10-22-2004, 01:09 PM
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11th MEU 'jokester' missed by all
11th MEU 'jokester' missed by all
Submitted by: 11th MEU Story by: Computed Name: Cpl. Matthew S. Richards Story Identification #: 2004102212440 CAMP FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq – (Oct. 22, 2004) -- Even though he was only with his platoon for three months, he left a lasting memory. To his fellow mortarmen, Sgt. Yadir Reynoso, a native of Yakime, Wash., was a prankster and a professional, a joker and an expert in Marine affairs. Reynoso, squad leader, 81mm Mortar Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), only spent three months with the platoon before he died fighting in the Wadi Al Salam cemetery during combat operations in An Najaf, Iraq, on Aug. 6. His fellow Marines affectionately called him "tattoo" for the abundance of permanent artwork that completely covered his arms. But aside from just his nickname, his unique personality is remembered in two different shades, one of fun and the other of intense exertion. "He liked messing with the Marines," said Sgt. Nelson A. Martinez, squad leader, 81mm Plt. "He liked to make people laugh." The occasions were so numerous that Martinez had trouble remembering specific stories. "He was a jokester and a prankster in his free time, but when it came time to work he was very professional. He never really showed any of that around the gunny or me," said 1st Lt. Lamar D. Breshears, platoon commander, 81mm Plt. "When it came to his job, he was very aggressive." The funny to serious shift is well remembered by a couple Marines in 81mm Plt. who actually had Reynoso as an instructor in the School of Infantry on Camp Pendleton, Calif., before he came to BLT 1/4. "He'd joke around with us a lot and everybody would be laughing, but then we'd go and do something stupid and it would all change," said Lance Cpl. Paul T. Ricotta, mortarman, 81mm Plt., implying Reynoso would then change from joking around to strictly correcting them. However, the fun never got in the way of accomplishing the mission. "He loved playing games but made sure the Marines knew their stuff," said Lance Cpl. George A. Snyder, forward observer, 81mm Plt. "He was real smart in infantry and mortars." He readily shared his knowledge with the less experienced Marines. "We could always go up to him and ask him a question at any time," said Lance Cpl. Kevin J. Knight, mortarman, 81mm Plt. Ricotta, Snyder and Knight were in Reynoso's 81mm squad even after he instructed them at SOI. Reynoso's expertise impressed his superiors as well. They recall him fitting right into the platoon when he arrived. While on ship, right after he arrived to the unit, he jumped right in to help teach the Marines small arms manipulation and mortar gun drills. "He had a vast knowledge of the capabilities of each weapon," Breshears said. "He wasn't a squad leader then, but he assumed the responsibilities immediately." Martinez didn't notice a single glitch when Reynoso arrived. "When I first met him I didn't know who he was, but right away I could tell he would fit right in," Martinez said. Martinez suspects Reynoso's outgoing personality may have caused this. He fit perfectly into the platoon so much that was if he had always been there. "The whole way driving up here I would have thought I had known him my whole life, instead of two weeks," Martinez said. Reynoso's comical side never tainted Breshears' image of him. "It was nothing bad or anything," Breshears chuckled. "He was just messing around with other sergeants." Some thought that even with his serious side, he could never totally hide his love of life. "He was always happy and always outgoing," said Sgt. Joel D. Reilly, squad leader, 81mm Plt. "I can't remember when he was in a bad mood." Martinez recalled one time, when he brought a smile to everyone's face while they were at Forward Operating Base Echo. "He wore this body spray that smelled disgusting," Martinez said. "He always put it on, and I asked him why he used it." Reynoso smiled and said he "had to smell good." Martinez laughed and asked whom he "wanted to smell good for, since we are in the middle of Iraq. "He said 'for you guys,' just joking around," Martinez said. Reilly and Martinez laughed. "Everybody liked him and we never had any problems, he fit right in," Reilly said. Martinez recalled how Reynoso also had a knack for making the Marines feel at home. "Once he made a mural in front of our squad bay out here out of rocks," he said. "It said USMC in old English letters and he painted it black and gold. He liked to express himself in many ways." Even though he was only with the platoon for three months, they all miss him. "If there is ever a missing piece of the puzzle, he is that piece," said Gunnery Sgt. Corey S. Bennin, platoon sergeant, 81mm Plt. This is the fifth in a series of seven articles paying homage to the Marines of the 11th MEU who bravely fought and lost their lives during fighting in An Najaf, Iraq, this August. |
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10-22-2004, 02:10 PM
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U.S. Army Moderator  Military Police Vietnam Veteran 
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Re: Memoriam
