Lima Company, 3/25

[cincymarsdad]

Odds worked against local reserve unit

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Kevin Mayhood

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Military historians and veterans can’t recall when one military unit — particularly a reserve unit — lost so many from one area of Ohio in just a few days.

Four Marine reservists from central Ohio towns were among the five killed from L (Lima) Company, 3 rd Battalion, 25 th Regiment in western Iraq last week. The fifth was from Clermont County, near Cincinnati. Two others, attached to but not part of the unit, also were killed in the fighting.

While the loss might be unprecedented here, other towns host memorials to units devastated in battles in past wars.

Sending a reserve unit into combat increases the chances that casualties will be from one region. Regular military units have members from all over the country, while "reserve units tend to have members all from the same area," said John Guilmartin, a military historian at Ohio State University.

Cpl. Dustin Derga, 24, of Pickerington, was killed in a battle with insurgents in Ubaydi on May 8.

On Wednesday, Lance Cpl. Wesley G. Davids, 20, of Dublin, died in an explosion in Karabilah, and Staff Sgt. Kendall Howard Ivy II, 28, of Galion, and Pfc. Christopher Dixon, 18, of Obetz, died when bombs exploded beneath their armored vehicles in Haban.

Allan R. Millett, also a professor of military history at OSU, commanded the unit before retiring in 1990. Had this been the Korean War, Millett said, the men would have been split up and mixed with others from across the country.

"Plenty from Columbus were killed and wounded in the Korean War, but not from one reserve unit."

At that time, the training among units varied greatly, and the idea was to assign the experienced with the less so. "Nobody wanted another Bedford Boys," Millett said.

The Bedford Boys were from Bedford, Va., a town of about 5,000. During World War II, 135 of Bedford’s young men entered the military. On the beaches of Normandy, 21 in Company A, 116 th Infantry Regiment, 29 th Division died within 20 minutes. Two others, from other companies, also were killed during the invasion. Military policy was changed to prohibit such groupings in the active ranks. But that policy doesn’t hold for reserves.

Company C of the 13 th Artillery of the Kentucky National Guard was assigned to hold a hill called Firebase Tomahawk in Vietnam. The North Vietnamese overran the hill in a night attack on June 19, 1969. Ten Guardsmen from Bardstown, Ky., were killed, military reports said.

The military’s theory is: "The training has gotten so good, you can deploy them and keep them as a unit," Millett said. "Even though there’s a risk of mass casualties from one area, the thinking is you’re better off to go to war with those you know. They trained together . . . it’s important to know what others can and can’t do."

Millett cautioned people not to just look at the numbers killed or wounded, but to pay attention to the individuals.

"You’ll see how each one of these Marines were pretty good kids."

[ArchAngel]

Man....just thinking about it makes me want to cry, I feel so bad. I hope they're ok where they are now and I pray for their families.

[cincymarsdad]

2 return home from Iraq

Families, hearses make final journey

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Kelly Lecker

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

RENEE SAUER | DISPATCH

A police honor guard salutes as Marines load the body of Staff Sgt. Kendall H. Ivy II into a hearse.

Lee Ann Ivy welcomed her high-school sweetheart home from Iraq yesterday.

Six days after Staff Sgt. Kendall H. Ivy II, of Galion, died in the war, his wife walked into a cargo bay at PortColumbusInternationalAirport to say goodbye to her husband of nine years.

Outside, 14 local police officers and a Marine stood in two rows that led to a white hearse.

Fifty feet away, the family of Lance Cpl. Wesley G. Davids, of Dublin, waited in silence. Davids, 20, who also died last week, was coming home, too.

The bodies of both men had been returned to Columbus just 30 minutes earlier.

The men were among four reservists from central Ohio who died last week in Iraq. Davids was part of a Columbus company that suffered heavy casualties. Ivy was based in Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Marine 1 st Sgt. James Halbig was present to help the families with funeral arrangements.

"This is the most important part of my job. We take care of the soldier and the family from the day they leave until the day they come home," Halbig said.

The creaking cargo-bay door signaled that Ivy’s casket was on the way. The officers saluted as six Marines carried the flagdraped box to the hearse.

Lee Ann Ivy watched from the entrance to the cargo bay.

Nobody spoke.

Five minutes later, with the the formation of officers still in place, Davids’ family entered and the door again opened. The second flag-draped coffin was carried to a hearse.

