A photo submitted by his parents
shows Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt
on the streets of Fallujah, Iraq.
Posted on 12/07/2006 8:32:56 AM PST by smoothsailing
A family's fight
Amanda Gillooly
Staff writer
Thursday, December 07, 2006
CANONSBURG -- At the first mention of his son, Darryl Sharratt immediately reaches for a big, blue scrapbook that chronicles the young man's career in, and love for, the military.
Justin Sharratt's mother, Theresa Sharratt, said he dreamed of being a military man ever since he was a small child.
She thumbed through the pages, finally finding what she was looking for: A picture capturing a smiling 3-year-old Justin clad in camouflage. Above the picture is an assignment dating to his nursery school days. The questioned posed was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
In a child's handwriting was Justin's answer: "I want to be in the Army. I'll have guns and army tanks."
Now, his parents, of Canonsburg, are fighting to preserve the reputation of the 22-year-old.
Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt is among the Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, implicated in the Nov. 19, 2005, killings of 24 Iraqis in Haditha, some of them unarmed women and children.
Rueters reported Wednesday that the U.S. military is expected to charge at least five Marines in the killings and the charges could include murder, according to defense officials.
It was not known when the charges would come down but a Marine Corps official said it would not happen on Wednesday, Rueters reported.
The case is one of several involving alleged unjustified killings of Iraqi civilians that have emerged this year, damaging the military's reputation for humane treatment of civilians and triggering calls by some Iraqi leaders to end the arrangement under which U.S. troops are immune from prosecution by Iraqi authorities.
Theresa Sharratt first heard that trouble was brewing in an e-mail from her son. He wrote that there had been an incident, that an investigation would ensue, and finally, that she shouldn't worry.
She remembers typing an e-mail back to him, asking in bold, "Should I worry about it?"
His response was a simple no.
"It was a very casual e-mail," she said.
Sharratt said her son maintains that he did nothing wrong, and that he and fellow Marines followed the rules of engagement.
As the identities of the implicated Marines surfaced in news accounts this spring, the couple still declined to even discuss the incident with family members until this Thanksgiving.
But it was comments made by U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, in May about the Haditha incident that compelled them to go public.
"He said they killed innocent civilians in cold blood right on TV," Theresa Sharratt said. "It was on every channel, slapping our face every time we turned on the TV."
Darryl Sharratt wiped at tears and blasted Murtha for his failure to uphold the sacred American right that each person is innocent until proven guilty.
Murtha, he said, called the Haditha incident a rampage. He characterized it as a massacre.
"He's called them murderers," Darryl Sharratt said, adding that these accusations were made despite the fact no criminal charges had been filed.
And the Marines, he said, have done little to help. "The Marine Corps has deserted him," Darryl Sharratt said.
Theresa Sharratt said the image Murtha gave of the implicated Marines isn't how she wants people to envision her son.
Murtha, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment about the incident or his remarks.
But his Republican challenger for the U.S. House seat in the November election and current Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey called for Murtha to apologize for his statements several times on the campaign trail.
And she still thinks that an apology is warranted.
"I think he rushed to judgment," she said. "His remarks were very hurtful to our military and their families back home."
Soldiers, she said, already are fighting for their lives. They shouldn't have to fight for their reputation.
The Sharratts, meanwhile, say they can't imagine their son committing any sort of crime.
"He was raised Catholic," she said. "He knows right from wrong. He has common sense and he loves his country."
Darryl Sharratt said his son could face charges of murder or negligent homicide.
Undeployable because of the investigation, Justin Sharratt is currently serving at Camp Pendelton in California at a gym there.
The family hired a civilian attorney, Gary Myers of Washington, D.C., to represent their son. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Content © 2006 Observer Publishing Co.
This story brings me to tears.
I fear more for the damage done to these lives here in the US, than what they may face fighting in Iraq. This is no way to treat our men and women who go freely to serve our country and put themselves in harms way.
Murtha's behavior is sickening. The fact that the Marine Corp is not standing up for their men infuriates me.
BTW, this is a fair article, IMO. The question remains, however, why did the OR fail to report this story for so long. Particularly Diana Irey's many calls for an apology from Murtha. I think we know the answer.
A lot is riding on the fairness of General Mattis
My heart goes out to Mr. and Mrs. Sharratt, their son Justin, the other Marines and their families for what they have had to endure over the last six plus months because of the lies and half truths of John Murtha.
As a U.S. Congressman, Murtha is supposed to help his constituents in any way he can, not persecute them before the facts are known or before an investigation is not even close to being completed. In effect, Murtha has deprived these Marines the presumption of innocence by relaying inaccurate information to the public.
Here is a link to Murtha's rant on Hardball with Chris Matthews on May 17th of this year. If you notice, Murtha states there was no IED involved in the incident, an outright falsehood.
Let's pray that he can make a decision based on all those Corp/core values, his own experience in the field, and not on political pressures.
me to marmolade- Been follwoing htis story a bit & am quite dissappointed with the lack of support coming from th4e military for these soldiers. This will NOT speak well for future folks who are thinking about joining- What will they think? 'Join the military- get left behind if things go south'? http://sacredscoop.com
No, you big bunch of lying jerks. What has damaged the military's reputation -- if anything -- is the fact that YOU keep printing the half truths, lies and innuendo spoken by people such as Ex-Marine Murtha as facts. The case going to trial clears ALL implications of "The Military" being responsible for such actions (if indeed the BS stories YOU have printed have any truth at all in them) and places the responsibility on the individuals --if indeed the acts were committed inappropriately. In fact, I would venture so far as to say that the reputations tarnished by the crap that's been printed about this are mostly those of the MSM propagandists. Most people know better by now than to take what's printed in those rags without a HUGE grain of salt.
From a Card's fan! Hee hee!!
Beat me by 40 seconds! It's such a good picture, it's worth seeing twice!
Exactly!...That's what Lance Cpl. Sharratt and all our military do for us and the Iraqi people on a daily basis over there. Their images can't be posted often enough.
Regarding the timing, the OR obviously just wanted to give us time to build up our ping list!
:-)
.Thanks, I needed a smile.
The Haditha-Murtha bilge the press has been putting out makes my blood boil.
It's healthy to stop and chuckle now and then.
The lawyer is Jack Zimmerman, a retired Marine now practicing in Houston, Texas. Sounds like a great law firm! Three of the four lawyers in Zimmerman's firm are Marines.
I sent Mr Zimmerman the link for "Defend Our Marines" and links for threads here on Free Republic. I just heard back from him via e-mail. He writes...
Thank you for your support for our Marines in the Haditha matter. All appreciate it. I will pass on the moral support to LCpl Tatum and his squad members, as well as to his parents.
I thought you all would like to know.
Thanks for contacting Mr. Zimmerman. It's great that he replied and that he'll forward the information to these Marines and their families. They'll at least know there are those who support them.
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