Army Staff Sgt. Darren J. Cunningham 2004-09-30 40, of Groton, Mass.; assigned to the 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas; killed Sept. 30 when his unit came under mortar attack in Baghdad.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army 1st Lt. Timothy E. Price 2004-09-07 25, of Midlothian, Va.; assigned to the 127th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, V Corps, Hanau, Germany; killed Sept. 7 by small-arms fire in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Danny B. Daniels II 2004-07-20 23, of Varney, W.V.; assigned to the 630th Military Police Company, 793rd Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Bamberg, Germany; killed July 20 when his patrol vehicle came under attack by small-arms fire, then hit an improvised explosive device in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Craig S. Frank 2004-07-17 24, of Lincoln Park, Mich.; assigned to the 1775th Military Police Company, Michigan Army National Guard, Pontiac, Mich.; killed July 17 when his convoy vehicle hit an improvised explosive device near Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Staff Sgt. Stephen G. Martin 2004-07-01 39, of Rhinelander, Wis.; assigned to the 330th Military Police Detachment, Army Reserve, Sheboygan, Wis.; died July 1 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., from injuries sustained June 24 when a car bomb exploded near his guard post in Mosul, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Staff Sgt. Charles A. Kiser 2004-06-24 37, of Cleveland, Wis.; assigned to the 330th Military Police Detachment, Army Reserve, Sheboygan, Wis.; killed June 24 when an explosion occurred near his convoy in Mosul, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Thai Vue 2004-06-18 22, of Willows, Calif.; assigned to the 127th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, V Corps, Hanau, Germany; killed June 18 when a mortar round hit the motor pool where he was working in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Arthur S. Mastrapa 2004-06-16 35, of Apopka, Fla.; assigned to the 351 Military Police Company, 95th Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade, Army Reserve, Ocala, Fla.; killed June 16 during a mortar attack when mortar rounds hit his camp in Balad, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pfc. Andrew L. Tuazon 2004-05-10 21, of Chesapeake, Va.; assigned to the 293rd Military Police Company, 3rd Military Police Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; killed May 10 by hostile fire while on guard duty in Mosul, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Rodney A. Murray 2004-05-09 28, of Ayden, N.C.; assigned to the 351st Military Police Company, Army Reserve, Ocala, Fla.; killed May 9 when a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and his military vehicle collided between Baghdad and Scania, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pfc. Jesse R. Buryj 2004-05-05 21, of Canton, Ohio; assigned to the 66th Military Police Company, Fort Lewis, Wash.; killed May 5 when his military vehicle was struck by a dump truck whose driver had been shot while trying to run through a control point in Karbala, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Landis W. Garrison 2004-04-29 23, of Rapids City, Ill.; assigned to 333rd Military Police Company, Illinois National Guard, Freeport, Ill.; died April 29 of non-combat-related injuries in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Master Sgt. Herbert R. Claunch 2004-04-18 58, of Wetumpka, Ala.; assigned to 217th Military Police Company, Alabama National Guard, Prattville, Ala.; died April 18 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after collapsing on the floor in his quarters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wisconcin Army National Guard Spc. Michelle M. Witmer 2004-04-09 20, of New Berlin, Wis.; assigned to the Army National Guard’s 32nd Military Police Company, Milwaukee, Wis.; killed April 9 during an attack by small-arms fire and an improvised explosive device in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Jonathan R. Kephart 2004-04-09 21, of Oil City, Penn.; assigned to 230th Military Police Company, from Kaiserslautern, Germany; died April 9 in Baghdad from injuries sustained when his patrol was ambushed near Baghdad on April 8. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Staff Sgt. Wentz Jerome Henry Shanaberger III 2004-03-24 33, of Naples, Fla.; assigned to 21st Military Police Company, 16th Military Police Brigade, XVIIIth Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.; killed March 24 when he came under attack by individuals using small arms and an improvised explosive device as he was investigating a suspicious vehicle in Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. David E. Hall 2004-02-25 21, of Uniontown, Kan.; assigned to 805th Military Police Company, 16th Military Police Brigade, U.S. Army Reserve, Raleigh, N.C.; died in a non-hostile accident on Feb. 25 in Kabul, Afghanistan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alabama Army National Guard Spc. Christopher M. Taylor 2004-02-16 25, of Daphne, Ala.; assigned to the 1165th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Fairhope, Ala.; attached to the 18th Military Police Brigade; killed Feb. 16 when an improvised explosive device struck his convoy in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Eric U. Ramirez 2004-02-12 31, of San Diego, Calif.; assigned to the 670th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, National City, Calif.; killed Feb. 12 when he was attacked by small-arms fire, a rocket-propelled grenade and an improvised explosive device in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Staff Sgt. James D. Mowris 2004-01-29 37, of Aurora Mo.; assigned to 805th Military Police Company, Army Reserve, Raleigh, N.C.; killed when a weapons cache exploded Jan. 29, 2004, in Afghanistan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Keicia M. Hines 2004-01-14 27, of Citrus Heights, Calif.; assigned to the 108th Military Police, Combat Support Co., Fort Bragg, N.C. died Jan. 14 when she was struck by a vehicle on Mosul Airfield in Mosul, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Michael G. Mihalakis 2003-12-26 18, of San Jose, Calif.; assigned to the 270th Military Police Company, 49th Military Police Battalion, 100th Troop Command, California Combat Support Command, Army National Guard, based in Fairfield, Calif.; died of injuries sustained in a non-combat vehicle accident at the Baghdad International Airport, on Dec. 26, 2003, in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Todd M. Bates 2003-12-10 20, of Bellaire, Ohio; assigned