His relatives held each other and cried.

When they walked outside, Lee Ann Ivy grabbed one of the women’s hands. She understood.

Ivy, whose fourth child is due in October, said support from the Marines and family has helped her to stay strong.

"They have never left my side," she said.

She described her husband, who was 28, as being loyal to the Marines and the war in Iraq. He was a jokester who liked Star Wars and sports.

[Vulture6]

Tucson, Ariz., native, serves as 3/25's liaison to community
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story by: Cpl. Ken Melton



Haditha Dam, Al Anbar, Iraq -- Sgt. Mario A. Garcia, 23 of Tucson, Ariz., discusses a claim that a local man wants to make through a translator. Photo by: Cpl. Ken Melton

HADITHA DAM, Iraq (May 15, 2005) -- Marines serving here in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom have found themselves serving in billets outside their military occupational specialties.

One such billet is the liaison coordinator who facilitates communications between coalition forces and the Iraqi people.

“We are the middle-men that setup all the meetings between our guys and the citizens,” said Sgt Mario A. Garcia a liaison coordinator, with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment and native of Tucson, Ariz. “We are like hub on a wheel. Everything kind of goes through us.”

The liaisons are responsible for ensuring that organized interactions with the local citizens go smoothly.

“We try to build reliable relationships with people who come in and make damage claims,” said the 28-year-old. “When people come in with claim receipts given by our civil affairs team, we help them start the financial compensation paper work and make sure they transaction goes smoothly.”

“We are showing them that we aren’t like the insurgents who destroy things with no remorse.”

The liaisons also ensure that the units receive interpreters to assist in communicating with the Iraqis.

“We make sure that our translators get to the unit that needs them and make sure they integrate into the unit,” said the 1994 Mountain Point High School graduate. “We also monitor how the Marines and translators interact with each other.”

While at the dam they also work with the Azerbaijan army on security issues and interaction with the locals who work here at the dam.

“The AZs do a great job providing security here but they do not speak the Iraqi language,” said the 2002 graduate of the University of Phoenix. “That’s where we come in. We use our translator to speak to any Iraqi trying to enter our base as the AZs may see them as a threat.”

The liaison coordinators know their job as being the middle-men of communication is essential to help win the war on terrorism.

“This job is invaluable in the war we are fighting now,” said Garcia. “Each day I feel we are building a bridge on the road to success by helping the Iraq people rebuild parts of their lives. We are using the power of communication to weaken the link between the insurgents and the people they manipulate.”

[Vulture6]

Operation Matador bulls through insurgency in Western
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story by: Capt. Jeffrey S. Pool


AL UBAYDI, Iraq- Marines from 3d Bn 25th Marines move down a hill towards houses to be searched during a cordon knock May 10, 2005 during Operation Matador. Operation Matador is for disrupting the insurgents known to be a staging area for Syrian and other nationality foreign insurgents. 2D Marine Division is conducting security and stabilization operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by: Cpl. Eric C. Ely

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq (May 15, 2005) -- Marines, Sailors and Soldiers from Regimental Combat Team-2, 2d Marine Division successfully completed Operation Matador today, concluding a seven-day operation securing objectives in and around the Euphrates River cities of Karabilah, Ramana and Ubaydi, near the Syrian border.

The offensive was aimed at eliminating Anti- Iraqi Forces (AIF), neutralizing their sanctuary, disrupting planned attacks, and fracturing existing terrorist networks in the area. The region, an historical smuggling route and known insurgent hiding place, is used as a staging area where insurgents receive weapons and equipment and organize for attacks against the key cities of Ramadi, Fallujah, Baghdad and Mosul.

During Operation Matador, Marines, Sailors and Soldiers neutralized this sanctuary killing more than 125 insurgents, wounding many others, and detaining 39 insurgents of intelligence value.

Offensive action began on the night of 7 May. Marines met with resistance near the village of Ubaydi shortly thereafter. There, heavily armed insurgents and foreign fighters wearing protective flak jackets attempted to repulse the Marine’s attack. Approximately 70 terrorists died in several engagements within the first 24 hour period.

Operation Matador confirmed existing intelligence assessments focused on this region north of the Euphrates River including knowledge of numerous cave complexes in the nearby escarpment. Marines from Regimental Combat Team-2 will continue to monitor this area and are prepared to act on any intelligence indicating the return of insurgents and foreign fighters.

