at the hospital....from the FREEPERS!!! Any ideas, anyone?
Thanks for the ping to this great story, and for the link to the blog. Good stuff.
That blog is fantastic. Those guys are heros. Anyone who hasn't read it should.
We all hope Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla has a sufficient recovery from his wounds to return to active service. The Army needs quality leaders such as him to fight the terrorists. He seems to be the sort that should make the rank of general.
!PING!
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