to the 135th Military Police Company, Army National Guard based in Brookpark, Ohio; placed on duty status whereabouts unknown. Bates was on a river patrol on the Tigris River south of Baghdad Dec. 10 when his squad leader fell overboard. He dove into the water after his squad leader, Staff Sgt. Aaron T. Reese, but did not surface. Reese did not survive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Staff Sgt. Aaron T. Reese 2003-12-10 31, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio; assigned to the 135th Military Police Company, Army National Guard based in Brookpark, Ohio; killed while on patrol Dec. 10 when he fell into the Tigris River south of Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Nicholas A. Tomko 2003-11-09 24, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; assigned to the 307th Military Police Company, U.S. Army Reserve, New Kensington, Pa.; killed while riding as the door gunner in a convoy vehicle Nov. 9 when his team came under small-arms attack in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alabama Army National Guard Sgt. Aubrey D. Bell 2003-10-27 33, of Tuskegee, Ala.; assigned to the 214th Military Police Company, Alabama National Guard; Oct. 27 at Al Bayra Police Station in Baghdad when his unit came under small-arms fire and an improvised explosive device detonated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pfc. Rachel K. Bosveld 2003-10-26 19, of Waupun, Wis.; assigned to the 527th Military Police Company, V Corps, Giesen, Germany; killed Oct. 26 during a mortar attack on the Abu Ghraib Police Station in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New York Army National Guard Spc. Michael L. Williams 2003-10-17 46, of Buffalo, N.Y.; assigned to the 105th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, based in New York; killed in action Oct. 17 when his vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device near Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia 2003-10-16 28, of Wakefield, Mass.; assigned to the 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based in Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed while attempting to negotiate with armed men who were congregating on a road near a mosque after curfew on Oct. 16 in Karbala, Iraq. Also killed in the attack were Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando, the commanding officer of the 716th, and Cpl. Sean R. Grilley. Seven other U.S. soldiers were wounded. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Cpl. Sean R. Grilley 2003-10-16 24, of San Bernardino, Calif.; assigned to the 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based in Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed while attempting to negotiate with armed men who were congregating on a road near a mosque after curfew on Oct. 16 in Karbala, Iraq. Also killed in the attack were Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando, the commanding officer of the 716th, and Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia. Seven other U.S. soldiers were wounded. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando 2003-10-16 43, of Tennessee; commanding officer of the 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based in Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed while attempting to negotiate with armed men who were congregating on a road near a mosque after curfew on Oct. 16 in Karbala, Iraq. Also killed in the attack were Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Bellavia and Cpl. Sean R. Grilley. Seven other U.S. soldiers were wounded. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pfc. Charles M. Sims 2003-10-03 18, of Miami, Fla., assigned to the 549th Military Police Company, Fort Stewart, Ga.; drowned on Oct. 3 in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kentucky Army National Guard Sgt. Darrin K. Potter 2003-09-29 24, of Louisville, Ky.; assigned to the 223rd Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Louisville, Ky.; killed Sept. 29 when his vehicle left a road and went into a canal during a mission to search an area near Abu Ghraib Prison, outside Baghdad, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rhode Island Army National Guard Spc. Michael Andrade 2003-09-24 28, of Bristol, Rhode Island; attached to the 115th Military Police Company, U.S. Army National Guard; died Sept. 24 of injuries he sustained when a 5-ton truck struck his Humvee in Balad, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rhode Island Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara 2003-09-01 40, of New Bedford, Mass.; assigned to the 115th Military Police Company, U.S. Army National Guard, Cranston, R.I.; killed Sept. 1 on Main Supply Route Tampa, south of Baghdad, Iraq, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. Another soldier also died in the incident. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Charles T. Caldwell 2003-09-01 38, of North Providence, R.I.; assigned to the 115th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Cranston, R.I.; killed Sept. 1 when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device on Main Supply Route Tampa, south of Baghdad, Iraq. Caldwell was one of two soldiers killed in the incident. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- North Carolina Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Bobby C. Franklin 2003-08-20 38, of Mineral Bluff, Ga.; assigned to the 210th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Murphy N.C.; killed by an improvised explosive device Aug. