thedrifter
12-04-03, 07:00 AM
Marines honor fallen comrades
15 killed in Iraq were members of air wing based at Miramar
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 3, 2003
The Marines honored their dead at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station yesterday at a memorial service heavy in symbolism that again brought home the cost of the war.
Fifteen M-16 rifles thrust bayonet first into the ground and capped with helmets stood behind combat boots for each 3rd Marine Air Wing member killed in Iraq.
After a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace," the names of the fallen were read, among them Lance Cpl. Jason W. Moore of San Marcos. After each name, a Marine saluted, hung a set of dog tags on the rifle's grip and stood behind the improvised shrine.
Many choked up when a little girl wiggled from her mother's arms and briefly stood staring at the dangling dog tags.
Capt. Chad Dupill stood for Capt. Timothy L. Ryan, a helicopter pilot for Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364. Ryan and three other Marines were flying water to Dupill's squadron when their CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter hit some power lines May 19 while trying to avoid enemy fire.
"He was a prior enlisted guy who knew what he was doing," Dupill said. "He was big as a house – 6-5, 235 – but such a funny guy. He was always coming up with one-liners that would knock you on your butt.
"Capt. Ryan, Staff Sgt. (Aaron D.) White and Lance Cpl. Moore literally risked their lives to bring us water. They died trying to help us. That just crushed us."
Michelle Ryan wore a silver locket, each half holding a tiny photo of her husband in his dress uniform.
Many family members wore photos of their lost loved ones, and some wore the dog tags.
"I talked to him the Friday before" he died, Ryan said. "He only had a few minutes, and once we got through the 'hellos' and 'I love yous' there wasn't much time. He just wanted to call because he said he'd be too busy later."
"This (memorial service) is sad, but also brings some peace and a sense of closure."
Maj. Gen. James F. Amos, air wing commander, quoted President Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech.
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship," Amos told the family members and the 1,200 Marines and sailors who were assembled.
Amos called the Marines who died between March 21 and May 19 heroes and said that being Marines was in their DNA. He said they knew fear – the fear of letting down a fellow Marine – which drove them to do their duty despite the danger.
The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which includes the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton and the 3rd Marine Air Wing at Miramar, is returning to Iraq this spring to occupy a large chunk of the country. During the war, 62 members were killed and 230 were wounded.
Marine Corps officials have yet to announce which units are going, but the number of troops from San Diego County is expected to be about 20,000.
Referring to the deployment, Amos said returning Marines would finish the job the others had started.
One Marine who won't be going back is Sgt. Dario Conteras, from Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, based in Yuma, Ariz.
He spent 3½ months in Iraq and was a friend of Staff Sgt. Fernando Padilla, who was killed the evening of March 28 in a convoy ambush. Padilla left a wife and two children, including a newborn.
If it were only up to Conteras, 26, he might re-enlist. But he has a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, and they are the reasons he's leaving the Corps in less then a month.
"They are all worried," he said before the memorial service.
That doesn't mean his heart won't be with his fellow Marines.
"People take their freedom for granted," Conteras said. "They don't understand the sacrifices that are made."
A bronze plaque with names of the 15 will be placed permanently at 3rd Marine Air Wing headquarters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/memorial/images/031203tribute1.jpg
JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune
Marines march past a battlefield memorial of M-16 rifles and combat boots for the 15 members of the Miramar-based 3rd Marine Air Wing killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/memorial/20031203-9999_1m3tribute.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
15 killed in Iraq were members of air wing based at Miramar
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 3, 2003
The Marines honored their dead at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station yesterday at a memorial service heavy in symbolism that again brought home the cost of the war.
Fifteen M-16 rifles thrust bayonet first into the ground and capped with helmets stood behind combat boots for each 3rd Marine Air Wing member killed in Iraq.
After a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace," the names of the fallen were read, among them Lance Cpl. Jason W. Moore of San Marcos. After each name, a Marine saluted, hung a set of dog tags on the rifle's grip and stood behind the improvised shrine.
Many choked up when a little girl wiggled from her mother's arms and briefly stood staring at the dangling dog tags.
Capt. Chad Dupill stood for Capt. Timothy L. Ryan, a helicopter pilot for Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364. Ryan and three other Marines were flying water to Dupill's squadron when their CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter hit some power lines May 19 while trying to avoid enemy fire.
"He was a prior enlisted guy who knew what he was doing," Dupill said. "He was big as a house – 6-5, 235 – but such a funny guy. He was always coming up with one-liners that would knock you on your butt.
"Capt. Ryan, Staff Sgt. (Aaron D.) White and Lance Cpl. Moore literally risked their lives to bring us water. They died trying to help us. That just crushed us."
Michelle Ryan wore a silver locket, each half holding a tiny photo of her husband in his dress uniform.
Many family members wore photos of their lost loved ones, and some wore the dog tags.
"I talked to him the Friday before" he died, Ryan said. "He only had a few minutes, and once we got through the 'hellos' and 'I love yous' there wasn't much time. He just wanted to call because he said he'd be too busy later."
"This (memorial service) is sad, but also brings some peace and a sense of closure."
Maj. Gen. James F. Amos, air wing commander, quoted President Kennedy's 1961 inaugural speech.
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship," Amos told the family members and the 1,200 Marines and sailors who were assembled.
Amos called the Marines who died between March 21 and May 19 heroes and said that being Marines was in their DNA. He said they knew fear – the fear of letting down a fellow Marine – which drove them to do their duty despite the danger.
The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which includes the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton and the 3rd Marine Air Wing at Miramar, is returning to Iraq this spring to occupy a large chunk of the country. During the war, 62 members were killed and 230 were wounded.
Marine Corps officials have yet to announce which units are going, but the number of troops from San Diego County is expected to be about 20,000.
Referring to the deployment, Amos said returning Marines would finish the job the others had started.
One Marine who won't be going back is Sgt. Dario Conteras, from Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, based in Yuma, Ariz.
He spent 3½ months in Iraq and was a friend of Staff Sgt. Fernando Padilla, who was killed the evening of March 28 in a convoy ambush. Padilla left a wife and two children, including a newborn.
If it were only up to Conteras, 26, he might re-enlist. But he has a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, and they are the reasons he's leaving the Corps in less then a month.
"They are all worried," he said before the memorial service.
That doesn't mean his heart won't be with his fellow Marines.
"People take their freedom for granted," Conteras said. "They don't understand the sacrifices that are made."
A bronze plaque with names of the 15 will be placed permanently at 3rd Marine Air Wing headquarters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/memorial/images/031203tribute1.jpg
JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune
Marines march past a battlefield memorial of M-16 rifles and combat boots for the 15 members of the Miramar-based 3rd Marine Air Wing killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/memorial/20031203-9999_1m3tribute.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: