Posted on 12/19/2004 3:49:33 PM PST by CHARLITE
From LtCol Smith:(to his wife and her friends)
Ladies,
It is with an extremely heavy heart and with much pain that I report to you the deaths of the following two heroes:
1. LCpl Richard D. Warner, Fox Co, 2nd Bn, 24th Marines, USMC
2. PFC Brent T. Vroman, Fox Co, 2nd Bn, 24th Marines, USMC
Both were killed when an improvised explosive device, planted inside a parked vehicle in the market area of Yusufiyah, was detonated on their foot patrol. An Iraqi citizen was killed in the blast, and several more severely injured. The very market where local people once conducted business under > > >the constant threat of kidnapping and beheading was once again a bustling town market, thanks to the security provided by the Warriors of Fox Company.
For an instant, that security was shattered by the concussion of an explosion, and two of our wonderful Marines lost their lives, but not their spirit. For in true Fox Company fashion, they patrol that market today, and at the end of this week conducted a massive helicopter assault into a previously unpatrolled area. The Operation was named by Fox Company as Operation Elecktra, and my forward staff and I conducted command and control from the Fox Company FOB, while Maj Mann commanded his company as part of the helo assault, but make no mistake about it: this operation was LED by the spirits of LCpl Warner and PFC Vroman!
It is important to note that I often speak of the "spirit" of our fallen heroes and how it is with us and drives us. It is important, because it is what sustains us! It is what keeps us ever moving forward, ever pressing, ever attacking! For you see, to us, there is no acceptable alternative.
I will not lie to you. When word of the death of one of my Marines reaches me, like any human being, thoughts of "is it worth it" creep into my mind. They creep in, make their appearance known to my conscious mind, and then are beaten down and overwhelmed by more powerful thoughts of God, Country and Corps! Now, before you think me some "brainwashed automation of a War machine," let me explain.
I was asked recently by a reporter from the NY Times, "what is an unacceptable price?" "How many lives are we willing to shed to achieve 'victory'." You see, he was fishing, fishing for how this Battalion of Marines that he had spent much time with could be so enthusiastic about their mission. Fishing to find the mythical "tipping point" where our will and spirit would be crushed, and we would whine about wanting to go home and get out of Iraq. Fishing for what it would take for us to break.
I thought about my answer, and I thought that although I sensed he was fishing, I also knew there was profound sincerity in his question and that he pained as well at our loss of life. I thought about all these things and I answered: one.
That's right, one. One is the number of Americans that is an "unacceptable price." One is the tipping point at which we are unwilling to pay. When one American life is lost, we have achieved the "tipping point."
However, it is the opposite tipping point of what so many think it should be. You see, these Marines are warriors, and all in the positive sense that that word means, and has meant since the dawn of man. They are the sheepdogs that keep the wolf at bay. And as long as one American has lost their life to any form of enemy, then we have reached the tipping point, and the sheepdog must be deployed and protect the sheep. He must go where the enemy is, find the wolf, and destroy him; for this is what the sheepdog does.
And right now, for this wonderful Battalion, we are at one X 10. So, we are ten times past our acceptable number. Now as to what price will we pay for that one life, that too is where we see things much differently as the sheepdog.
We will pay any price, bear any burden, suffer any hardship and endure whatever is required to accomplish our mission! This is both our sworn duty as Marines, and our moral obligation to those who will not accompany us home.
We, as a Nation, could quit, pack-up and go home, and I have no doubt America would not come under "invasion" of foreign enemies. But Americans would be safe nowhere in the world. You would be at risk of terrorist attack in your homes, your schools, your churches. You would be under threat of kindap, torture and murder anywhere in the world outside of the United States for the sheer knowledge that America cannot endure hardship.
That is what our enemy thinks. We have heard it from their very mouths! No, this is absolutely unacceptable to us as Marines! We will press on. And we will press with renewed spirit and vigor ANYTIME one of us has fallen. Because they send us their strength from beyond, and because WE KNOW anything less is defeat and dishonor of our fallen, neither of which can ever even be entertained.
No, we will press, and press and press. We will teach our enemy a definition of relentless they have not known, nor will ever see again!
We honor our dead. We press in their name and with their spirit to guide us.
WE WILL NOT FAIL THEM, FOR THEY DID NOT FAIL US!