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Eric R. Hull 2003-08-18 23, of Uniontown, Pa.; assigned to the 307th Military Police Company, U.S. Army Reserve, New Kensington, Pa.; killed when a military vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive device Aug. 18 in Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Staff Sgt. David S. Perry 2003-08-10 36, of Bakersfield, Calif.; assigned to 649th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Camp San Luis Obispo, Calif.; killed when a suspicious package he was inspecting exploded Aug. 10 in Baquabah, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pfc. Brandon Ramsey 2003-08-08 21, of Calumet City, Ill.; assigned to the 933rd Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Chicago; killed in a vehicle accident Aug. 8 in Tallil, Iraq. Ramsey was part of a convoy escort mission when the vehicle in which he was riding rolled over during the chase of a suspicious vehicle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Heath A. McMillin 2003-07-27 29, of Canandaigua, N.Y.; assigned to the 105th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Buffalo, N.Y.; killed while on patrol July 27 when he came under attack from rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire south of Baghdad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Jaror C. Puello-Coronado 2003-07-13 36, of Pocono Summit, Pa.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 310th Military Police Battalion, in Uniondale, N.Y.; killed in a traffic accident July 13 at Camp Edson, Iraq. Puello-Coronado was manning a traffic point when the operator of a dump truck lost control of the vehicle and struck him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Puerto Rico Army National Guard Spc. Richard P. Orengo 2003-06-26 32, of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico; assigned to the 755th Military Police Company, Arecibo, Puerto Rico; killed by enemy fire June 26 in Najif, Iraq. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pvt. Jesse M. Halling 2003-06-07 19, of Indianapolis, Ind.; assigned to 401st Military Police Company, Fort Hood, Texas; killed in Tikrit, Iraq, June 7. Halling was at a military police station when his unit received rifle-propelled grenade and small arms fire. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Sgt. Travis L. Burkhardt 2003-06-06 26, of Edina, Mo.; assigned to 170th Military Police Company, Fort Lewis, Wash.; killed on June 6 in Baghdad, Iraq. Burkhardt was part of an escort mission when the vehicle he was in hit a curb along the road and rolled over. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Staff Sgt. Brett J. Petriken 2003-05-26 30, of Flint, Mich.; assigned to the 501st Military Police Company, Wiesbaden, Germany; killed in a vehicle accident in Samawah, Iraq, May 26. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pvt. 2 Kenneth A. Nalley 2003-05-26 19, of Hamburg, Iowa, assigned to the 501st Military Police Company, Wiesbaden, Germany; killed in a vehicle accident in Samawah, Iraq, May 26. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pvt. 2 David Evans Jr. 2003-05-25 18, of Buffalo, N.Y.; assigned to the 977th Military Police Company, Fort Riley, Kan.; killed in an Iraqi ammunition plant explosion in Diwaniyah, Iraq, May 25. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Spc. Narson B. Sullivan 2003-04-25 21, of North Brunswick, N.J.; assigned to the 411th Military Police Company based in Fort Hood, Texas; killed by a non-combat weapon discharge in Iraq. The incident is under investigation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army Pvt. 2 James Henry Ebbers 2002-10-14 19, of Bridgeview, Ill.; assigned to the 551st Military Police Company, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Oct. 14, 2002, in Djibuoti, Africa. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Ken |
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10-24-2004, 12:24 AM
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#23 (permalink) | ||
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Senior Member
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Re: Memoriam
Services held for 19-year-old Watsonville Marine killed in Iraq
As mariachi musicians gently strummed guitars in the background, nearly 1,000 mourners paid their last respects Friday to Lance Cpl. Victor A. Gonzalez, with words of praise and gratitude and long-stemmed white roses placed on his casket, one at a time. Gonzalez, a 19-year-old Marine and Watsonville High graduate, was killed in the line of duty in Iraq on Oct. 14. "I am so happy and pleased that there are so many people here today," said the fallen soldier's mother, Amalia Gonzalez, who donned a red and white dress and bright blue jacket - similar to the colors on the carefully folded American flag she and her husband were presented with. "He brings all these people together," she continued, as family members ushered her toward a limousine waiting to take her back to St. Patrick's Church, where the ceremonies began earlier in the day. "I just want people to know he died a hero." Gonzalez's younger sister, Edenia, was also touched by the massive turnout at Valley Cemetery, where roughly two dozen Marines and a handful of local veterans joined family members and friends for a traditional military burial and 21-gun salute. "I didn't think that this many people would care," Edenia said. "I thought people would just see him as another dead soldier, but that isn't true. They really do care about our soldiers. The community has been so involved - sent us so many letters." She specifically thanked the hundreds of students from Lakeview Middle School and St. Francis Central Coast High School, who lined Highway 152 with flags and signs and stood in silent support as the funeral possession first drove into the cemetery. "To see all of them out there today meant so much," Edenia said. Though he died at such a young age, it was evident Friday that Gonzalez inspired many people - both young and old - during his short lifetime. "Victor was willing to give the ultimate gift - to lay down his life for others," said Father Greg Sandman, who led Friday's Mass before a standing-room-only crowd. "To his friends and family, I'd just want to say: Admire his bravery. Admire his bravery. Strive for the great things that he did in his life. Look to his goodness and his courage and