Memoriam

[Vulture6]

As of 13 Jan, the poignant video you are about to watch has been repeated 399 times ... for 399 Marines who have paid the ultimate sacrifice during OIF ... like the sacrifice of Cpl. Robert P. Warns II, 23, of Waukesha, Wis., who died Nov. 8 as a result of enemy action in Babil Province, Iraq. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Reserve’s 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Chicago, Ill.

May God bless those who are serving our great nation, and be with those on the home front who must bear the loss.

Video: Cpl Robert Warns, USMC

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Semper Fi, Marines

[Vulture6]

4th CEB sounds final roll
Submitted by: MCAGCC
Story Identification #: 2005211133038
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Frank Patterson

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (Feb. 3, 2005) -- "Read the final roll call," commanded 2nd Lt. Paul Mainor, company commander, Combat Engineer Support Detachment, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion.

"Cpl. Jonathan Bowling," read company 1st Sgt. Timothy Degrauwe, as a member of the rifle detail drove a bayonet-affixed M-16 into a sandbag, which was followed by another Marine placing a helmet atop the rifle. The boots/dogtag bearer followed, carefully hanging the deceased Marines' dogtags on the pistol grip of the rifle and arranging the boots in front of the rifle.

"Staff Sgt. Jesse Strong," read Degrauwe, and the ritual was repeated.

"Cpl. Christopher Weaver ..."

Another rifle, another helmet, another set of dogtags, a third pair of boots ...

"Lance Cpl. Carl Linn."

The last set of gear was ceremoniously placed just as carefully and gently as the first.

Marines from the CES Detachment attached to the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment on Feb. 3 honored four Marines from the 4th CEB that were killed Jan. 26 in the Al Anbar Province in Iraq.

"We gather here this day to bid farewell to these our fallen brothers," said Navy Lt. Richard E. Malmstrom, 3/25 chaplain. "Freedom is not free, and many of our fellow Marines have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of the Iraqi people including those whom we gather together today to bid our final farewell."

"It is on this day, with our hearts full of sadness, that we turn to the Holy scriptures for comfort," said Malmstrom. "We find comfort in the promise of the resurrection ... for we know that we do not say 'good-bye' forever. We will be reunited someday ..."

Along with the four deceased Marines, the unit honored the other Marines that were wounded during the Jan. 26 attack: Lance Cpl. Mark Miller, Cpl. Timothy Franklin, Cpl. Charles Gentry and Sgt. William Meyers. Chaplain Malmstrom offered prayers for the wounded Marines as well as the deceased ones.

The final roll read, the eulogies delivered, the Marines were given the command "Fall Out" and filed off to offer their last respects. Some of them wept for lost friends whose short lives were extinguished like the slowly setting Combat Center desert sun.

[Vulture6]

Final respects paid to Miramar-based Marines
SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES

1:20 p.m. February 11, 2005

SAN DIEGO – Bereaved loved ones and former military colleagues paid their final respects today to four Miramar-based Marines who died last month in a helicopter crash in Iraq.

Hundreds of people packed a chapel at the fallen servicemen's home base in northern San Diego.

Among the 31 personnel killed when their CH-53E Super Stallion went down Jan. 26 about 220 miles west of Baghdad were Capt. Paul Alaniz, 32, of Corpus Christi, Texas; Capt. Lyle Gordon, 30, of Midlothian, Texas; Lance Cpl. Tony Hernandez, 22, of Canyon Lake, Texas; and Staff Sgt. Dexter Kimble, 30, of Houston.
The four Texans natives belonged to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

Jenny Garabalia, a friend of Hernandez's, told the gathering she had accepted the fact that she would never find answers to such haunting questions as, "why him?" and "why now?"

"There is one thing that I do know for certain – that is, somewhere in the night sky, a Texas star is looking down, lighting the way with his smile," she said. "God bless Tony, and God bless Texas."

