“Six Seconds”

neveryetmelted ^ | 25 May 2015 | Lt. Gen. John Kelly

[virgil283]

"– American and Iraqi – bedded down in the barracks, totally unaware that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread shoulder-width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could. They had only one second left to live, and I think they knew. The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God. Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty.... (H/T American Digest)

[castlebrew]

I continue to pray that we may be worthy of, and continue to find such men...

[ConorMacNessa]

This vignette from Gen. Kelly, whose son died in combat, illustrates all that is good about our Valiant Troops!

Semper Fi, General!

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

[kaehurowing]

And now POS Obama has spat on their graves.

[virgil283]

....."One of the Iraqis elaborated, and with tears welling up, said, “They’d run like any normal man would to save his life. ”What he didn’t know until then, and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal. Choking past the emotion, he said, “Sir, in the name of God, no sane man would have stood there and done what they did. They saved us all.”

[Bulldaddy]

I continue to be amazed that we find, recruit and have these MEN to protect us. Where do they come from?

[NorthMountain]

spat

The Kenyan Usurper does far worse than that ...

[mabarker1]

WOW!!! Though it doesn't surprise Me.

Your Brothers in Arms did not fail the Mission- God Bless

Ping

[FatherofFive]

And now POS Obama has spat on their graves.

If it wasn't for global warming those guys in the truck would be delivering vegetables instead of explosives

[rlmorel]

Brilliant. Just defines why I still have hope.

Obama and the rest of his ilk are doing all they can to destroy our military, corrupt it from within and disarm it, but I hope there is yet time to reverse it.

[right way right]

Thankful Bump

[virgil283]

..."Yale was a dirt-poor mixed-race kid from Virginia, with a wife, a mother and a sister, who all lived with him and he supported. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle-class white kid from Long Island. They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines, they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple Americas exist simultaneously, depending on one’s race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, education level, economic status, or where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible, and because of this bond they were brothers as close – or closer – than if they were born of the same woman. The mission orders they received from their sergeant squad leader, I’m sure, went something like this: “OK, take charge of this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass. You clear?” I’m also sure Yale and Haerter rolled their eyes and said, in unison, something like, “Yes, sergeant,” with just enough attitude that made the point, without saying the words, “No kidding, sweetheart. We know what we’re doing.” They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry-control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq. A few minutes later, a large blue truck turned down the alleyway – perhaps 60 to 70 yards in length – and sped its way through the serpentine concrete Jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both....."

[GeronL]

It could have been Beirut all over again

[ConorMacNessa]

It's late this evening and I don't have the time to fact check myself, but I believe Gen. Kelly gave this address shortly after his son fell valiantly in battle. Another of his sons serves still.

When I think of the valor displayed by the men who stood against sure death in this instance, the valor displayed by men with whom I have stood on the field of battle, and the grace under extreme loss displayed by Gen. Kelly in the face of the recent loss of his son, I am simply overwhelmed.

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

[GeronL]

They don’t come from college saferooms

[GeronL]

don’t give me that “multiple Americas” crap

[EternalVigilance]

“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.”

— President Ronald Reagan

[Lurker]

Semper Fi, brothers. Rest easy.

L

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Thank you for posting this, Virgil283.
May they rest in peace, and rise in glory.

Canteen PING, and bring your tissues.

[MurrietaMadman]

What did we do today to earn the right to live as Americans as all they who died defending US had the right to expect but neither the time nor the inclination to consider?