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A resident will take his first step into the ethical morass of war tonight...with a cinematic debut that explores “what you have to do to come home alive.” In April 2006, amid heavy fighting, seven Marines and one Navy corpsman were given orders to capture a known insurgent in the Iraqi village of Hamdania, located west of Baghdad. The group kidnapped and killed the insurgent’s cousin, Hashim Ibrahim Awad, instead. The eight involved in the incident — the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment Kilo Company — became known as the Pendleton 8 and were held at Camp Pendleton before charges...

A former Marine sergeant convicted of leading his "Pendleton 8" squad in the kidnapping and slaying of an Iraqi man will have his case heard by the Naval Clemency and Parole Board during a hearing in Washington on Wednesday. Pvt. Lawrence Hutchins III is serving an 11-year term for the April 2006 killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the Iraqi village of Hamdania. He is at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. A military jury found Hutchins guilty of murder in August 2007 and sentenced him to 15 years in prison and a reduction in rank to private. Prosecutors...

STEELE'S MARCH (PART I) America's courts-martial scheme is burdened by a grim reputation. Experienced readers of courts-martial records become conscious always of power and design. In the series of courts-martial surrounding Operation Iron Triangle (9 May 2006), these distinctive factors quickly emerge from the shadows as a ship emerges from dense fog. Army Ranger -- Staff Sergeant Raymond L. Girouard is being punished without a jury trial for crimes he never committed. Courts-martial records are full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes. In consequence of reading yesterday some of the earliest Iron Triangle reports the diabolical...

(CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.) - Two years ago the nation was shocked to hear of Marines coming home from the battlefield in shackles. This is not how we treat our heroes, not when they are highly decorated, highly trained, and even more experienced. It was preposterous, we said, to charge Marines with murder for shooting the enemy. Isn’t that what we train them to do? Marine Sergeant Hutchins"Yet that is exactly what we did–and the seven Marines, together with their Navy corpsman, became known as the Pendleton 8. For the last two years, these men have seen their families disintegrate, their...

A retired Marine officer has denied charges that he spoke with Hutchins case convening authority Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland regarding the disposition of Sgt Larry Hutchins. In an email to me that was copied to several other parties, Major Herbert W. (Bill) Donahue, Jr., vehemently denied any involvement with Gen. Helland, and threatened legal action against me for “libel/slander and defamation of character.” Donahue did not stop there, however, and went on to accuse me of “impugning the integrity of several ethical attorneys,” among other things. The email basically degenerated into a personal attack, including several false accusations that are...

EXCLUSIVE: Pendleton 8 Exposed, Part 5: Autopsy and Pathology Report April 12, 2008 · As promised, here are the first of many documents to come in the Pendleton 8 case. This is the autopsy of a dead Iraqi that even the report admits is only “believed to be” Awad. You’ll see handwritten notes throughout the report, and these are the notes of Sgt Larry Hutchins himself.What makes this document so incredible is that there is no proof that the man autopsied is even the man the Marines killed that night. In fact, there is some evidence to show that the...

HAMDANIA: The PENDLETON 8: OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS TELL A DIFFERENT STORY WHEN COMPARED TO THE MEDIA ACCOUNTS. WHY? (A) WHAT WERE THE CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING UP TO THE PATROL THAT NIGHT? WERE THEY COMMON EVENTS OR WAS THIS A SPECIAL PATROL TO SEARCH OUT A SPECIFIC PERSON AS THE OFFICIAL CHARGES CLAIMED? The government's case was that the patrol lead by Sgt Hutchin's, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was after a specific insurgent named Saleh Gowad, and when he was not found at the location of his house, a random house was chosen and an innocent man was taken and killed. Make sure that you...

We pick up now where we left off in the timeline of events surrounding the incident that put far too many Marines in prison for killing the enemy. If you didn’t see Part 1 yesterday, you can find it here. January 18, 2007: Marine Pleads Guilty to Iraqi Kidnap, Murder “The Marine said ‘Someone’ fired a shot,” and then he and the others in the squad opened fire. Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III went up to the victim to make sure he was dead, [Cpl Trent] Thomas said. “Sgt. Hutchins shot Mr. Awad with a three-round burst to the head...

To All, After two years, the real story of the Pendleton 8 is finally coming out. A select few are in possession of the documents that show not only the actual events of that night in Hamdania, but the trail of corruption, incompetence, and blatant disregard for the lives of Marines under fire that resulted in unjust imprisonment and convictions or plea bargains for so many men. It's all on paper, it's all verified, and it's all coming out. The documents and the story they tell will be appearing on Euphoric Reality beginning today with the first installment: Part 1...