Another service was scheduled in Pacific Palisades today for USMC Capt. Sean Brock, 29, of Redondo Beach.

Brock died Feb. 2 from shrapnel wounds to the abdomen he suffered in Al Anbar Province, according to the Pentagon. He reportedly had called his wife just hours before his death.

Twenty-seven of the service personnel killed in the crash were based in Hawaii.

[Vulture6]

Las Vegas native remembered by fellow Marines in Iraq
Submitted by: 1st Force Service Support Group
Story Identification #: 20052142300
Story by Lance Cpl. T. J. Kaemmerer


Marines gather, Feb. 12, 2005, during a memorial service at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, to listen to friends of Lance Cpl. Richard A. Perez Jr., tell stories about their memories of his life. The Marines of General Support Motor Transport Company, Combat Service Support Group 15, honored the 19-year-old native of Las Vegas, Nev., for the character he displayed and high standards he held himself to during his life. Perez died conducting operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Photo by: Lance Cpl. T. J. Kaemmerer

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Feb. 12, 2005) -- Marines and friends of Lance Cpl. Richard A. Perez, Jr., gathered here Feb. 12, 2005, to remember the life of their fallen comrade, who died a day earlier.

At a memorial service, the Marines of General Support Motor Transport Company, Combat Service Support Group 15 – Perez’ unit - honored the 19-year-old native of Las Vegas, Nev., for the character he displayed and high standards he held himself to during his life.

Perez died conducting operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

"He was one of the most well-liked Marines in the company," said Lance Cpl. John R. Holiday, a radio operator with GSMT Company. "He always got along with everyone."

The ceremony began with a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace, as Marines and other U.S. servicemembers bowed their heads in quiet remembrance of their comrade.

Throughout the ceremony, eyes often drifted to Perez’ memorial – an M16 service rifle planted into a block of wood, adorned with Perez’ boots, helmet and dog tags – as Perez’ friends and fellow Marines spoke about him.

Speaking into a microphone in front of a tent-turned-chapel here, Capt. Jesse Kemp, Perez’ commanding officer, reminded the hundreds in attendance of Perez’ achievements while serving in Iraq.

“With the things he’s done in the past few months, he has truly lived a long life,” Kemp said. “His legacy will be remembered by all of us, the people of Iraq and the people back home.”

Perez and Holiday were attached to the same reserve unit, 6th Motor Transportation Battalion, based out of Las Vegas. They both volunteered for service in Iraq.

While supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, Perez participated in 64 re-supply missions, delivering 11,000 tons of equipment and supplies over 250,000 miles of Iraqi roadways.

Perez was the “pride and joy of his family,” who has an entire wall in the house they rent dedicated to his successes, Holiday remembered.

“His whole family was proud of him being a Marine,” he said. “His parents were proud of what he was doing out here.”

Holiday remembered Perez as extremely family-oriented with plans to help his family purchase their first house when he got home from Iraq.

“He moved around a lot when he was a kid,” Holiday said. “His parents had always rented their whole life and he wanted to help them own a place.”

The Marines of GSMT Company admired his dedication to his platoon, but they will also miss his always optimistic and fun-loving manner, explained Warrant Officer Charles G. Wells, Perez’ platoon commander.

"If I wanted to go out, I could always give him a call and it would be on,” said Holiday, remembering their nights at pool halls and arcades. “He was always up for having fun.”

His friends remember a Perez as a young man who loved being a Marine and was always more concerned for the well-being of his friends and family than his own.

“Lance Cpl. Perez was a selfless Marine with a true love for his job, devoted above all to his fellow Marines and his family at home,” said Kemp.

The ceremony closed with a ceremonial final role call and the playing of Taps.

Perez is survived by his parents and three sisters.