try to imitate him." The somber ceremony drew swarms of reporters and numerous officials from city, county, state and national government, including U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel), who said a few words at the start of the Mass. "This is a very sad day for me to be here with all of you - to bring Victor home to his community," Farr said. "I asked Congress to fly a flag over our nation's Capitol to honor him as a hero. I'm here today to present that flag and a certificate to his family. ... Lance Cpl. Gonzalez served his country with honor and represented the best and brightest of his country." At his gravesite, Gonzalez's parents were presented with the Purple Heart, which he was awarded for his bravery in combat and sacrifice for his country. As a lone trumpet player performed a haunting version of "Taps," hundreds of red, white and blue balloons were released into the clear blue sky. Gonzalez's death hit home especially hard at the Watsonville Police Department, where the young soldier had hoped to live out his lifelong dream of becoming a police officer once he finished his time in the military. More than 40 Watsonville police officers, many in uniform, as well as a handful of department staff members and police cadets were in attendance Friday. Gonzalez served as a cadet for nearly 3 1/2 years during high school. "It's so sad because he would have made the best police officer, and now we'll never have the chance to see him do that," Watsonville police officer Frank Ibarra said. "He was a great kid - a local who loved his community. He wasn't a kid anymore, though. The last time I saw him in his military uniform he'd really grown up into a great young man. He always said 'God bless' when he spoke to anyone." His death, as well as that of Soquel High graduate Morgen Jacobs - who was killed in Iraq exactly one week earlier and was expected to be buried today - has really brought home the impact of the war in Iraq for many on the Central Coast. "I didn't even know Victor Gonzalez or his family, but my own 24-year-old son is a soldier who has served in Iraq and will likely have to go back, and this really affected me," Ray Pereyra said. "I hope that this is not the first of many funerals like this that we're going to be having here in Watsonville. I think this funeral is really symbolic today, as it is for many people that are here. It's really brought everything home." Ibarra said the department's Veterans' Day ceremony in November would have new meaning this year. "Victor was a brave man," Ibarra said. "It takes a lot of courage to enlist, especially after the war had already started, and to go over to Iraq knowing the risks that he was taking. But he did it, and he died for his country. He had a lot more courage than I have." Several Marines at Friday's ceremony echoed those sentiments. "Even though Victor is no longer with us, if his family needs us for anything, we will be here to support them because we are their family now, too," said U.S. Marine Sgt. Richard Diaz. |
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11-01-2004, 06:44 PM
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#24 (permalink) | ||
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Local Marine dies in Iraq
Posted on Mon, Nov. 01, 2004
Local Marine dies in Iraq Associated Press SPARTANBURG, S.C. - A South Carolina Marine was among those who died this weekend from enemy action in Iraq, the Pentagon said Monday. Lance Cpl. Travis A. Fox, 25, of Cowpens, died Saturday in Al Anbar, Iraq, the Pentagon said in a brief statement. Eight Marines were killed and nine others were wounded Saturday outside Fallujah, in the deadliest attack against the American military in nearly six months. The Marine deaths came when a car bomb went off next to a truck southwest of Baghdad. "We don't know if he was in the car bombing," Fox's sister, Tiffanie Fox, said Monday. Fox was among four dead Marines that were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay in Windward Oahu. The deaths came as U.S. forces are gearing up for a major assault on Fallujah, seen as the toughest bastion of Sunni Muslim guerrillas, ahead of crucial elections due by Jan. 31. Fox was a 1998 graduate of Broome High School and trained at Parris Island near Beaufort, the (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal reported on its Web site Monday evening. He was married in June to the former Casie Easterlin Hendricks of Greer. |
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12-03-2004, 12:23 PM
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#25 (permalink) | ||
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A Hero's sacrifice
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 2004123102943 Story by Lance Cpl. T. J. Kaemmerer FALLUJAH, Iraq (Dec. 02, 2004) -- "You’re still here, don’t forget that. Tell your kids, your grandkids, what Sgt. Peralta did for you and the other Marines today." As a combat correspondent, I was attached to Company A, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment for Operation Al Fajr, to make sure the stories of heroic actions and the daily realities of battle were told. On this day, I found myself without my camera. With the batteries dead, I decided to leave the camera behind and live up to the ethos "every Marine a rifleman," by volunteering to help clear the fateful buildings that lined streets. After seven days of intense fighting in Fallujah, the Marines of 1/3 embraced a new day with a faceless enemy. We awoke November 15, 2004, around day-break in the abandoned, battle-worn house we had made our home for the night. We shaved, ate breakfast from a Meal, Ready-to-Eat pouch and waited for the word to move. The word came, and we started what we had done since the operation began – clear the city of insurgents, building by building. As an attachment to the unit, I had been placed as the third man in a six-man group, or what Marines call a 'stack.' Two stacks of Marines were used