While patrolling through the small towns near the Syrian border, Marines discovered numerous weapons caches containing machine guns, mortar rounds and rockets materials. Six Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) and material used for making other improvised explosive devices were also found. The Marines were also able to defuse a number of existing improvised explosive devices before they detonated, preventing countless injuries to military and civilian personnel.

Nine Marines were killed during this operation and 40 were wounded.

Throughout the course of the operation, Marines strove to ensure the well-being of the local Iraqi citizens. At no time during the operation were essential services, such as power and water disrupted nor access to medical impeded. All reports indicate Iraqi citizens are not leaving their homes as a result of the Marine operations.

According to commanders in the area, the Marines were greeted with greater hospitality from local villagers than is normally encountered.

During the seven day operation, Marines disrupted the known infiltration routes through the region and disrupted sanctuaries and staging areas.

According to Maj.Gen. R.A. Huck, Commanding General, 2d Marine Division, “Regimental Combat Team-2 started and ended this operation as planned, accomplished its mission and secured all objectives. Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces will return again to this area in the future.”


AL UBAYDI, Iraq- HM2 Jenkins, a corpsman with 3d Battalion, 25th Marines, moves through a wheat field, while the Marines he tends to clear a farm house, May 10, 2005 during Operation Matador.

[Vulture6]

3/25 discovers weapons, roots out insurgents
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story by: Cpl. Ken Melton


HAQLANIYAH, Iraq (May 19, 2005) -- Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment began a house-to-house search in the city here that turned into a game of cat and mouse with insurgents.

The Marines succeeded in finding multiple weapons caches and rooting out insurgents here while conducting operations under fire.

Weapons Platoon, Company L was the first unit to discover a weapons cache filled with small arms, RPGs and IEDs ready to be detonated.

“This was one of the first buildings we cleared,” said Sgt. Robert A. Davis, a squad leader with weapons platoon. “We were hoping to find the weapons cache sometime in the day, but we were fortunate to find these this early in the mission.”

The Marines were able to gain information on where the person who had stashed the weapons was located and set off to detain him for questioning.

As the Marines were nearing the location, an RPG was fired and barely missed the vehicles. The Marines set up security and began questioning people in the area.

“We were disoriented for a few seconds, but then our Marines snapped into action and began to assess the situation with perfection,” said Davis.

A second RPG was launched at the Marines as they began searching houses and damaged the property of innocent civilians.

“We were able to trace the point of origin quicker on the second RPG because our Marines on the ground were more alert for another attack,” Davis said.

While assessing the damage, a Marine noticed suspicious activity in a nearby yard where a buried weapons cache was later found.

“The owner of the house at first wouldn’t dig, saying that there was a water main in the ground,” Davis said. “Later we went back and made him dig deeper and found there was no water main, but two bags of firearms underneath the freshly dug earth.”

At the end of the day, the Marines detained 20 people and confiscated numerous weapons and explosives. To the Marines with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines this was yet another successful operation toward their overall mission of providing the Iraqis with a safe and stable community in which to prosper.

[cincymarsdad]

"Dix" was my son's best friend in Lima Company. He was very broken up over his death. He saw it happen he said.

Obetz pours out heart for its hero
Village residents pay respects to Marine killed in western Iraq
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Sherri Williams
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



FRED SQUILLANTE | DISPATCH
Mourners place roses on the casket of Marine Pfc. Christopher R. Dixon after services at Obetz Cemetery. He was killed May 11 during a mission in western Iraq.


FRED SQUILLANTE | DISPATCH
Beckie Dixon is comforted by her husband, David, after receiving the flag that was draped on the casket of her son, Marine Pfc. Christopher R. Dixon.