Marines try to keep their composure, Feb. 12, 2005, during a memorial service at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, as they listen to friends of Lance Cpl. Richard A. Perez Jr., tell stories about their memories of his life. The Marines of General Support Motor Transport Company, Combat Service Support Group 15, honored the 19-year-old native of Las Vegas, Nev., for the character he displayed and high standards he held himself to during his life. Perez died conducting operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Photo by: Lance Cpl. T. J. Kaemmerer

[Vulture6]

Friends' deaths haunt Phoenix Marine
Mar. 14, 2005 12:00 AM

Domingo Hernandez can't shake the memory of the day he watched three of his friends die.

On Sept. 13, the Marine corporal from Phoenix was outside of Fallujah, standing on top of a Humvee, talking to three members of his unit standing just below. A car suddenly appeared and came alongside. It blew up in front of his Humvee, killing the three men below Hernandez. The blast threw him to the ground. He remembers only bits and pieces of what happened after that.

Hernandez woke up in a helicopter while it was under attack by mortar shells.

"I couldn't hear anything," he recalls. "My hearing was all messed up. My ears still ring a little from when the bomb exploded."

He had shrapnel wounds in his left arm, head and various spots of his left side.

This was the second time in less than a month that his unit was hit. He was on patrol in Fallujah on Aug. 16 - his 21st birthday - when his Humvee struck a buried improvised explosive device.

"It shattered all the tires and the mirrors and we had to drive back on four flat tires," remembers Hernandez, a graduate of Cesar Chavez High School.

A small piece of shrapnel cut into his neck. It wasn't too bad, so he dug it out himself. Others in the Humvee had similar injuries and no one was seriously hurt.

"At first, it was just a shock that it happened and then it was kind of funny. It was something we all laughed about," Hernandez says. They didn't dwell on the possibility of being hit again - or worse.

After the Sept. 13 attack, doctors fixed Hernandez's physical injuries but he hasn't fully recovered emotionally.

After treatment, doctors sent him back to Iraq. His tour ended in October. Even though he's now stationed at Camp Pendleton in California and is out of harm's way, he is still haunted by his friends' deaths.

"They were directly to my left. I could have reached out and touched them," Hernandez says. "This has affected me mentally. There are times when I'll be by myself just doing nothing and I start seeing them with holes in them. I'm trying to save them, knowing there's nothing I can do."

Hernandez says a chaplain talked with him about the experience. "He said it wasn't my fault. It's a part of war, but it's so sad."

www.azcentral.com

[Vulture6]

Va. Marine Won Loyalty of Peers, Iraqi Brigade
By Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 19, 2005; Page B03

Capt. James C. Edge, 31, died after small-arms fire in Ramadi.


James C. Edge didn't have to join the military, his father said.

He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1996 with a degree in international studies and could easily have become a teacher.

If he insisted on joining the military, it didn't have to be the Marines, said his father, also named James, who had been in the Navy and considered it safer.

And if he was going to join the Marines, he could have chosen something safer than the infantry.

But the Virginia Beach native, called Jamie by his family, chose his own path, his father said, becoming a captain and serving two tours of duty in Iraq as an infantry officer.

"He wanted to be a part of it, one who made decisions," his father said from his home in North Carolina. "He was an action guy, and he didn't want to be in the back row, wondering what was going on in the front."

Edge was killed Thursday by small-arms fire while conducting combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq.

Edge, 31, was married and had two daughters, ages 7 and 3. His wife, Krissy, as well his mother, Janice T. Whorton, and two brothers, prepared a statement on his death, read yesterday by brother Thomas.

"He was a loving husband and father, devoted son and brother," the statement read in part. "He was the best of the best our country had to offer. We need to remember his sacrifice and honor his memory. He was known and loved by many people here in the Hampton Roads. He leaves a legacy of fierce love of God and country, the corps and family. His commitment to these was evident in how he lived his life."

Edge was utterly devoted to his daughters, spending every minute of leave time with them, his father said. "He was three times the father I was," he added.