The letter below is from one of the Marines whose team I am on who have been involved with the Hamdania Incident, both in fundraising and exposure to the public of information that the media has refused to cover, and that includes all conservative media like FOX News, NEWSMAX, World Net Daily, Ollie North, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Howie Carr. Some of them can be forgiven due to the large amount of e-mails received daily, but others were given extensive telephone interviews, with details, and some of them outright refused to consider this as an issue because it would not...

There is a documentary being made on the abuses that the 7 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman faced when accused of Murder in 2006, from an operation in Iraq. Below is a timeline of events and links to the documentary teasers.

FREEPER Tim Harrington, Sgt HMM-165, has been personally involved with the families of the accused Marines of the Hamdania Case, (PENDLETON 8 ) and Haditha. DUring this time, Tim has been in constant contact with his state rep, William Delahunt, D-MA 10th district. Mr Delahunt is the representative of Sgt Hutchins who was found guilty in his court martial for the charge of murdering a civilian in Iraq. This issue is important because it has shown a level of corruption and perjury in the NCIS system and specifically 2 individuals that are common to the Hamadania and Haditha cases. It...

MUKILTEO — Robert Pennington and his father, Terry Pennington, ascended a pair of tall stepladders in place along a wall of the Electroimpact company. They fussed with ties that held a 12-foot banner proclaiming: "Free Rob Pennington." When the banner fluttered to the ground, an appreciative crowd of about 150 cheered. It was a homecoming for the 22-year-old U.S. Marine.

NORTH COUNTY ---- Jury decisions and a powerful general's grants of clemency have signaled that Marines may be reluctant to jail service members accused of war crimes in Iraq. Few saw it coming when the military justice system granted freedom to most of the eight Camp Pendleton troops who admitted to kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man in Hamdania last year. Former Marine prosecutor Thad Coakley was among those caught off guard. "The sentences were well below what is expected for the guilty findings for a group that decide to kidnap and execute a guy," said Coakley, who has extensive...

Aug-09-2007 05:40 Advocates Call Iraq Marine's Court Martial and Conviction Into Question Tim King Salem-News.comFormer Marines investigating the case say there is far more than meets the eye; the court martial is currently under appeal and review. Photo of Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins with his lawyerCourtesy: DoD (SALEM, Ore.) - A Marine convicted for murder in Iraq is receiving increasing public support by those who believe he is not guilty. Marine Sergeant Lawrence Hutchins has been sentenced to 15-years for the killings in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. Friends say Hutchins is innocent Advocates say a number of the government's...

Pvt. Robert Pennington CAMP PENDLETON ---- The seventh of eight Marines jailed for the execution of an Iraqi man left the brig Friday afternoon, freed by a Camp Pendleton general. Pvt. Robert Pennington walked free after Lt. Gen. James Mattis granted him clemency, slashing the remaining seven years off Pennington's eight-year sentence. Pennington struck a lengthy plea deal earlier this year, admitting his role in a plot that left an Iraqi man dead on the side of a road in the rural village of Hamdania on April 26, 2006. His family said Friday they were overjoyed with the decision...

Cpl Rob Pennington is now a free man. He recently took a plea bargain for a murder charge, testified against his fellow Marines, and is not free. Only Sgt Hutchin's is in Jail. 8 Men, all charged with Murder, Kidnapping, Assault, whatever...now one is left in jail, the rest are free. That doesn't happen if they had evidence.

The family is devastated. Sht Hutchins is reuced in rank to private, sentenced to 15 years Leavenworth, forfiture of all pay and allowances, and upon release is dishonorably discharged.

PENDLETON 8 Marine freed after being convicted. CPL MAGINCALDA IS A FREE MAN, HE WAS GIVEN AN HONORABLE DISCHARGE, ALL PAY, ALL BACK PAY AND BENEFITS. more to follow

As many of you know, Freepers have been involved in the legal defenses of the Marines in the Haditha case and the Hamdania case, otherwise known as THE PENDLETON 8. I have received some new information just now on a documentary that is being made on the Pendleton 8 Marines. We have tried to get the mainstream media to pay attention to us, and for over a year, NONE have taken the lead. Even last week, with the 2 minute reference made by Roger Hedgecock, the main stream of America has no idea what is going on. Here is the...