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Marine Whose Photo Lit Up Imaginations Keeps His Cool (Famous Iraq War Picture Alert)
Los Angeles Times ^ | 11/13/03 | Patrick J. McDonnell

Posted on 11/13/2004 5:36:06 AM PST by goldstategop

Miller is the young man whose gritty, war-hardened portrait appeared Wednesday in the Los Angeles Times, taken by Luis Sinco, a Times photographer traveling with Miller's unit: Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.

In the full-frame photo, taken after more than 12 hours of nearly nonstop deadly combat, Miller's camouflage war paint is smudged. He sports a bloody nick on his nose. His helmet and chin strap frame a weary expression that seems to convey the timeless fatigue of battle.

And there is the cigarette, of course, drooping from the right side of his mouth in a manner that Bogart or John Wayne would have approved of. Wispy smoke drifts off to his left.

The image, printed in more than 100 newspapers, has quickly moved into the realm of the iconic.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cprljamesblakemiller; falloujah; fallujah; iconicimage; iraq; iraqwar; marines; marlborogi; photo; smoking
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To: AMDG&BVMH
I'd say it has more to do with the vast majority of them being in their 20s and 30s and reallyreallyreallyreallyreally buff.

Polygirl
161 posted on 11/13/2004 12:33:07 PM PST by polygirl (Proud Army Mom of 2LT Suzanne MPOBC Ft. Leo. Wood, Proud Army Mom-in-Law SSG Drew, 25th ID(L) Iraq)
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To: Iscool
Clearer pic ...


162 posted on 11/13/2004 12:34:08 PM PST by BlueLancer (Der Elite Møøsënspåånkængrüppen ØberKømmändø (EMØØK))
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To: soldierette

....I'm tempted to send him one!.....

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

A faint heart never won a battle hardened Marine.


163 posted on 11/13/2004 12:36:02 PM PST by bert (Peace is only halftime !)
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To: Ginifer
He's one fine specimen of a soldier

Corporal Miller is a Marine, not a soldier.

164 posted on 11/13/2004 12:53:04 PM PST by A.A. Cunningham
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To: Tensgrrl

Miller is a Marine, not a soldier.


165 posted on 11/13/2004 12:54:42 PM PST by A.A. Cunningham
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To: Made in USA

Funny, when I read the title I immediatly thought of this photo of the US Marines at Iwo Jima. The history of the pic is interesting, also, how several of the men would die within a short time.

The pic is an icon. No offense to the Marine in the new newspaper pic, but this pic is a genuine classic!


166 posted on 11/13/2004 12:57:50 PM PST by HitmanLV (I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.)
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To: Wiz
First off, the Marine Corps will not allow the use of that picture.

Two, he is active duty and unable to use that image/picture.

The ad firms will have to recreate that picture unless they have the blessing from the Corps. But, how will the Marine Corps authorize it and I highly doubt they would.

167 posted on 11/13/2004 1:01:03 PM PST by ma bell
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To: A.A. Cunningham
Excuse me...meant no disrespect...only saw the picture briefly and could not ascertain what branch he was in so I used the term "soldier".
168 posted on 11/13/2004 1:01:55 PM PST by Ginifer
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To: polygirl

That's great. They should repeat it!!! America and Americans owe our freedom to our brave troops here and around the world. I will do everything in my power to bring down the Democrat Party that has, by its actions and words abetted the enemy, prolonged the war, and cost the lives of our military personnel, coalition military personnel, as well as innocents from multiple countries. These Democrats IMHO are traitors and guilty of treason, and should be treated accordingly!!!


169 posted on 11/13/2004 1:04:38 PM PST by JLAGRAYFOX
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To: ErnBatavia; silent_jonny; mrs tiggywinkle; nuconvert; Ann Archy
"Cigar Man" did lose an eye in Iraq. I've also heard that he visits FreeRepublic. Thanks for your service and sacrifice Cigar Man!


170 posted on 11/13/2004 1:06:29 PM PST by DocRock (If you have bandwidth, I have a lot of reference material on my homepage.)
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To: silent_jonny

My memory is a little fuzzy about the details, but wasn't "Cigar Man" (as he was called) either wounded or KIA? For some reason, I have it in my head that he was killed in action.


171 posted on 11/13/2004 1:09:57 PM PST by Wolfstar (Yippeeeee!!!! A great election victory AND a new puppy in the White House. Life is good.)
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To: tscislaw

"Yeah, they're dying by the hundreds of second hand smoke."

Yep, the smoke from the good old M2, M4, M16, M240, and M249....


172 posted on 11/13/2004 1:13:58 PM PST by roaddog727 (The marginal propensity to save is 1 minus the marginal propensity to consume.)
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To: DocRock

Good to know "Cigar Man" is still alive and doing OK. If you happen to see this thread, "Cigar Man," we love and honor you.