Edge graduated from Green Run High School in Virginia Beach in 1992 and then went to VMI. As a senior, he served as executive officer of one of nine companies of cadets. He was also a member of the Rat Disciplinary Committee, a student group devoted to inculcating freshmen into military life. Cadets are chosen for the committee by their peers, and it is considered a high honor, a VMI spokesman said.

He spent his first tour with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment near Fallujah on the front lines of an attempt to take the city from insurgents.

In the wake of the assault, Edge, known as a commanding and eloquent officer, was chosen by senior leaders to train Iraqi civil defense forces to take over the restive city from Marines. At the conclusion of the first day of training, he gave Iraqi troops a pep talk. "We want the same thing as you -- that order is restored in Fallujah," he told them. "That way, you can go home to your families, and we can do the same thing."

The force was later replaced by the so-called Fallujah Brigade, composed of former members of the Iraqi military.

While it lasted, however, Edge's work earned him the nickname "Lawrence of Arabia," a reference to the Englishman who won the loyalty of Arabs while training them to fight on the Allied side in World War I.

Staff writer Rajiv Chandrasekaran, who reported from Fallujah last year, and staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.
© 2005 The Washington Post Company

[cincymarsdad]

Marines, Sailors and Soldiers,

We stand together this afternoon to honor the memory of a fallen comrade, Corporal Bryan Richardson, United States Marine Corps.

Corporal Richardson died on the night of March 25th while participating in a security patrol [in the Al-Anbar Province of Iraq]. The up-armored humvee [High Mobile Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)], in which Corporal Richardson was riding hit a double stacked mine killing him and injuring three other Marines.

Corporal Richardson was known as a true team player. He was a man confident of his abilities; a man who lead by example; and a man who put the needs of others before his own. In my conversations with the men who knew Corporal Richardson the best, you, the Marines of Kilo Company, Third Battalion, 25th Marines, I heard words like: loyal, dependable, dedicated, courageous, and most of all…selfless.

In The Bible it is written, Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friend. [Paraphrased from 1John3: 16] Many of you had the privilege of calling Corporal Bryan Richardson, friend. Cherish that privilege.

In this day and age, Corporal Richardson was a rare person. He was a man who demonstrated by his actions that he understood as John Stuart Mills stated:

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks nothing is worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of men better than himself.

Corporal Bryan Richardson was such a man.

Marines, Sailors and Soldiers: Let us remember that the truest way to honor a fallen warrior is to accomplish the mission. Continue to protect the innocent and eliminate the terrorists. By doing this, you will truly honor the memory of Corporal Bryan Richardson.

You are in God’s hands now, Corporal Richardson. Farewell and Semper Fidelis, Marine.

Lieutenant Colonel Lionel B. Urquhart
Commanding Officer
3d Battalion, 25th Marines

[Xenophon]

I just found out that my company (still call them my company even though I'm not a part of it anymore) took its first casualty this past week. Corporal Micheal Lindemuth of Michigan. He was on the I&I staff for our company but volunteered to go with the deploying Marines. It was his second tour in Iraq. He was killed by mortar fire.

I went to see the company off as they boarded the buses to the airport this January. I saw him getting on the bus and said, "Why the hell are you going?" since I knew he didn't have to. He just said, "Man, I wouldn't miss it!" and we shook hands on he got on the bus.

Semper fi, warrior. See you in Valhalla.

[Vulture6]

Marine leader honored with memorial
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story by: Cpl. Tom Sloan



CAMP RAMADI, Ar Ramadi, Iraq – Lieutenant Col. Eric M. Smith, commanding officer, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, stands in front of a warriors memorial and pays his respects to Capt. Jamie C. Edge. A memorial ceremony for the late commanding officer of the infantry battalion’s Company B was held in the dining facility here. Edge, a 32-year-old Marine leader from Virginia Beach, Va., was killed by enemy fire while conducting a combat patrol with his men. He’s best remembered for being hardworking, dedicated, professional and caring. Edge is survived by his wife, Krissy, and two daughters, Helena and Rachel. Photo by: Cpl. Tom Sloan

AR RAMADI, Iraq(April 28, 2005) -- It was an emotional time for almost everyone who attended the late Capt. Jamie C. Edge’s memorial service. Tears rolled down the faces of some of the fighting men as they paid tribute and remembered the commanding officer of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, who recently fell on the battlefield.