to clear a house. Moving quickly from the third house to the fourth, our order in the stack changed. I found Sgt. Rafael Peralta in my spot, so I fell in behind him as we moved toward the house. A Mexican-American who lived in San Diego, Peralta earned his citizenship after he joined the Marine Corps. He was a platoon scout, which meant he could have stayed back in safety while the squads of 1st Platoon went into the danger filled streets, but he was constantly asking to help out by giving them an extra Marine. I learned by speaking with him and other Marines the night before that he frequently put his safety, reputation and career on the line for the needs and morale of the junior Marines around him. When we reached the fourth house, we breached the gate and swiftly approached the building. The first Marine in the stack kicked in the front door, revealing a locked door to their front and another at the right. Kicking in the doors simultaneously, one stack filed swiftly into the room to the front as the other group of Marines darted off to the right. "Clear!" screamed the Marines in one of the rooms followed only seconds later by another shout of "clear!" from the second room. One word told us all we wanted to know about the rooms: there was no one in there to shoot at us. We found that the two rooms were adjoined and we had another closed door in front of us. We spread ourselves throughout the rooms to avoid a cluster going through the next door. Two Marines stacked to the left of the door as Peralta, rifle in hand, tested the handle. I watched from the middle, slightly off to the right of the room as the handle turned with ease. Ready to rush into the rear part of the house, Peralta threw open the door. ‘POP! POP! POP!’ Multiple bursts of cap-gun-like sounding AK-47 fire rang throughout the house. Three insurgents with AK-47s were waiting for us behind the door. Peralta was hit several times in his upper torso and face at point-blank range by the fully-automatic 7.62mm weapons employed by three terrorists. Mortally wounded, he jumped into the already cleared, adjoining room, giving the rest of us a clear line of fire through the doorway to the rear of the house. We opened fire, adding the bangs of M-16A2 service rifles, and the deafening, rolling cracks of a Squad Automatic Weapon, or “SAW,” to the already nerve-racking sound of the AKs. One Marine was shot through the forearm and continued to fire at the enemy. I fired until Marines closer to the door began to maneuver into better firing positions, blocking my line of fire. Not being an infantryman, I watched to see what those with more extensive training were doing. I saw four Marines firing from the adjoining room when a yellow, foreign-made, oval-shaped grenade bounced into the room, rolling to a stop close to Peralta’s nearly lifeless body. In an act living up to the heroes of the Marine Corps’ past, such as Medal of Honor recipients Pfc. James LaBelle and Lance Cpl. Richard Anderson, Peralta – in his last fleeting moments of consciousness- reached out and pulled the grenade into his body. LaBelle fought on Iwo Jima and Anderson in Vietnam, both died saving their fellow Marines by smothering the blast of enemy grenades. Peralta did the same for all of us in those rooms. I watched in fear and horror as the other four Marines scrambled to the corners of the room and the majority of the blast was absorbed by Peralta’s now lifeless body. His selflessness left four other Marines with only minor injuries from smaller fragments of the grenade. During the fight, a fire was sparked in the rear of the house. The flames were becoming visible through the door. The decision was made by the Marine in charge of the squad to evacuate the injured Marines from the house, regroup and return to finish the fight and retrieve Peralta’s body. We quickly ran for shelter, three or four houses up the street, in a house that had already been cleared and was occupied by the squad’s platoon. As Staff Sgt. Jacob M. Murdock took a count of the Marines coming back, he found it to be one man short, and demanded to know the whereabouts of the missing Marine. "Sergeant Peralta! He’s dead! He’s f------ dead," screamed Lance Cpl. Adam Morrison, a machine gunner with the squad, as he came around a corner. "He’s still in there. We have to go back." The ingrained code Marines have of never leaving a man behind drove the next few moments. Within seconds, we headed back to the house unknown what we may encounter yet ready for another round. I don't remember walking back down the street or through the gate in front of the house, but walking through the door the second time, I prayed that we wouldn't lose another brother. We entered the house and met no resistance. We couldn't clear the rest of the house because the fire had grown immensely and the danger of the enemy’s weapons cache exploding in the house was increasing by the second. Most of us provided security while Peralta's body was removed from the house. We carried him back to our rally point and upon returning were told that the other Marines who went to support us encountered and killed the three insurgents from inside the house. Later that night, while I was thinking about the day’s somber events, Cpl. Richard A. Mason, an infantryman with Headquarters Platoon, who, in the short time I was with the company became a good friend, told me, "You’re still here, don’t forget that. Tell your kids, your grandkids, what Sgt. Peralta did for you and the other Marines today." As a combat correspondent, this is not only my job, but an honor. Throughout Operation Al Fajr, we were constantly being told that we were making history, but if the books never mention this battle in the future, I’m sure that the day and the sacrifice that was made, will never be forgotten by the Marines who were there. |
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12-03-2004, 03:09 PM
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Marine Corps Moderator  Semper Fi! 
