[saquin]

James Hider of the London Times is one of the few reporters embedded with the Marines in Fallujah. (Unfortunately, The Times is a subscription site, so many can't read it, but I'll be happy to post his articles here, as long as I don't get in trouble :-) ).

The only other reporters embedded in Fallujah that I know of are Pamela Constable (Washington Post), Tony Perry (LA Times) and Darrin Mortenson (North County Times, near camp Pendleton CA, where the Marines are from).

[AndyJackson]

A great story. Thanks.

[Arpege92]

I'm going to print a copy of this story and keep it as a reminder of how truly blessed I really am for living in a country who's soldiers are the bravest on this entire planet.

[MEG33]

Great writng.May God be with the family of the Marine who was killed.Close call for all the rest..I am thankful for their lives and their service.

[Keith]

My only regret is that we couldn't get a C-130 in there to take care of that large concentration of bandits...

[af_vet_1981]

“Then the men started shouting that they could hear tanks. The first one went past, then the second,” Sergeant Sagredo said. Horrified that the rescuers would miss him, Sergeant Sagredo radioed to tell them to back up. They did. A rifle muzzle appeared through the gate, and Captain Jason Smith of the 5th Marine Regiment came through shouting: “Marines, Marines, friendlies!” It took an hour for the tanks to hook up with the burnt-out vehicle, but they were determined not to leave a dead Marine behind inside it. Sergeant Sagredo does not want a medal for saving his men. “A decoration would only remind me of what happened. This is something I want to forget. Unfortunately, if it doesn’t affect me now, I know it will haunt me later.”

Thank G-d the cavalry came in time.

• In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl, under the archway that no ememy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.
• All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone amoung the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dínin.
• 'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your master. Go!'
• The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter.
• 'Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade.
• Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
• And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.

Two words

Twelve hours

Carpet bombing

[xJones]

They were incredibly out-numbered, and the enemy had all those RPGs, but they made it. Well done.

[PISANO]

Thank you for posting. I would rather hear stories like these that uplift as they tear my heart apart then to listen to the crap that passes for news on all the network and cable channels. Aside from the few reports by Oliver North they all are sensationally reported with no CONTEXT.

If you don't mind keep them coming....this VET is deeply interested.

[mikegi]

Where was our airpower??? Our guys should NEVER get stuck like this. Why don't we have Apaches nearby to offer support when something like this happens? A couple of Hellfires would have shut down the guerrillas in a second.

[Prince Charles]

In the midst of the firefight, with the armoured vehicle’s munitions blowing up, an ambulance pulled up. The Marines thought they were being rescued. Instead, 15 men with RPGs jumped out and started firing.

Raghead treachery knows no bounds. God bless our guys!

[Tennessean4Bush]

Wow! This was gripping! Thank God in heaven the tanks came just in time.

[zygoat]

Wow! This made the hair on the back of my neck stand up! I'm tempted to say something about medals and a certian democrat, but I will not soil a thread about real heros with his name.

[bmwcyle]

God Bless these Guys.

[JRandomFreeper]

“There was a guy in a headscarf with an AK47 standing there looking at me, so I shot him.”

Ok. I can live with that. God bless our Marines.

/john

[LibKill]

When air support doesn't show (and I'm real interested in WHY it didn't show), when artillery is not available (WHY?), when everything goes to poo, the rifle is still with the Marine.

He knows how to use it.

Had these men surrendered they most likely would have been murdered immediately.

Stick by your guns.

Semper Fidelis.

That is all.

[Dubya]

Thank you for posting this.

Dub

A Nation Mourns

[sarasmom]

BTTT

[DWPittelli]

With the engine dead, the rear gate would not open.

Could this be right? No manual door latch? That's insane!

Great article, BTW.

[OldCorps]

good job Marines!

We're proud of ya!

[Dubya]

To The Muslim Terrorist
You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn?
Whatever it was, please know that you failed. Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald

[jdontom]

“They were running across our line of fire like we weren’t even shooting at them,” the corporal said.

Great story, this must have been the story today about the lost marine transport driving around blindly, as the AP wire put it. Heard nothing about this firefight and our brave Marines...........