Posted on 11/12/2004 10:25:33 PM PST by Ex-Dem
FALLUJAH, Iraq — The Marlboro man was angry: He has a war to fight, and he's running out of smokes.
"If you want to write something," he tells an intruding reporter, "tell Marlboro I'm down to four packs, and I'm here in Fallujah till who knows when. Maybe they can send some. And they can bring down the price a bit."
Those are the unfettered sentiments of Marine Lance Cpl. James Blake Miller, 20, a country boy from Kentucky who has been thrust unwittingly and somewhat unwillingly into the role of poster boy for a war on the other side of the world from his home on the farm.
"I just don't understand what all the fuss is about," Miller drawls on Friday as he crouches -- Marlboro firmly in place -- inside an abandoned building with his platoon mates, preparing to fight insurgents holed up in yet another mosque.
"I was just smokin' a cigarette, and someone takes my picture and it all blows up."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
How I use to love to hear 'smoke 'em if ya got 'em'.
Nothin like smoking when your getting combat pay. And a real cold beer wasn't a bad thing. Even if it was 'Black Label'.
I'm so glad we know who he his. This is the memorable image of the American warrior in this struggle .. God Bless You and protect you, sir. I predict this photo will live on for decades to come and become an icon of this time.
good deal.....I'm just about to reach my 2 yr anniversary (regarding my cigarette-smoking quit date), & I couldn't feel better! :-)
Thank you ... thank you
The eyes ... they just speak to you, don't they?
Cigarette companies used to donate cigarettes all the time to the armed services overseas. I still remember the announcements about it after shows sponsored by them (like I Love Lucy) when I was just a tyke in the 50s. Not sure when they had to stop.
Off topic a bit -- but I also recall the Kosovo refugees, when they wanted real food and cigarettes, and we sent health food (some of the people weren't sure it was food -- LOL!) and birth control! Ah, compassion!
Kind of a slam on him since more from California have given their lives in Iraq than any other state.
I'm not sure if it is still true but as of a few months ago Vermont had given more lives per capita than any other state. Patriots come from all over.
"Liberals would go nuts if we started a "Smokes for Troops" campaign."
Which is, of course, a great reason to do it!
But by the time they are treating you for PTSD, you are combat ineffective, anyway.
I work in the oil industry, on the rigs. All I can say is that there have been a lot fewer fatal accidents since drug testing became the norm. Maybe there are jobs where being loaded is not a problem, but there are not any on this wellsite.
I can't think of any urban area I would want to drive in if pot were legalized.
Just my $0.02
You need to change that 70+ to read 600+
Yesterdays NY Post had about 10 letters from irate morons complaining about how the Post should be ashamed of itself for putting this pic on the front page because "it encourages smoking".
Manhattan
How much did Phillip Morris pay for the front cover advertisement?
Thank you for continuing to encourage the development of cancer. Mark Leininger
Manhattan
Your cover is a disgrace.
War is not a video game.
Actual people are losing their lives.
At least 10 U.S. soldiers died early in this battle, not to mention many innocent Iraqi civilians who hadn't left the area.
This man is not a cartoon character. He is a real man who has just been through some of the most trying moments of his life — moments that will most likely haunt him forever.
Yet, there you are exploiting him and promoting cigarettes.
It's disgusting. John Keenan
Manhattan
The Post's cover was horrible and crude.
How could you compare our soldiers to the Marlboro Man?
We are not "kicking butt" in Iraq.
We are in an unjustified war with a people who will never allow democracy to come to their country. Janna Passuntino
Manhattan
I was shocked to see the front page of your newspaper.
Showing a GI smoking and portraying it as being cool is disgusting, to say the least.
First of all, you are promoting smoking, even though it is a health hazard.
Secondly, our brave men and women are fighting a tough war in Iraq, and to show them as you did does not do them justice.
Maybe showing a Marine in a tank, helping another GI or drinking water would have had a more positive impact on your readers.