Friends and family remembered Christopher R. Dixon as an urban wild man: a Wal-Mart cowboy, a handsome girl-magnet and a daredevil full of courage and adventure.
But yesterday their personal pain spread throughout the Obetz community that deeply mourned the loss of its fallen son, a private first class in the Marines, who died May 11 in Iraq. He was 18.
A handful of folks waving and saluting Dixon’s hearse grew into hundreds standing along the route to the cemetery. Many held American flags, some wore patriotic Tshirts and others stood under a banner bearing Dixon’s picture and words that reflected what they felt: "Forever in our hearts."
It was a homecoming for the boy who used to pop wheelies on his bicycle and show off bowling tricks at Rainbow Lanes on S. High Street. He worked at the alley before joining the Marines.
Men stood outside holding their baseball caps close to their chests, girls carried signs saying, "thank you Christopher Dixon," and firefighters and police officers solemnly stood in uniform saluting the boy who graduated from Hamilton Township High School only last year.
Children shouted "God bless the troops!" from school buses.
The city’s marquee read "Obetz grieves with the Dixon family."
Hundreds gathered at Obetz Cemetery, where U.S. flags sprouted like flowers around Dixon’s plot.
Taps was faintly heard among the sniffles and sobs of mourners. The crowd grew silent as Dixon’s parents, David and Beckie Dixon, were each presented with a somber reminder of their son’s valor and sacrifice.
Mr. Dixon accepted a Purple Heart for injuries his son suffered when his vehicle hit a mine in Karabilah in western Iraq. Five members of his Columbus Marine reserve unit, L Company, 3 rd Battalion, 25 th Regiment, were killed that week.
Mrs. Dixon received the flag that draped her son’s casket during his funeral at Good Shepherd Community Church on Obetz Road. Mourners packed into pews, lined the walls, and sat and stood on the staircases.
While Dixon’s death at such a young age is devastating, he did not waste his youth and died living his dream of protecting his country as a Marine, the Rev. William L. Snider said.
"He gave his best for what he believed in," Snider said at the church. "He gave his best for the best."
Allen Lantrip, 17, said Dixon was among the best the town had to offer. He was one of the first people to welcome Lantrip to Hamilton Township High last year. The two talked before Dixon departed.
"He was in a good mood," Lantrip said. "He was optimistic about going on the mission and coming home safe."
The possibility of not coming home didn’t worry Dixon, said Jordan Wall, 15. She had known him for seven years. He lived one street over from her.
"He wasn’t scared at all, he was really happy to be going," said Wall, a sophomore at the high school, where counselors printed pictures of Dixon last week to help students deal with their grief.
"He was always trying to help somebody, and he knew he would be helping people in the Marines serving his country," Wall said.
Dixon’s death was a blow to the small, tightly connected community, said Jim Kirk, 56, a clerk at Obetz Hardware. He took a 15-minute break to watch the procession as it passed.
"It’s kind of a shock for everybody," he said. "People that didn’t know him know someone who did."

[cincymarsdad]