As I watched and listened to some of the hardest men I have ever witnessed in my life speak at the memorial service for LCpl Warner and PFC Vroman, celebrating their lives as men, sons, brothers, fiancees and Marines, I was overwhelmed with grief. I saw some of the toughest Marines I have ever known shedding tears and talking of the importance of holding the hands and stroking the heads of their fallen friends and of their UNDYING love for them.
Well, we know it all too well, that brotherhood shortened by the loss of blood, is best repaid by completion of the mission for which the blood was let. AND WE WILL DO NO LESS.
What price? There is no price. There is no burden too great. There is nothing more that we can do to honor our dead but to tend to their families, and complete our mission. Both of these we will do.
I have found myself more and more, in my quiet times, wishing I could just feel the soft skin of my two little girls as we hold hands, and the sweet smell of my wife's hair as she kisses me softly on the cheek and whispers "I love you." For these simple pleasures I would give almost anything. Anything but stopping short of honoring our dead. For if to honor them is to complete our mission, and if our mission was to last 10 years, then let mine be a decade of loneliness!
LCpl Warner and PFC Vroman were both from Fox Company. I say this because I would like to finish with a story of something that struck me while visiting with Fighting Fox Company this week. When I went to Milwaukee for family day prior to deployment and spoke of the challenges that would lie ahead, and the dangers, I was approached after my remarks in the lobby by the beautiful fiancee of one of the Marines. She asked if she could pray for me. I agreed and she held my hand. She held my hand and she prayed aloud that all 2/24 would be safe and that we would all know the Lord's protection and presence. And then, she prayed for me. She prayed that I would be led by the Lord, and that I would lead. And, she prayed for my strength.
I have often wondered if her prayer was heard. I have wondered if it was heard because the pain of my dead and wounded Marines is more than I ever imagined it would be. The pain of my dead and wounded Marines has often left me feeling as though my soul has been crushed, my will broken. But, I can tell her, without reservation her prayer has been answered. I know this, because the feeling always passes and I press on. I press on because the Marines of this Battalion press on. And we press on with happy hearts and joyful souls. And, both our happy hearts and joyful souls are gifts from the Lord to whom she prayed, and 10 of his newest guardians, the last two of whom are named LCpl Warner and PFC Vroman.
IT HAS BEEN MY HONOR TO HAVE SERVED WITH LCPL RICHARD D. WARNER AND PFC BRENT T. VROMAN. I, AND EVERY MARINE IN THIS BATTLION LOVE YOU. GO PEACEFUL INTO YOUR HEAVENLY BLISS.
"Our lives, are better left to chance,
I could have missed the pain
But I would have had to miss the dance"
Garth Brooks
May God Bless and Keep the families of 2/24
Mark
Mark A. Smith, LtCol USMCR
TF 2/24 Commanding Officer, 24 MEU
Mahmudiyah, Iraq
"Mayhem from the Heartland"
or as the terrorists call us
"The Mad Ghosts"
Prayers for our heroic fighting forces ~ Bump!
No Mission Too Difficult. No Sacrifice Too Great. Duty First! Hoowah!!!
God bless our heroes and their families
Prayers for all
I hope that LTC Smith knows that our hearts, our minds, our will and our prayers are with him and his Marines every day. We count each loss and hold them dear. We will not forget nor cease our prayers.
Now it's easy to answer the question: Every single one.
These "antiwar" idiots are clueless. They think this war was started by America/George W Bush and if we leave Iraq, the war will end. Bizzzzzt! Wrong answer. If these clueless America-haters get what they want, a defeat of America in Iraq, the war won't end, it will get worse. If we fail in Iraq, we'll have to move to Plan B, which will entail the deaths of tens of millions of Arabs and Muslims around the world.
Im not sure what keeps the devil dogs from shooting NY Times reporters. It is a testimonial to the mental strength of our fighting Marines.
RIP Lpl Warner RIP PFC VromanGod bless our fighting men and women and keep them from harm.
Prayers going out for the families of LCpl Richard D. Warner and PFC Brent T. Vroman.
So the General said we shall go to was and win. And how many soldiers will we lose..why I estimate less than 1% of our army. Good, then proceed.
US Marine % killed in Iraqi ( so far)
Roger that ~ Amen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.