Smoking should be outlawed, not endorsed. Ali Mahdi
North Brunswick, N.J.
Thank God New York isn't occupied by terrorists.
Mayor Bloomberg wouldn't allow a Marine who smokes to enter the city.
He would probably rather be a prisoner than see someone smoke. Hank Sbordone
Middletown N.J.
Personally, I like to puff on a cigar once in a while. Send this bloke some Fuente x Fuente Opus X Coronas STAT!
Look, I made a comment in post #36 that *clearly* stated more Californians have died fighting in Iraq than from any other state. That's a *fact* Fred.
You can't deal with that? To freaking bad. LOL!
Please see #54.
Tomorrow, I am going to take up smoking.
WYMT Mountain News
Mother Believes Picture Seen On CBS Evening News was Her Son
A picture seen in many newspapers and on Wednesday night's CBS Evening News caused many people to stop and reflect on what our soldiers are doing in Iraq.
But to one eastern Kentucky woman that picture was really worth a thousand words.
Millions of people saw the picture on the CBS Evening News Wednesday Night and in newspapers throughout the country.
But seeing this picture was more important to one eastern Kentucky woman than to anyone else in the world.
Maxie Webber says she was watching television when Dan Rather started to talk about this soldier.
She believes that soldier is her son Lance Corporal Blake Miller.
Webber said it was like a sign from God, "I sat there and I cried and then I prayed because it was like a sign from God to let me know that he's ok and it was a blessing but I couldn't believe it was him."
Webber says Miller was always very involved in the community. While she still doesn't know what sparked his interest in becoming a marine she only knows that's what he always wanted to be and she couldn't be more proud.
"You see so many pictures and so many soldiers it may be running talking no matter what they're doing and you never know but you hope to catch a glimpse it was amazing," Webber said.
Webber says she has talked to her son several times but will not be able to take a deep breath until he is back home.
Lance Corporal Miller left for Iraq in June 2004 and hopes to return home sometime in February.
Posted on Fri, Nov. 12, 2004
Photograph of eastern Kentucky Marine hits front pages
Associated Press
PIKEVILLE, Ky. - The mother of a Marine from eastern Kentucky now fighting in Iraq said she was thrilled to see her son's photograph on the front pages of newspapers this week.
Maxie Webber of Robinson Creek in Pike County said the close-up of Lance Cpl. Blake Miller, his face covered with dirt and a cigarette hanging from his lips, let her know that her son was OK.
Miller, 20, a graduate of Shelby Valley High School, is serving with Charlie Company of the U.S. Marines First Division in Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold.
Fallujah has been the site of some of the most severe battles with the Iraqi insurgency, and this week U.S. troops began a fierce battle for control of the city.
The photo, taken by Los Angeles Times photographer Luis Sinco, has appeared in newspapers across the nation. Webber said she first saw it when CBS News anchor Dan Rather showed it to viewers on Wednesday. Photo editor Alan Hagman confirmed Friday that the photo was of Miller.
"I just sat here and I thought, that's my son," Webber said. "I couldn't believe it. To me, it's just God's way because Blake is a Christian. It's just like God saying, 'I'm letting you know he's OK.'"
Webber said she stays home as much as possible in case her son calls.
"I don't want to miss his call because you never know if that call will be the last one," she said.
Webber said she also bought an answering machine for her phone just in case Miller, the oldest of her three sons, calls while she's out. She has one message on the answering machine from Aug. 1.
"And when I get lonely, and it's been a few days, I play that tape," Webber said.
Webber said her son's decision to join the Marines has changed the way she thinks about America.
"Until my son went into the Marines, I never really realized what that flag stood for - but now I do," she said.
Thank you for the info on "mom" re: Cigarette Guy.. as I have called him. I KNEW and posted that somewhere a mom or wife or girlfriend would be thrilled..
Prayers continue for all our young men in harms way. May they do their job well & be safe...
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