U.S. Launches Major Offensive in Iraq
Wednesday, May 25, 2005

HADITHA, Iraq — About 1,000 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers encircled this Euphrates River city in the troubled Anbar province before dawn on Wednesday, launching the second major anti-insurgent operation in this vast western region in less than a month.
The offensives are aimed at uprooting insurgents who have killed more than 620 people since a new Iraqi government was announced on April 28. Many of those Insurgents are thought to be foreign fighters who have slipped across the border from Syria.
Syria is under intense pressure to stop foreign fighters from entering Iraq across their porous 380 mile-long border. Both the United States and Iraq, at their highest leadership levels, have been demanding Syria do more.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari (search) said last week that he would soon visit Syria for talks with officials about repeated border infiltration.
Earlier this month, American forces conducted a weeklong operation in the city of Qaim (search) and other Iraqi towns near the Syrian border aimed at rooting out militants allied to Jordanian-born terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (search) and destroying their smuggling routes into Syria. At least 125 militants were killed in that operation, along with nine U.S. Marines, the military said.
A Web statement in the name of al-Zarqawi's group, Al Qaeda in Iraq, said the terrorist mastermind has been wounded. But U.S. officials cautioned they did not know if the posting was authentic, and privately said the information also may have been designed to purposely mislead.
Al-Zarqawi has denounced Iraqi Shiites as U.S. collaborators and said killing them, including women and children, was justified.
In Haditha (search), helicopters swept down near palm tree groves dropping off Marines who blocked off one side of the town, while other troops on foot and in armored vehicles established checkpoints and moved toward the center of this city, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad. U.S. warplanes circled overhead.
"Right now there's a larger threat than should be in Haditha and we're here to tell them that they're not welcome," said Lt. Col. Lionel Urquhart, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, which is part of the operation.
The assault, called Operation New Market (search), focused on this city of about 90,000 people, where the U.S. military says insurgents have been using increasingly sophisticated tactics.
Earlier this month insurgents launched a multistage attack from a Haditha hospital, killing four U.S. troops in an ambush that included a homicide car bomber, a roadside bomb, and gunfire from fortified positions in the hospital, which was partially destroyed in the attack.
According to initial reports, three insurgents were killed during several fierce gun battles that broke out after U.S. forces entered this town before dawn, Marine Capt. Christopher Toland told an Associated Press reporter embedded with U.S. forces. Two Marines were also wounded and evacuated, Toland said.
U.S. Marines took over several homes in Haditha, using them as observation and control centers as other troops fanned out through the city's mainly empty streets in an apparent bid to flush any insurgents out. At least one loud explosion rocked the city early this morning, but the source of the blast was unclear.
The latest campaign demonstrates the military's ongoing concerns about insurgents in both small and large cities in Sunni-dominated areas of the country where large U.S. operations are still necessary to clear populated areas.
Haditha has no functioning police force, and U.S. military officials acknowledge that their presence has been light in the city but say Iraqi troops are expected to arrive soon.
"A lot of this is like bird hunting. You rustle it up and see what comes up," said Marine Col. Stephen W. Davis, commander of the operation made of troops in Marine Regimental Combat Team 2.
A small reconnaissance unit of Iraqi soldiers is participating in the attack, Urquhart added.
Shortly before the assault began, insurgents fired a mortar at a hydroelectric dam facility near Haditha where hundreds of Marines are based.
"Hold on, we'll be there in a minute," yelled Marine Sgt. Shawn Bryan, of Albuquerque, N.M., assigned to the 3rd Marine Battalion, from a platform on the dam as Marines scrambled into vehicles to try to locate the attackers.
U.S. officials said they hoped their presence would allow locals to feel safe enough to provide tips to the military.
"The people out there know who wrecked the hospital and those who target their power source," said Urquhart, referring to the dam that is said to provide about a third of Iraq's electricity.
Several other attacks have occurred in Haditha this year, including the April 17 killing of a police chief and the discovery three days later of the bodies of 19 fishermen. U.S. military officials say it's unclear if the fishermen were killed in a tribal dispute or by insurgents.
Haditha lies along a major highway used by travelers moving from western Iraq to major cities such as Mosul and Baghdad in the central and northern parts of the country. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (search) called on Syria Wednesday to stop the infiltration of foreign fighters across its borders into Iraq.

[cincymarsdad]

Misfortune haunts `Lucky' Lima GIs
By Michael Martinez Tribune correspondentMon May 23, 9:40 AM ET

A couple of Marines sleep with the lights on. One takes sleeping pills. Another Marine takes them too, along with antidepressants. Survivor guilt and nightmares are common, they say.
A squad leader who lost 10 of his 11 men, split evenly between killed and seriously wounded in action, has rearranged the beds of the fallen to dispel the ghosts.
When Lima Company returned to base camp here at a towering dam near Haditha, the aftermath of the biggest battle in Iraq so far this year was evident by the voids.
In one barracks, almost half of the 19 bunks belonging to the 1st Platoon were empty--four killed in action and five sent home with severe wounds. [Note: Confusion about a squad size versus a platoon, also in the Ellen Knickmeyer piece earlier.]
In all, nine Marines died in this month's Operation Matador, fighting an unusually direct battle with insurgents, who are more known for "shoot and scoot." The fighting, along the Euphrates River near the town of Al Qaim, close to the Syrian border, killed 125 insurgents.
The casualties and the number of U.S. troops deployed--about 1,000--made it the biggest battle since a U.S.-led force retook Fallujah in November. In this month's battle, Lima Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 25th Marines bore the brunt of the U.S. deaths, suffering eight of the nine killed.

