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Hello all,

I was heartened to see such a lively discussion about my Weekly Standard op-ed piece. I decided to weigh into the discussion and answer a few comments.

First, Kaslin, Thanks for posting my article and thanks again for your kind words.

highlander_UW:

Jessica’s rescue involved hundreds of troops and it took several days to assemble the force and coordinate their efforts. Once the plan was developed, they actually conducted a dry run at Talil Air Base, south of Nasiriyah. Then, the rescue force needed to stage for the operation.

I doubt seriously that this op was delayed for lack of a cameraman. Those assets are embedded in the SF units and this type of op is routinely filmed (do you remember the night-vision film of the 82nd Airborne raid at the begining of the war in Afghanistan?).

All that being said: I have no evidence one way or the other on whether the op was delayed for lack of a cameraman.
One thing is sure, if they had gone a day earlier, there would have been a fight at the hospital.

RG Spinich:

Jessica was brought to the Tykar Military Hospital be Saddam Fedayeen, not the Iraqi Army.

Kerretarded

I wrote Marines in the Garden of Eden to tell the stories of brave soldiers, sailors and Marines, from Private Patrick Miller to Hospital Corpsman Luis Fonseca, Lance Corporal Donald Cline, Sergeant Donald Walters, Lieutenant James Reid, Captain Eric Garcia and Major Bill Peeples.

Miller probably saved Jessica and Shoshana Johnson’s life when he fought nearly to his last bullet. Fonseca threw his body over wounded Marines he was treating to protect them from mortar shrapnel. Cline died helping his fellow wounded Marines. Walters was left behind enemy lines, captured and murdered. Reid was seriously wounded three times in the battle and continued to fight.

Eric Garcia flew his CH-46 medevac helicopter into one of the hottest fire zones in the center of Nasiriyah to evacuate wounded Marines. Then he returned two more times to evacuate more Marines, still under fire. At least three of the Marines he evacuated would have died had it not been for his courage and dedication to duty. Eric was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions.

Major Bill Peeples was a tank company commander. He charged forward in the early morning to rescue ten of the beleagured soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company. Later that day, he responded to a call for assistance with a platoon of tanks (4) and won the raging battle at the Euphrates River Bridge. Then, he proceeded with his tank and his wingman to drive through Ambush Alley to relieve a Marine Company that was close to being overrun. Peeples’ and his wingman turned the battle north of the Saddam Canal with their two tanks.

Major Peeples was not done yet. He returned to Ambush Alley in his tank (with no additional support). He stopped his tank in front of a building in which a squad of Marines were stranded. He jumped from the safety of his M1, under continuous fire, and helped load wounded on to his tank. Then he drove the wounded to safety. Major Peeples was awarded a Silver Star, I personally believe he should have received the Medal of Honor.

Each of these men, and so many more that I cannot list them here, acted in the highest traditions of the U.S. Military during the battle for An Nasiriyah. I told their stories. I am proud to have had the opportunity to document their courage and committment.

ZULU:

Captain Troy King was the 507th Company commander. For several years he was relagated to training. The last I heard (at least a year ago) he was still a Captain and was preparing to return to Iraq. I tried to interview him for my book and he declined.

So, I will never really know his motivation. I believe he was just trying to catch up with the rest of his unit, so once he hit open road, he hauled ass. I don’t have a clue as to why he thought it would be okay to pass a Marine mechanized infantry battalion. They were riding in AMTRACs which look nothing like anything the Army has. He had to know he was going ahead of a combat unit. They had M1 tanks and tracks. I called it a thousand meter metal dragon.

The Marine battalion commander surmised that they followed his battalion through the cloverleaf and when the Marines pulled off the road, King just kept going. Only Captain King knows the answer to that question. Its sorta like why were Pat Tillman’s comrades shooting at him?