DAYTON - A Marine accused of failures in investigating and reporting details related to the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians last year says he believes the charges against him will detract from the Marines' work in the country.
"I'm sad, taken aback and definitely surprised by the allegations," Marine 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, 25, told the Dayton Daily News for a story published Saturday. "I know that this is going to take away from all the wonderful things that the Marines on the ground have done there."
Grayson, a native of Springboro, near Dayton, was in his third tour of duty when he was ordered Dec. 19 to return to his home base. He was formally charged in the United States a few days later with willfully failing to ensure that a thorough investigation was conducted into a possible war crime, making a false official statement and impeding an investigation.
Four other Marines were charged with unpremeditated murder in Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, after one of their comrades was killed.
Five men were shot as they approached the scene in a taxi and others - including women and children - died as Marines went house to house in the area, clearing homes with grenades and gunfire.
Grayson's lawyer, Joseph Casas, said his client is innocent.
"I think that there are a lot of politics involved in this case at a much, much higher level than Andrew," he said.
Grayson could be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison if convicted. Grayson is now at home with his family near Hamilton.
Now there's an understatement if ever I saw one.