Vulture6
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 6,033
Threads: 519 UserID: 9 |
Re: Memoriam
Sgt Edinger Bronze Star with V summary of action -
This Posthumous Award recommendation bears witness to the indomitable fighting spirit of ALL our Marines everywhere; each one of us, regardless of MOS, is a Rifleman (and Machine Gunner, too!) This young Devil Dog worked with us in the G-6 Shop, H&S Bn, 3d FSSG, as a computer programmer and technician. He left about the time I got here in 2002, but only last month I heard Marines talking about him and his great attitude. (Then) Corporal Edinger volunteered to serve with Force Reconnaissance when he left here. He died following his dreams and fighting the Good Fight. His Legacy endures... Service member was in receipt of IDP. Combat distinguishing device is authorized. Sergeant Benjamin C. Edinger is enthusiastically recommended for the Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguishing device, POSTHOUMOUSLY for his heroic actions as Force Recon team communicator and machine gunner, Team 2, 2d Platoon from 15 July 2004 to 14 November 2004. During this period, Sergeant Edinger conducted 21 combat patrols and 47 direct action raids in Northern Babil and South Baghdad Provinces as part of 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) Maritime Special Purpose Force during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM II (OIF II). Throughout an exceptionally difficult combat tour; his personal discipline and stalwart performance were an example to both senior and subordinate. He ably performed his duties, putting himself in danger countless times. The following is a record of excerpts of his service: Although a computer technician by trade, Sergeant Edinger was recruited to come to 2d platoon as a radio operator after his noteworthy service with 2d Force Reconnaissance Company, Task Force Tarawa during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He immediately made an impact on his team by mastering the difficult communication systems required of his job and applying this mastery during a shortened unit training phase and MEU Pre-Deployment Training Phase. His mastery of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force SIDS (MSIDS) data system allowed his team to provide Reconnaissance and Surveillance to 2d Bn, 5th Special Forces Group during their pre-deployment training for OIF II, thus marking a new relationship between these two units. Upon deployment to Iraq for OIF II, Sergeant Edinger was designated a heavy machine gunner for his team due to the expertise he displayed on the weapon system during pre-deployment training. In 11 engagements with the enemy, Sergeant Edinger demonstrated his acumen with the machine gun by providing accurate, suppressive fires when warranted. His personal discipline was on display most in this capacity, as he never failed to cover his sectors of fire and provide security for his team. During a combined direct action raid with Hillah SWAT in the town of Lutafiyah, Northern Babil province, on 11 October, Sergeant Edinger's team was attacked with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along Alternate Supply Route (ASR) Jackson, and then immediately engaged with small arms fire from an adjacent palm grove. Sergeant Edinger provided accurate suppressive fires on the enemy, allowing the platoon corpsman to render medical attention to a wounded Marine, and the rest of the platoon to sweep through in the direction of the enemy. As a result of these suppressive fires, the platoon was able to close with and destroy the trigger man and an enemy observer and thus disable the threat and exfiltrate the contact area. During a combined direct action raid with Hillah SWAT in Haswah, Northern Babil province, Sergeant Edinger's team was again the subject of a complex enemy attack. While providing security for the raid force, Sergeant Edinger's stack was attacked with an IED mixed with homemade napalm, and small arms fire from two men in a truck in the area. Sergeant Edinger along with his team returned fire, destroying the truck and the two terrorists inside. His immediate action, and the actions of the Marines around him, allowed the platoon to continue their raid unabated. During the same raid, Sergeant Edinger again showed significant physical courage, when his position was probed by a white Bongo truck forced into the area by the local terrorists. A red Opal followed the truck as it charged through Bravo Stack's trigger lines, and gained speed even after warned. Suspecting the truck to be a Vehicle Borne IED, Sergeant Edinger and his team engaged the truck, halting its advance. Due in large parts to his diligence, seven enemy detainees were captured. On 14 November, during a mission to extract from an Observation Post (OP), Sergeant Edinger's team was again engaged by an IED ambush. Although mortally wounded, Sergeant Edinger continued to man his gun, fighting for air, until he was relieved of it in order to receive medical attention. Sergeant Edinger was an inspiration to those around him with his physical courage, buoyant fighting spirit, and "never quit" attitude. He will be sorely missed by his platoon, and the Reconnaissance Brotherhood. EYEWITNESS STATEMENTS Above summary of action reflects eyewitness account of Capt. T.A. Douglas XXX-XX-XXXX/0302 The above statement is true to the best of my recollection. Sgt. Edinger was an outstanding young Marine who's toughness and physical courage will be sorely missed. GySgt. BR Reid xxx-xx-xxxx/0321 Recommended Citation: Quote:
------------------------------------------------------ Marine died ‘doing what he wanted to do’ Friends, family pay tribute to former UW-Oshkosh student By Nathan Phelps Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers Nov. 26, 2004 GREEN BAY — Benjamin Edinger liked to take on challenges. After attending a year of classes at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the Green Bay man decided to join the Marines. “He chose the Marines, I think, because that was the branch of the service he was going to get the most challenge from,” said Jim Downey, Benjamin’s uncle. “When he set his mind to something, he did it,” Edinger, 24, died Tuesday from shrapnel wounds he received in the blast of a roadside bomb in Iraq on Nov. 14. It was his second tour in Iraq. The challenge of the Marines took Sgt. Benjamin Edinger into 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company — a highly trained and specialized combat unit. “He was originally a computer operator and he volunteered for recon,” Downey said. “Sitting behind a desk wasn’t a challenge for him. He wanted to get out there.” Downey said Ben had several months left in the Marine Corps and then planned on attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison with the hope of becoming a veterinarian. The former high school rugby player also said he had another goal in his sights at Madison. “He wanted to play football at the University of Wisconsin,” Downey said. “I kind of kidded him about that because of his age but he was a driven man and I have no doubt that he would have been in the cardinal and white — or at least a red shirt — if he’d gone and done it.” Randy and Rose Scannell, Ben’s mother and step-father, both live in Green Bay while his father, Mont Edinger, lives in Plano, Ill. He is also survived by his older brother, Jim. Downey said the family has not been told where Edinger was operating when he was wounded, other than it was not in, or around, Fallujah. After he was hit, Edinger was moved to a hospital in Germany and late last week was sent to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. After showing some improvement, he died there Tuesday. “He died doing what it was he wanted to do,” Downey said. Nicole Neuville, 23, of Green Bay, attended West High School with Edinger. She remembers him as a guy that made class fun. “He was a really funny guy that was always laughing,” she said Wednesday. “I still see him in school cracking his jokes and laughing at other people’s jokes. “He just made class enjoyable,” Neuville said. They both graduated from West High School in 1999. Downey said his nephew was subtle. “Ben was not the life of the party, but he was certainly at the party and part of it,” he said. “He was not a flashy person. “Ben did what Ben did and he did it because it’s what he wanted to do,” Downey said. That included serving in the Marines. Edinger is the fifth person from the Green Bay area to die in Iraq. Nathan Phelps writes for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. ------------------------------------------------ Here's a glimpse of this young Marine from 3 years ago... notice the date in the byline Marines working at Army post find conditions there 'real nice' Stars & Stripes Monday, 10 September 2001 By Franklin Fisher, Taegu bureau chief TAEGU, South Korea — If the U.S. Marines aren’t careful, the U.S. Army may turn them soft. At least that’s how life at an Army post in South Korea struck some Marines recently. They spent two weeks enjoying indoor showers and air-conditioned tents of the Army’s Camp Carroll, a sprawling logistics base at Waegwan in South Korea. The hundred or so Marines were from Okinawa’s 3rd Force Service Support Group [FSSG]. They went home last week after participating in the annual Ulchi Focus Lens exercise. While at Carroll they practiced logistics: working closely with the Army and others in the military supply chain to ensure U.S. Marines fighting in Korea would get the supplies they need. Their stint at Camp Carroll also gave a glimpse at basic differences between the nation’s two ground combat branches. “As far as training, I didn’t expect anything like this,” said Lance Cpl. Benjamin Edinger, 20, of Green Bay, Wis. Edinger is a small-computer systems specialist with the 3rd FSSG’s Headquarters and Service Battalion. “I didn’t expect to have air-conditioned bivouac tents,” said Edinger. “I didn’t expect to have hot showers. I didn’t expect anything like that. I expected to be taking a field shower with a canteen cup. Real nice. It was real nice what they had here.” Lance Cpl. Andrew Truesdell, 22, of Edwards, N.Y., liked Camp Carroll, too. He works in the G-3 plans section of Headquarters and Service Battalion. “I liked it a lot,” Truesdell said. “Nobody got into any interservice fights or anything like that. I thought that was pretty cool.” “It was a little bit luxurious having a chow hall and a gym and a real bathroom. There’s a gym on the base too. It’s a decent gym. The chow hall is nice. Real bathrooms, real showers. We were livin’ it up,” Truesdell said. “The food quality was a little bit better than the Marines — I don’t want to downplay the Marines,” Truesdell said. “They do their best. So yeah, it was real cushy out here. Wooden floors, cots. It was nice.” Lance Cpl. Jacob Freeby, 19, of Nocona, Texas, said he liked Camp Carroll, too. He’s an S-3 clerk with the 3rd FSSG’s 3rd Transportation Battalion. “Well, I enjoyed it because the facilities are better, though I’m not putting down the Marine Corps facilities. The people, the Army personnel, they were nice. Cooperative with questions we’d ask them, where things were and how things worked. “Yeah, I could see they probably do live better,” Freeby said. “But that’s how it is. I don’t want to sound like I’m whining or anything.” Edinger had a good time talking with Army people, too. “I got to talk to some of the people in the Army about what they do, their sorts of training,” Edinger said. “I got to talk to a few military personnel a little higher ranking, some sergeant majors. It was very interesting.” Being among the few Marines on an Army post actually made Edinger and some others feel even more proud than usual of being in the Corps, he said. “One thing I did notice is the Marines tended to walk around with a little bit more pride, it seemed like,” Edinger said. “I’m not sure. It’s something more within myself, but I just feel real proud wearing the nametape ‘U.S. Marines’ than just anywhere in general.” It’s no accident the Army at times can keep its troops in conditions less spartan than what Marines are used to, said Marine Lt. Col. Bob Weinkle, G-3 Plans officer for the 3rd FSSG. “We tend to rough it a bit more, because we do have to get in and get out very quickly,” Weinkle said of the Marines. “It’s a very expeditionary force and an expeditionary mind-set, and that’s ingrained in the Marines from boot camp to their time in what we call the Fleet, the operating forces. “So, it really goes to that expeditionary mind-set from Day One,” Weinkle said. "We have to be ready to move on a moment’s notice. Very quick, highly mobile, less-stuff kind of a mindset. And that’s across the board for all Marines, including logistics, which tend to be the heaviest things that we have to bring in. We definitely have a different perspective than the Army. We definitely have to go lighter.” Truesdell was somewhat worried the taste of the good life might spoil some of the younger Marines. “I’m afraid that some of the newer people wouldn’t know what to do in a real situation,” Truesdell said. “They’d be complaining and whining and saying, ‘Well, it wasn’t like this when I was at Camp Carroll.’” But he thought about it another moment and felt reassured. “I don’t think it’s going to turn any Marine soft,” said Truesdell. “Marines are always going to be Marines.” Rest in peace, Marine |
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