none of us were, brother.
Posted on 06/05/2007 10:29:57 AM PDT by RDTF
CAMP PENDLETON — More than 140,000 Marines have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since the Sept. 11 attacks. Only 18 have received the Navy Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor for combat bravery.
On Monday, the family of the 18th recipient, Cpl. Jason S. Clairday, gathered to receive his posthumous award and to hear the young man, who was 21 when he died, remembered as one "who set the standard for others to follow."
Clairday was awarded the Navy Cross for leading Marines in storming an insurgent stronghold in Fallouja in December 2004 to support Marines pinned down inside the home. Already wounded in the first assault, he refused to leave the fight and insisted on leading a second assault.
"He was told to evacuate; he was supposed to evacuate," said Col. Larry Nicholson. "He did not. He rallied his Marines and said, 'We're going in strong.' "
With grenades and M-16 fire, Clairday and his fire-team members killed the insurgents inside the home and saved several Marines. But wounds he suffered during the second assault proved fatal.
Travis Icard, who served with Clairday in Fallouja, told Marines and others attending the ceremony that his former fire-team leader "guided me to be a better Marine and to be a better man…. Cpl. Clairday taught me things you can't learn in a textbook. He was always hard-working but never hard to work with."
Nicholson, commander of the 5th Marine Regiment, credited the bravery of Clairday and other Marines who "went into that city and took it away from the terrorists" for improvements in Fallouja, which is no longer controlled by insurgents.
Clairday, of Salem, Ark., played baseball in high school, sang in the church choir and went into the Marines looking for stability in his life.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I’ve got her, here! Welcome, diva!!
I was never the Marine I see this men are.
Semper Fidelis.
Nor I — very damned few were or are...
Semper Fi
Thanks for the ping.
Condolences to Donna, Johnny, Danny, JD and the remainder of Jason’s family and friends. America’s finest, all.
Thanks to posters on this thread. FR’s finest, all.
"and when your days on Earth are over
and you gaze on Heaven's scene
You will find the streets are guarded
by United States Marines"
“I was never the Marine I see this men are.”
Damn straight there, and the awesome thing is,
THEY LOOK UP TO US!!!
Makes me stand a little taller.
Semper FI.
Oooorah!
Rest in Peace gallant hero. May our Lord and Saviour bless you and your family. Thank you for your sacrifice.
none of us were, brother.
BSB... (blurry screen bump)
there's always talk of "the old Corps" did this and the "old Corps" did that....
some meat eaters even gathered at watering holes talking about how great we all used to be and several of the Marines had pins and embroidered stitching indicating places like Tarawa, Chosin, Iwo, Khe Sanh, Da Nang, Mekong River club, Hue, to name a few....
I can tell you to the man, there wasn't a dry eye when the reports came back about Fallujah on Fox news. A couple of the old timers just sipped the beer, looked a little misty and I can clearly remember, "same old Corps. Damn those men make me proud."
Another guy just took the deep breath and let out, "these kids... these men are doing what Marines do...God I'm proud of them."
Well I can tell you, I was never as brave as these men I've read about. I try to hide tears, cause I just wish they would all come back safe and sound to their families.
God Bless them, God Bless the Marine Corps.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.