Edge, a 32-year-old Marine leader from Virginia Beach, Va., was killed by enemy fire while conducting a combat patrol with his men.

Navy Lt. Aaron T. Miller, the infantry battalion’s chaplain, delivered the meditation.

“The death of our friend Jamie reminds us what it means to live,” said the 32-year-old from Redlands, Calif., in his message to the Marines attending the service. “You must use his death to motivate you to carry on the job he died doing. We have given our brother, Captain Jamie Edge, to the Lord. He is at rest, and we must carry on.”

Marines who served under Edge’s command remember their fallen leader as hardworking, dedicated, professional and caring.

“He spent very long hours preparing for the next mission so that we could succeed,” Lance Cpl. Jeremiah C. Wilson, who was Edge’s machine gunner with Headquarters Platoon, Company B. “He cared about his Marines more than anything. We were his pride and joy,” added the 22-year-old from Moreno Valley, Calif.

Company B’s executive officer and first sergeant each delivered a memorial tribute during the ceremony.

“The one thing I remember about Captain Edge, best, is he was a true professional,” said 1st Lt. Stephen G. Lewis. “He fully committed himself to the mission we have here. The way to truly pay tribute to him is continue in the streets of Ramadi and meet our objective. That’s what he would’ve wanted.”

“Captain Edge was the happiest when he was with his Marines,” said 1st Sgt. Scott A. Van De Ven. “If I had to pick one word to describe Captain Edge, it would be devotion. He spent every waking moment trying to figure out how to kill the enemy.”

Captain Kelly R. Thompson, commanding officer, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, was a close friend of Edge. The two men met while attending Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Va., in 2002 and later served together in the first Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“His work ethic was super-human,” said Thompson. “His efforts to ensure his Marines were trained and ready (to conduct missions) were endless.”

Thompson, a 36-year-old from Shallowater, Texas, said his late friend’s devotion to duty made him one of the finest officers he’d ever served with.

“He was fully committed to do his duty and a true believer in the cause we’re fighting for here against terrorism,” Thompson said.

According to Thompson, Edge’s exceptional character traits as a Marine carried over to his family life. He was a devoted husband to his wife, Krissy, and loving father to his two daughters, Helena and Rachel, he said.

[Vulture6]

3/4 Marines mourn the loss of a brother
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story by: Lance Cpl. Paul Robbins Jr.



Lance Cpl. Joseph A. Navalle, 26-year-old team leader for the scout sniper platoon, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, Regimental Combat Team-8, kneels before the memorial erected for his fallen teammate, Lance Cpl. Juan C. Venegas. Venegas died April 7, in a vehicle accident just outside of Fallujah, Iraq. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Paul Robbins Jr.


FALLUJAH, Iraq(April 30, 2005) -- The crowded room maintained a somber silence as the mourning Marines gazed upon the memorial erected for their fallen brother, Lance Cpl. Juan C. Venegas.

Venegas, a 21-year-old scout sniper with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, died April 7, in a vehicle accident outside of Fallujah, Iraq.

Two days after the fatal accident, Marines with the battalion crowded into Camp Mercury’s mess hall to pay their final respects to their fallen brother-in-arms.

During the ceremony, those who knew him described his personality, work ethic and professionalism in life. As a Marine, the Simi Valley, Calif., native was seen as dependable, motivated and self-sufficient.

“He didn’t require a lot of guidance or supervision,” said 1st Lt. Stowell B. Holcomb, 26-year-old scout sniper platoon commander, “He did his job with a good attitude that was infectious.”

The Marines in his team had the deepest respect for Venegas, who they referred to as a “gentle giant.”

“He was a man of few words,