173 posted on 11/13/2004 1:16:14 PM PST by Wolfstar (Yippeeeee!!!! A great election victory AND a new puppy in the White House. Life is good.)
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To: goldstategop

I have to worry he's a marked man now, just like the football player hero/martyr who gave up his NFL career only to die in combat (I'm sorry I'm not good with names). You don't think the enemy can exploit a rich target. I wish him the best of luck, I pray for him and hope to heck his tour of duty is over soon and he and his mates get back home safe soon. I do appreciate his heroism and thank him for his service to his country.


174 posted on 11/13/2004 1:24:09 PM PST by Calusa (Bush cooked Kerry's Goose!)
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To: goldstategop
Click on the Image Below to Watch 2.5 MB .wmv Video

Click on Image to Watch 2.5 MB .wmv Video about Marlborro Man

175 posted on 11/13/2004 1:34:55 PM PST by DocRock (If you have bandwidth, I have a lot of reference material on my homepage.)
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To: JLAGRAYFOX
JLAGRAYFOX, I'm sure there are many things you and I would see eye-to-eye on, but in this instance, I find the extreme nature of your point of view very unsettling, even, dare I say it, unAmerican. Now before you go off on me, please hear me out and consider the following.

What you advocate is exactly the attitude Saddam Hussein holds and what put thousands of dissenters into mass graves in Iraq on, of all places, a college campus. Their only crime was speaking out in dissent, something Saddam, like yourself, isn't willing to tolerate. It is the freedom of all Americans to express their views and fight for what they believe in that our soldiers are protecting and dieing for, even as I write this. I know you mean to honor them, but with this kind of rhetoric you do exactly the opposite.

A big piece of what makes America great is that it permits dissenting points of view, even those some of us find offensive. This you cannot deny. Hate the democrats if you like, but what you propose isn't freedom, it's fascism.

I know this doesn't square with your resentment and hostility, however well founded. To resolve this conundrum, I recommend investigating the concept of emotional intelligence.

As for me, I may not agree with what other Americans say, but I will be the first to speak out in favor of their right to say it.

YMMV

Polygirl
176 posted on 11/13/2004 1:43:41 PM PST by polygirl (Proud Army Mom of 2LT Suzanne MPOBC Ft. Leo. Wood, Proud Army Mom-in-Law SSG Drew, 25th ID(L) Iraq)
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To: heckler
Somehow I feel that he wont have much trouble getting a smoke in the future.

I am surprised that with all the knowledge here a FR no one can tell me how to send this guy a package.

177 posted on 11/13/2004 1:44:51 PM PST by Jeff Gordon (Now is the time for all wise men to gloat. FOUR MORE YEARS,)
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To: Mears
I'll have to say that the general drift of this thread is anything but hysterical as far as I'm concerned. I'm no big anti-smoking crusader by a long shot - my libertarian tendencies would never permit it. But that said, there is uncontrovertable proof that smoking kills thousands and thousands of people every year due to heart disease, lung cancer and emphysema. Let's not bullzhit ourselves (love that more gentile way of spelling it!)

Just in case you think I don't know what I'm talking about, I used to smoke myself and loved it but was forced to give it up by my former husband.

To illustrate my point, my fabulous son-in-law infantry SSG deployed to the sandbox in January. He has always been extremely close to his paternal grandmother, whom he feared he would never see again because she was in very poor health. Fortunately he did get to see her in July when he was home on leave, which is a good thing, because she died two weeks ago - of emphysema. She had smoked all her life. The night she died, another grandson who was caring for her served her a hot toddy, gave her her last cigarette of the day, then tucked her in. She died in her sleep later that night.

She was in her early '70s, and the quality of her life for the last several years was awful - she was in ever increasing pain and couldn't breathe well enough to enjoy her life. She actually wanted to die long before she did.

Now my infantry squad leader son-in-law is grieving the earlier-than-necessary death of his grandmother while he conducts mission after mission with no more than three hours sleep at a time and tries like hell to keep his squad and himself alive. God knows he doesn't need the distraction.

Ironically, both he and my daughter smoke, though both would like to quit. My daughter has smoked for more than ten years, started when she was 16 and today is the first to admit that it was a dumb-ass thing to do. But teenagers often don't have the life experience to anticipate the consequences down the road - hence the danger of romanticizing smoking like is being done here. Before we try to convince anyone that smoking is harmless, let's think about what it might do to those who love us if we are wrong.

Just my opinion, of course. YMMV. (Your mileage may vary.)

Polygirl
178 posted on 11/13/2004 1:50:36 PM PST by polygirl (Proud Army Mom of 2LT Suzanne MPOBC Ft. Leo. Wood, Proud Army Mom-in-Law SSG Drew, 25th ID(L) Iraq)
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To: bert

Don't I wish. At 20, he is a little younger than I am, not much, but enough to make it awkward!


179 posted on 11/13/2004 1:54:15 PM PST by soldierette
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To: BlueLancer

So. very. hot.

I gotta get away from this thread!


180 posted on 11/13/2004 1:57:58 PM PST by small_l_libertarian (Wrapped comfortably in my cozy duvet of rage...)
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