MCCOY'S MARINES: DARKSIDE TOWARD BAGHDAD - Part 6 of 6 - Going Home

San Francisco Chronicle (Believe it or Not!) ^ | November 15, 2003 | John Koopman

[river rat]

Baghdad -- Chapter 6: All quiet in Baghdad .. .. . Meeting the press corps . .. . . The statue of Saddam comes down, people hit it with their shoes .. .. . Baghdad is Dodge City . .. .. Two more Marines die . .. .. Darkside's Thug Patrol . .. .. Getting out of Dodge . .. .. Ice at the Hilton . .. .. Marines return to their desert . .. .. Everyone's happy, except the ones who are not . .. .. Debauchery at the Rattler . .. .. Where war stays forever. .

[river rat]

This was the final chapter of this series..

I hope John Koopman's effort, brought more understanding about what war REALLY means to the humble grunt on the ground..and conveyed the unique quality of the Officer Corps that the Marines have ALWAYS been blessed with..

For me, it reaffirmed that at the core, it's STILL THE CORPS...

May God bless and protect each and every one of them - and comfort the families and loved ones of the lost..

Semper Fi

[river rat]

Final Chapter

[SAMWolf]

Bump. Thanks River Rat.

[general_re]

Marine Cpl. Jesus A. Gonzalez

Marine Cpl. Jason David Mileo

[MEG33]

Amen..May God protect them and be with those who wait for their return.This brought back all nighters watching embed reports,the Baghdad cam focused on that blasted statue and the countdown to see it fall.

Our US flag was up there so briefly..but it was the still photo that lasted.I am so filled with pride and gratitude.Thank you ,Marines.I mourn and honor your lost brothers.

[M Kehoe]

Thanks for posting this series.

May the Lord watch over our troops, and those of the Coalition. Amen.

5.56mm

[dighton]

Thanks again for posting this series.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

[river rat]

Thank YOU again, for posting such clean links...
I REALLY need to learn how to do that!

Semper Fi

[river rat]

That site should be visited by EVERYONE...
It puts a human face and a family behind each KIA "statistic".
Damn, these kids look so young!
Were we that young?

Semper Fi

[Valin]

A handful of peace activists, human shields, argue against the war to anyone who will listen. One woman walks up to a group of Marines and calls them murderers.

Some people JUST DON'T GET IT!
I ran into some of these back in 69-70 At a party they were ragging on me killer...etc. Question are you pacifists? Answer yes we don't believe in fighting or war. (Me) Well that's real good, because I'm not, and Uncle Sam has spent 10s of thousands of dollars to teach me how to beat the crap out of people. Now you've got a choice, get out of my face, or spend 3 months in a hospital...you're choice.

They left...wise choice on their part.

[Valin]

Were we that young?

I think that everytime I see a photo of these kids. I mean I've got socks older than they are.

[river rat]

Yep, it sure puts things in perspective - doesn't it?
Hell, I suspect there's things in my refridgerator older than some of those kids...
(Don't tell my wife I said that - she'd "punish me")

Semper Fi

[XJarhead]

Thanks very much for posting those links. The guy was pretty fair overall, which is probably better than we should have expected from a Chronicle reporter. Glad he made it out.

Semper Fi.

[river rat]

The Washington Post published a report on the removal of a Marine Colonel in command of a Regiment - during the assault on Baghdad..

This was a highly UNUSUAL occurance - especially during a combat operation...

However, it was not the first time his Commanding General, Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis removed a Battalion Commander during action......

Col.Joe W. Dowdy's Removal

[river rat]

Damn! It worked!
A old dog CAN learn new tricks...

Thanks alot..
Semper Fi

[river rat]

Well, "Fair" is about as good as I would give him..

But at least he mentioned "our Lt." by name - so I pulled him from failing to "fair"
I mostly objected to the really unnecessary cheap shots, and dwelling a little too long on the "bar scenes and activity" of young Marines on leave..

I have to give him credit, for at least capturing some of the grinding misery and boredom that instantly changes to heart stopping danger and death.

Dighton just taught me how to post labeled links - and I posted the Washington Post article about the removal of Col. Dowdy.

Semper Fi

[SENTINEL]

I do miss it so.

[dighton]

You're welcome. Glad I could be of help.

Do one or two links a day, and it'll be second nature in no time.

[oh8eleven]

...it's STILL THE CORPS...
Always was, always will be.
Semper Fi...

[river rat]

The 1st Lt. mentioned in this chapter - should be familiar to you..

When he got home, and after his mother had thrown a HUGH neighborhood welcome home party - and finally took her arms from around his neck and released him to the "old men" - we took him and his father - together with some old grunt friends to a couple of "special treats"...

In San Jose, there is a restaurant called "Original Joe's".
It is THE traditional Italian Steak House..
We took Eric to the place, which we FREQUENTLY visit - and sat him at the counter in front of the cooks and informed them who Eric was and where he had been...

The SHTF.....the folks there treated him like visiting royalty and gave him the biggest damned filet I had ever seen in my life --- it separated by fork alone..
The "goodies" stacked on his plate would have fed a squad..

After lunch -- they started delivering Italian dessert cakes and ice cream.... It was FANTASTIC, and I think we enjoyed watching him eat more than he did eating - if that was possible... America is still filled with wonderful people... You just have to know where to find them..

Later that week - another friend treated Eric and the the old gang of grunts, to a professional outdoor charitable "Game Feed" put on by the local Clubs and Gun Shops.. Once again, this young Marine ate wild game, drank bottomless cups of cold beer and smoked big cigars like there was no tomorrow...
In HIS business, I guess that's the correct perspective..

Life is good when you are an alive and victorious Marine..

Being with this happy young Marine, and seeing the warm loving welcome he received from everyone, erased a lot of bad memories some of we older Marines from another era, still harbored..

Semper Fi