Such misfortune wasn't supposed to happen to "Lucky" Lima, so dubbed because the 200-reservist company had seen few injuries and no deaths [Note added by poster: This is also not true; they had two KIA to this point.] in prior missions ousting insurgents from river towns in Iraq's "Wild West," the far western Anbar province.
The 1,000-man battalion that includes Lima Company was the last Marine reservist battalion to be activated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
They say the Iraq experience has changed the way they see the world and their place in it. It also has altered their outlook on such American traditions as the approaching Memorial Day holiday.
Pvt. Joe Martin, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, a machine gunner in Lima Company's 1st Platoon, said his grandfather fought in the Korean War, and Memorial Day is important to his grandparents. [Note: He's almost certainly a pfc, not a private.]
"I looked at senior citizens--I don't want to stereotype--as celebrating it, but now the younger generation takes it just as seriously," Martin said. "It's one of the greatest sacrifices you can make. I used to remember Memorial Day as when they had a golf tournament in Ohio. Now it's an actual remembrance day of brothers I lost."
On Saturday, the battalion held a memorial service for the eight killed near Al Qaim, as well as four more Marines killed in an ambush in and around Haditha Hospital and another killed in a mine explosion, all this month. [Again, the counts are messed up.]
"To honor this sacrifice that each one of them has made, we have to let this go," Maj. Steve Lawson, 35, commander of the Columbus-based Lima Company, told hundreds of Marines standing in formation on top of the dam for the service.
"If we focus on this every day and you're mourning day after day, they win--these cowardly [insurgents] win, and I'm not going to let this happen. We're going to go find them, and we're going to pay them back for every life lost. We're going to make them pay in blood," he said.
How the Iraq war will alter the character of today's younger generation has yet to be fully realized, but the process is as inevitable as the way World War II, Korea and Vietnam shaped their parents and grandparents, officers say.
"Who knows in what way, but I bet you our Middle Eastern policy is going to be more on target, a little more thoughtful," said Capt. John Kasparian, 38, the battalion adjutant from East Longmeadow, Mass. "I don't think anything but war can give you an understanding of how men really are--all the good things and all the bad things."

Unit earns the uniform
"I used to say we were borrowing our uniforms, living off the history of the uniform," said Maj. Steve White, 34, operations officer, who is one of the few career active-duty officers assigned to the battalion. "I think we're earning it. We talk about Iwo Jima, Khe Sanh, Guadalcanal, Tarawa. Now they're talking about the 3/25 and Haqlaniyah, Haditha, Al Qaim," referring to fights in Iraqi towns along the Euphrates.
The loss was high enough that some Marines wondered whether the mission was worth it.
"Was Matador worth it? Unequivocally," said Col. Stephen Davis, 51, of New Rochelle, N.Y., commander of Regimental Combat Team-2 that coordinated the offensive. "Would I rather do Operation Matador without any casualties? Absolutely."
The mission was successful, Davis said, because it established that no corner of Iraq can be regarded as a haven for insurgents and foreign fighters.
Sgt. Samuel Balla, 29, squad leader in the 1st Platoon of Lima Company, lost 10 of his 11 men during Operation Matador.
Packing the belongings of the five killed and the five wounded Marines took a full day and was done by several Marines, he said. The painstaking chore had moments of levity when one member recalled a funny line or quirky personality trait of a fallen Marine, Balla said.
Those memories provide the solace and strength to move on, he said.
Balla fought back tears as he recalled how one Marine who was killed, Lance Cpl. Nicholas Erdy, 21, of Owensville, Ohio, seemed a kindred spirit because they shared similar teenage experiences, such as high school football.
As with others, his storytelling yielded a moment of regret.
During this month's offensive, Balla was the last one to enter an amphibious assault vehicle, called a "trac," before its boarding ramp was raised. He wanted to make sure he was the one manning the emergency release, but when the trac ran over a bomb or mine, he was temporarily blinded by the blast and unable to do so.
He and another Marine escaped through a smaller hatch. Of the 17 Marines inside the vehicle, six were killed, eight were wounded severely enough to be sent home. Only Balla and two others have returned to duty.
"I don't feel guilty to the point of remorse, but I just wish I would have gotten the thing down," Balla said.
Furniture rearranged
In the barracks, the furniture was rearranged so that it wouldn't evoke memories of those who were killed or wounded. But before that, and before all the Marines' possessions were collected, there remained signs of how quickly they had left for their mission.
Some writings of Cpl. Dustin Derga, 24, killed in Ubaydi fighting insurgents, lay on his bed next to his shaving kit. His last entry was dated May 3: "When we woke up, we found out we leave tonight for two weeks at the Syrian border. We are supposed to leave at 2100 tonight and go to Al Qaim."
His last sentence began with the word "Around," as if to describe the hour of a turn of events, but it was never finished.