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Magazine cover propels public relations tour
January 28, 2004
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 Sgt. Marquette Whiteside
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Sgt. Marquette Whiteside isn’t sure he likes the fame that being on the cover of Time Magazine has handed him, but said he’s doing his best to represent fellow Soldiers as the 2003 Person of the Year.
“Sometimes I feel like there are more deserving people that could have been on the cover,’’ Whiteside said. “We just got lucky, I guess.”
Whiteside said he just happened to be walking past photographer James Nachtwey when he was pulled aside to be in the photo with fellow “Tomb Raiders” Sgt. Ronald Buxton and Spc. Billie Grimes. The platoon picked up the moniker from its earlier discovery of weapons hidden in graveyard crypts.
He didn’t do anything special to be chosen, Whiteside said, and the three had no idea the photo was being taken in conjunction with the magazine’s annual Person of the Year selection.
The trio is on a temporary break from duty in Baghdad – where they serve with the Survey Platoon, Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment of the 1st Armored Division – to make a public relations tour in Washington, D.C., New York City, Houston and Whiteside’s hometown of Pine Bluff, Ark. One of the highlights was sitting in the first lady’s box for President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address.
Whiteside, 24, is a field artillery surveyor who has seen more than enough danger and misery in Iraq, including a roadside bomb attack that killed his platoon leader, Lt. Ben Colgan. Making the media rounds here in the states is much safer business, but Whiteside said he isn’t basking in any glory. He’s more than happy, though, to spend time with his mother, Catherine, and 6-year-old daughter, Brashawn.
Platoon’s lone female takes seat of honor
 January 26, 2004
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 Spc. Billie Grimes
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Just last month, Spc. Billie Grimes was jumping into a Humvee seconds after a grenade explosion battered the vehicle inside one of Baghdad’s most dangerous neighborhoods, rendering medical aid to two Soldiers and two civilian journalists.
Grimes, a medic riding in another Humvee behind the attacked vehicle, is credited with saving the life of Time Magazine reporter Michael Weisskopf, whose hand was blown off by the grenade. She also treated photographer James Nachtwey, Pfc. Jim Beverly and Pvt. Orion Jenks – all of whom suffered serious shrapnel wounds.
A couple weeks after that Dec. 10 attack, Grimes turned up on the cover of Time Magazine with two sergeants from her unit, Survey Platoon – also known as the Tomb Raiders – of Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment of the 1st Armored Division. The three represent the magazine’s choice for 2003’s Person of the Year – the American Soldier.
Last week, Grimes got to hear President George W. Bush deliver the annual State of the Union address live and in person. She and her Time cover mates, Sgts. Ronald Buxton and Marquette Whiteside, were invited to sit in the first lady’s box for the live event. The next day, the trio headed for New York City for a public relations tour.
Grimes, 26, had no idea she was on the magazine cover when she left Iraq for R&R leave Dec. 23. She was waiting for her flight from Kuwait when a stranger recognized her, showing her the cover. The publicity since then has been a bit overwhelming.
“I didn’t realize how much of an impact it would have,’’ she said, admitting she dodged the media as much as possible while heading home to family in Lebanon, Ind. “I got clobbered immediately (with media attention).’’
She said she’s proud and honored, nonetheless, to represent her fellow service members.
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