Posted on 10/09/2008 4:20:09 PM PDT by SandRat
FALLUJAH, Iraq, Oct. 9, 2008 Four years ago in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods here, Marines were attacked within minutes of beginning routine foot patrols. Fallujahs citizens were strongly opposed to the presence of coalition forces, and a vicious insurgency devastated the city.
It felt as if I looked hard enough, I could see him there, Benjamin said. It all seemed surreal, and I'm honestly not too sure how I feel, but I do know I'm glad I went. Marine Corps Maj. Jeffrey McCormack, who was the intelligence officer for 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, and is a native of Oak Forest, Ill., worked closely with James during their deployment together in 2004 and was nearby when the shooting occurred. McCormack, now the operations officer for 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, contacted the Swain family shortly after James death and regularly keeps in touch with them. A few months into McCormacks current deployment, he discovered Benjamin was deployed to Fallujah only minutes away from his old living quarters. McCormack quickly contacted Benjamin via e-mail, and they planned to meet. Once I found out Ben was near Camp Fallujah, I set up a dinner with him after one of my meetings, McCormack said. During the dinner, I asked Benjamin if he was interested in going to the alleyway where his brother was killed. After some coordination, the two set out to visit the site. They first visited the rooftop of a building formerly occupied by coalition forces. The roof of the building was the last place McCormack saw James alive. The night before James left for what was to be his last mission, McCormack asked James if he had any pictures of himself from the deployment. James said no, and McCormack pulled out his digital camera and snapped a few shots of him on the rooftop. I immediately recognized the area from the pictures, Benjamin said. Being there and just being able to see the places where he spent his last hours meant being able to connect with him in some way. Benjamin and McCormack stood on the roof reminiscing about James. McCormack pointed out various sites in the city and told Benjamin the sequence of events leading up to James death. They looked over the city one last time before setting out on a foot patrol with Marines from 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, to the site where James was shot. Iraqis smiled and waved as the patrol made its way to the alleyway. The friendly atmosphere was vastly different from the one James and McCormack experienced four years ago. Benjamin said every day he sees the progress resulting from the sacrifice his brother and thousands of others have made, and that their loss is not in vain. I've never thought his death was in vain, Benjamin said. He died doing what he believed in. But the progress weve made is a testament to the hard work and sacrifices of all who served, and that cannot be taken for granted. Benjamin said his brother would be pleased at the countrys improvement if he were alive to see it. He would be proud, and maybe even smug, he said. He would probably joke and say something like, Its safe around here because of me, because of what I did." Benjamin said he and James always believed in serving their country, and following James death, Benjamin joined the Navy as a corpsman. In high school, my brother and I agreed that while everyone cant serve, everyone should want to serve to help repay for the many opportunities we are granted just by living in America, Benjamin said. I understood that all Marines are brothers, and seeing how my brother was a Marine, that made the Marines my brothers, too. So I figured as a Navy corpsman, I'd get the opportunity to serve with some of my brothers. McCormack said that while there can never be closure for him because it is far too difficult getting over someones death, he is thankful for the opportunity to share the day with Benjamin. Benjamin was very grateful for the opportunity to see the actual area his brother was killed and the rooftop of the building where the pictures were taken, McCormack said. It was just as beneficial for me to be on that rooftop with him. I dont want to say it brought closure, because the pain of losing a Marine never goes away, and the loss of a brother will certainly never go away for Ben. I lost a Marine, but he lost a brother. (Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Casey Jones serves with Regimental Combat Team 1.) |
Thank you to all of you that served and returned and remember in prayer those that didn’t. HEROES, all of you!
What an honor for a brother to bestow on the memory of the another. Corpsmen have never had to buy beer while I've been around.
One of them saved my fathers life near Chu Li one warm July afternoon and my father made it a point to show us all the lives they saved when we visited him in the hospital.
Just wishing that he knows how much we respect his brother's sacrifice.
It felt as if I looked hard enough, I could see him there,
No, he wasn’t there. He was on duty guarding the “Streets Of Gold”.
Prayers for his family that sacrificed so much for others.
Nam Vet
I don’t know how it is in the Army, but in the Corps, many officers do treat their Marines almost as if they were their own sons. An outfit with a good officer can really become an extended family.
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