I Sent My Son to War [Sgt John Winnick II, Marine sniper charged with murder]

JohnnyWinnick.com ^ | June 21, 2008 | Dorothy Winnick

[RedRover]

He said, "Mom I want to join the Marines, please sign these papers,
I am only 17."
I said okay.
911 happened.
Are you sure?
"Yes please let me go, I know I have to go."
I said okay. He was only 18.
They said you young Marines will go to war and some will not come back.
He said, "Don't worry; I have to fight for our country."
I said okay. He was only 19.
He marched up to Baghdad.
Sand swirled all around, the heat was extreme, water was scarce, and sleep was little.
Hungry, tired and dirty, he marched, he fought, and he saw his friends die before his eyes.
He came back thin and sick.
He said God was with him.
He rested and ate and recovered. He trained. He prepared for another deployment.
He said, "I have to go, my fellow Marines and country need me."
I said okay. He was only 20.
He fought in the biggest and deadliest battle of the war, the Battle of Fallujah.
He stormed houses, He searched for the enemy.
The explosions were tremendous, the gunfire relentless, and blood covered the streets.
He fought, he prayed, I prayed, he was hit but nothing happened, he stepped on an IED, but nothing happened.
I prayed, he prayed.
He received the letters we wrote and the ones from his sister's students.
I said, "did you read the letters?"
He said, "I passed them out to other Marines, they needed them."
I said did you get the food I sent?
He said, "I passed it out to my fellow Marines, they needed it."
I said okay.
He fought hard, he did his duty, he came back.
He rested, he ate, he slept, he trained, and he prepared for another deployment.
He said, "I have to go, my fellow Marines and country need me."
I said okay. He was only 21.
He battled the enemy, the IED's, the heat, the sand, and endured the deaths.
He caught and cooked a chicken on Thanksgiving and shared it with all around him.
I said did you get the cookies we sent?
He said, "I passed them out to the Iraqis, they needed them."
He ate with them, he sat with them, and he read his Bible with them.
They said "Thank you, please read more," he said okay.
I said, "did you get the coolpaks I sent you?"
He said, "I passed them out to my troops, they needed them."
He fought the heat, the sand, the freezing cold, fatigue, and the enemy.
He came home, he rested, he ate, he slept, and he trained. He was 22.
He prepared for another deployment.
He was told we will go on a boat around the world, don't worry it will be safe this time.
I said okay. He was only 23.
He slept in bunks stacked 3 high and side-by-side. Only inches separating each Marine.
He trained and prepared.
His ship arrived in Kuwait. He knew, I knew.
He again marched to his destination.
He battled the heat, the sand, the IED's, and the enemy.
He was trained to protect his troops, to seek out the enemy, to do what he was trained.
He encouraged his troops, he held the ones that died and stood by, so others would not see the blood. He comforted his fellow Marines and advised and helped them prepare.
He did all that he was trained to do. He made the right decisions. He had no doubt.
He called, he said, "something happened, please don't worry."
He said, "I did what I was trained to do, I made the best decision I could."
He said I can't talk about it but something happened please don't worry.
I said okay. I prayed, I prepared, I was ready.
He came home, he rested, he ate, he prepared for another battle.
He said don't worry my innocence will be shown.
He prepares for battle, a battle here at home, a battle for doing his job.
He said don't worry.
I said okay. I prepare. I pray.
He is only 24.

[RedRover]

A message from Dorothy Winnick on the new site, JohnnyWinnick.com:

On May 19, 2008, military prosecutors charged Sgt. John F. Winnick II with two counts of voluntary manslaughter, one count of aggravated assault and one count of dereliction of duty for incidents that occurred almost one full year prior to the charges. We cannot discuss the case and any details but we can tell you that Johnny did exactly what he was trained to do.

We have set up this website to give our friends, family and supporters more information about Johnny and to support his innocence. We have a respected and experienced attorney, Gary Myers, whom is helping Johnny to be cleared of all charges. Although this is a very stressful time for our family, we are doing extremely well. God has truly upheld every member of our family and we are staying very positive. We firmly believe God will be glorified in all of this! Johnny is confident that the truth will be heard. We are blessed with all your prayers, supportive emails, and comments on the blog.

Though he is way to humble too ever admit it, Johnny is one of the most upright, caring, and hardworking Marines serving our country. We know we have a tough journey ahead of us, but we know it will be easier with your support.

[RedRover]

[RedRover]

More prayers needed. We'll be following the case at Defend Our Marines and will keep everyone informed as this latest travesty unfolds.

[freema]

Ping

[Pikachu_Dad]

WOW.

Good luck and God bless you and your son.

Sometimes we get sent down paths and we don’t understand why.

It is because these difficult paths make us stronger. Decades down the road this experience will help your son defeat our domestic enemies.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the ping.

[fatima]

Got it,we will pray on Monday.Keep us updated.(((Hugs)))

[peeps36]

It is not right to put our Marines in such a tough situation and then charge them for doing what they were trained to do. I don't know who is responsible for bringing these charges but I do know he's a scumbag. They will ruin our military if they keep this up.

[freema]

You’re welcome.

[lilycicero]

*SIGH*

[cubreporter]

Red Rover. Your son is a young, handsome Marine. First off we thank him for his service. We thank you and your wife and family for standing behind and supporting him.

Now, we will pray for your son and we will pray that he returns home to begina new life and family. We know he will always be a proud Marine and American. We know he would go back again and do it all over.

He needs true justice and not a kangaroo court. God bless him, all of you and please GOD put some brains in those who are sitting in judgement of him. He did his job the way he was trained.

Be with this young Marine and his family.

God bless you young fella and your family. We are behind you and once again thank you for all you have done in service to this country and the protection of its citizens.

[RedRover]

Just for clarity, all comments addressed to me are meant for the Winnick family. I posted this information on their behalf.

David Allender
RedRover

[RedRover]

PS. If you can, please also visit the family's blog to leave a message of support.

[murron]

What a fine looking young man he is. It’s bad enough when you have to worry about your son’s safety fighting the battles of war, but then to have to have him brought up on criminal charges just for doing his job would be more than I could stomach. I wish him and his family all the best. This makes me sick.

[RedRover]

Thought you’d like to see this thread.

[Semper Fi Mom]

WOW!! THIS IS SO HEARTBREAKING!! I AM TOTALLY SPEECHLESS!!

[xzins]

I am so tired of this targeting of our troops by a rag-tag band of moral midgets.

I do pray that God would repay those who thoughtlessly or with malice accuse one of our warriors without truly giving our warriors the benefit of the doubt and the presumption of innocence.

I pray that God visits on the accusers in equal measure the demoralization that they have brought on the heads of those who make split second decisions, ethically ambiguous decisions, because of the nature of a battlefield. Lord Jesus, these truly are my thoughts and prayers.

Please protect Sgt John Winnick II, a young American warrior.

[RedRover]

I'm with you, Mom. There are a lot of stories from the family and letters from fellow Marines at the LINK. Can't imagine what the family is going through. Unfortunately, I wish you didn't understand it all too well.

[Chickensoup]

This is a war, not a crime scene. These issues should not even be coming up. Not even on the radar screen.

I have a son who I will encourage to join the military to defend our country. But I will tell him to avoid the military if it continues to turn war into a crime.

[jazusamo]

Our prayers are with Sgt. Winnick and his family.