Posted on 01/18/2005 10:27:11 PM PST by kattracks
If you watched the evening news a week ago, you may recall the sensational story of a distraught Marine who died in a murderous shootout with police. Anti-war writers and Latino activists have turned the cop-killer, Lance Cpl. Andres Raya, into a martyr. Don't believe the hype.Network and cable TV shows repeatedly broadcast video and photo stills of Raya's Jan. 9 bloody gun battle in a Ceres, Calif., liquor store. Mental health experts immediately blamed post-traumatic stress disorder. Ignoring the cold-blooded murder of one of the ambushed police officers who was lured to his death, international headlines instead trumpeted the supposedly traumatized Raya:
Teenage War Veteran Committed Suicide 'By Cop'
Marine 'Committed Suicide by Cop to Avoid Iraq Return'
Kin of Marine Who Shot Policemen Ask if He Is a Casualty of War
Young Camp Pendleton Marine who shot officers did not want to go back to Iraq.
A far Left Web site, San Francisco Bay Area Indymedia.org, posted a complaint that the California legislature -- which lowered its flags to honor slain cop Sgt. Howard Stevenson -- was showing "no consideration [for the] young man whose life was ruined by military service."
La Voz de Aztlan, a radical fringe publication by Mexican nationalists, lionized Raya and demonized police:
"One can only speculate what horrors Andres Raya experienced in Fallujah. The slaughter by U.S. occupation forces of Iraqi civilians in Fallujah has been compared to the slaughter in Guernica by Nazi forces in 1937. Many U.S. Marines with a conscious (sic) have found it very difficult to reconcile the Iraqi civilian murders in their minds and have committed suicide. U.S. Marine Andres Raya decided to take some cops with him. Most probably he was harassed by them while growing up Mexican in this small northern California town." The paper also lambasted Raya's hometown, Ceres, as "a redneck town notorious for its mistreatment of his people."
Writing in the anti-war publication CounterPunch, Jack Random lamented Raya's death as "symbolic of the untold story of war. Hundreds of thousands of trained killers survive combat only to come home to a life for which they are no longer prepared. They have seen what men and women should never see. They have engaged in operations that brought them face to face with the death of innocent civilians, women and children."
The only elements missing in the bleeding-heart coverage of Raya's story were the soundtrack to "Platoon" and a bulk order of Kleenex. There's just one thing wrong with the sympathetic spin about the anti-war Marine. It's all dead wrong.
This much is true about Raya: The 19-year-old man did in fact serve with the Marines' 1st Intelligence Battalion's motor transport unit as a driver in Iraq.
But contrary to the impression left by initial media reports, Raya had never seen combat. And he was not headed back to Iraq. He had been transferred to a new unit scheduled for deployment to Okinawa. "During our investigation, we found he wasn't due to go back to Iraq, never faced combat situations and never even fired his gun," Stanislaus County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Woodman said.
Raya was high on cocaine at the time of the ambush, according to police reports. He was reportedly affiliated with the prison gang Nuestra Familia. Investigators found photos of Raya wearing gang colors and a shopping list in his bedroom safe that included body armor, assault rifles and ammunition. Authorities also discovered a video showing Raya smoking what appears to be marijuana and making gang sign gestures. The tape showed desecrated pieces of the American flag laid on a gymnasium floor to spell out expletives directed at President Bush.
Family members deny Raya's gang ties and blame the military. Meanwhile, Raya's neighborhood was decorated with anti-cop graffiti such as "Kill the Pigs" in his memory. And militant Hispanic residents celebrate Raya. Ceres resident Hilda Mercado told The New York Times that Raya "died like a true Mexican: He died standing on his feet."
The question isn't what got into Raya when he entered the military. The question is why and how Raya -- who police say had a propensity for violence well before he joined the Marines -- got into our military in the first place.
And now you know the rest of the story.
Michelle Malkin is a syndicated columnist and maintains her weblog at michellemalkin.com
"But contrary to the impression left by initial media reports, Raya had never seen combat. And he was not headed back to Iraq. He had been transferred to a new unit scheduled for deployment to Okinawa. "During our investigation, we found he wasn't due to go back to Iraq, never faced combat situations and never even fired his gun," Stanislaus County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Woodman said. "
I can't believe it....The media would actually distort the truth in order to serve it's own political agenda </sarcasm>
bet you a bazillion dollars the MSM NEVER retract their BS version of the events.
Raya is one of many gangsters that have joined the Marine Corps. Some join to get away from the gang life and become good Marines. Many join and become sh*tbirds. Supposedly gangsters join to get the training and then return to the homies. They learn a fraction of what they are taught because....well because they are dumbasses. I knew several gang members while I was in the Corps but I had no idea how involved they were or if they were even active members.
Figures.
Paul Harvey can't hold a candle to Ms. Malkin as to ''the REST of the story.''
IT's been a problem in the Army too. Bangers join Reserves or NG thinking they will still have time to hang with their homies.
Ft Ord (Active Duty)used to have some issues when I was there through the early 90's. Yea it was talked about, yea some of them joined to get out, but others joined for the wrong reasons.
They have engaged in operations that brought them face to face with the death of innocent civilians, women and children."
They sure did. Innocent Iraqi civilians, women and children killed by Iraqi terrorists. That's what they were brought face to face with.
Well, well, well.
This was a huge problem at LeJeune, in the mid 90's. I had 1 in my squad and several in the Battalion.
The MP's busted a huge drug ring, run by the gangs during the 4 years I was at LeJeune. It was claimed to be the biggest bust in the history of the corps. If I'm not mistaken, they arrested almost 100 Marines and Sailors.
There are so many jokes I could make here, but I'll bite my tongue.
The MSM will ignore this.
these are the only stories I found doing a search on yahoo news.
Police: Marine on Cocaine in Deadly Shooting
KPIX/KCBS via Yahoo! News - Jan 17 1:19 PM
Police: Marine Who Killed Cop Was Gang Member
NBC San Diego - Jan 17 10:50 AM
Police: Cop-killer Marine had cocaine in system
CNN.com - Jan 16 11:02 PM
Police: Marine Who Killed Was Gang Member
AP via Yahoo! News - Jan 16 4:26 PM
California police: Marine who shot policeman was gang member
USA Today - Jan 16 1:47 PM
ninn.org - Marine Who Killed Officer Was Gang Member
National Incident Notification Network - Jan 17 1:16 AM
CERES, STANISLAUS COUNTY Marine who killed cop linked to gang activity Family members dispute account by investigators
San Francisco Chronicle - Jan 16 6:30 PM
The Marine who fatally shot a Ceres police officer
Police: Marine who killed cop was gang member
KESQ - Jan 16 7:54 PM
Marine Who Served in Iraq Slain in Calif.
AP via Yahoo! News - Jan 14 8:51 PM
Police said Friday that a young Marine who was killed by police after he shot and killed an officer and wounded another was also a gang member who had recorded a videotaped insult to President Bush before he died.
Marine's gang ties revealed
Modesto Bee - Jan 15 5:08 AM
Police Paint Disturbing Picture of Man Who Killed Ceres Police Officer
KXTV - Jan 14 6:52 PM
Breaking News: Police find materials glorifying gang involvement in Raya's bedroom
Modesto Bee - Jan 14 12:34 PM
Marine was gang member, police say
Monterey County Herald - Jan 15 3:13 AM
"NEWS STORIESResults 1 - 20 of about 219"
Same problems at Pendleton. Murder, rape, smuggling etc...
We all have stories from the 90's. I wonder how the 90's compare to other eras.
I'm willing to bet that Raya had at least one NJP or Article 15 in his service record book.
The funeral for Sgt. Howard Stevenson was held today in our chichi in Modesto. I wasn't able to attend, but there were thousands of police officers from all over California, Nevada, Idaho etc. in attendance. The funeral procession traveled from the church in Modesto, south past the Ceres, CA Police Station and then on to the cemetery in Hughson, CA. Reports heard earlier today that the procession would take 1 1/2 hours to pass by any given spot along the route.
A report and video report are available at the following site:
Not sure why the dig at Paul Harvey was made, but my guess would be that Ms. Malkin intended that comment as a tribute to Mr. Harvey.
Same in the Army. I was stationed with a SGT in Korea back in the early 80's, he was from LA, said he was starting to get involved with gangs back home and that joining the Army probably saved his life..
Ping
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.