thedrifter
07-07-04, 04:32 PM
July 07, 2004
Marines bid fond goodbye to fallen ‘leader’
By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer
CAMP HURRICANE POINT, Iraq — Lance Cpl. Anthony Neal hated his squad leader for all the things that ended up making Neal a better Marine. “I hated his guts back in the rear because all he did was nag, nag, nag,” said Neal, a 20-year-old assaultman from Euless, Texas. “But I’m glad he did because he taught us what we needed to know.”
Now Neal and a company of Marines are mourning the loss of Sgt. Kenneth K. Conde, Jr., who was killed in downtown Ramadi when insurgents detonated an improvised explosive device near his Humvee during an evening convoy July 1.
Neal, who was driving the Humvee that night, smoked a cigarette under a camouflage canopy near his squad’s barracks here remembering the difference Conde made in his life. Neal wasn’t one of Conde’s closest friends in the Corps, nor had he known him for that long. But Neal is typical of the kind of Marine Conde touched profoundly.
Conde was a squad leader for Mobile Assault Platoon 3, part of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment’s Weapons Company. He was remembered during a sunset service here July 7 in front of the battalion’s headquarters on former palace grounds. The battalion has paid a high price for the operations it is conducting in downtown Ramadi, with nearly twice the number of casualties of other Marine battalions in Iraq, including more than 30 dead.
Conde was particularly well loved, not only for his leadership skills, but also for his heroism. During the intense urban combat the battalion saw in early April, Conde was shot in the shoulder. He insisted, however, that he return to the fight the next day to help his Marines. He fought until he could no longer feel his hand and recovered over the following weeks.
On July 1, Conde was riding in a convoy to set up a new observation post near a local mosque. During the drive down Ramadi’s main road, which Marines travel every day, an IED went off and ripped through the passenger side of the vehicle, killing Conde. Neal received only minor shrapnel wounds.
“He was the best leader I ever met,” said Cpl. Jared McKenzie, 22, from Bon Aqua, Tenn. McKenzie has assumed Conde’s duties at the squad. “We looked to him not because of his rank but because of his knowledge.”
Conde was planning to marry his girlfriend — whom he’d met during a deployment in Okinawa, Japan, three years ago — when he returned from Iraq, unit officials said.
The true measure of a man is the legacy he passes to those around him, said Lt. Col. Paul Kennedy, battalion commander, reminding the company that Conde would not want to see its discipline wane.
“He valiantly gave his life so that others can continue in peace,” Kennedy said.
Neal said he’ll begin to miss Conde as soon as he has the time.
“Out here, there isn’t enough time to miss somebody because if you dwell, you’ll [screw] it up,” he said. “But when I get home, hell yes, I’ll miss him.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-3074223.php
Ellie
Rest In Peace
Marines bid fond goodbye to fallen ‘leader’
By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer
CAMP HURRICANE POINT, Iraq — Lance Cpl. Anthony Neal hated his squad leader for all the things that ended up making Neal a better Marine. “I hated his guts back in the rear because all he did was nag, nag, nag,” said Neal, a 20-year-old assaultman from Euless, Texas. “But I’m glad he did because he taught us what we needed to know.”
Now Neal and a company of Marines are mourning the loss of Sgt. Kenneth K. Conde, Jr., who was killed in downtown Ramadi when insurgents detonated an improvised explosive device near his Humvee during an evening convoy July 1.
Neal, who was driving the Humvee that night, smoked a cigarette under a camouflage canopy near his squad’s barracks here remembering the difference Conde made in his life. Neal wasn’t one of Conde’s closest friends in the Corps, nor had he known him for that long. But Neal is typical of the kind of Marine Conde touched profoundly.
Conde was a squad leader for Mobile Assault Platoon 3, part of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment’s Weapons Company. He was remembered during a sunset service here July 7 in front of the battalion’s headquarters on former palace grounds. The battalion has paid a high price for the operations it is conducting in downtown Ramadi, with nearly twice the number of casualties of other Marine battalions in Iraq, including more than 30 dead.
Conde was particularly well loved, not only for his leadership skills, but also for his heroism. During the intense urban combat the battalion saw in early April, Conde was shot in the shoulder. He insisted, however, that he return to the fight the next day to help his Marines. He fought until he could no longer feel his hand and recovered over the following weeks.
On July 1, Conde was riding in a convoy to set up a new observation post near a local mosque. During the drive down Ramadi’s main road, which Marines travel every day, an IED went off and ripped through the passenger side of the vehicle, killing Conde. Neal received only minor shrapnel wounds.
“He was the best leader I ever met,” said Cpl. Jared McKenzie, 22, from Bon Aqua, Tenn. McKenzie has assumed Conde’s duties at the squad. “We looked to him not because of his rank but because of his knowledge.”
Conde was planning to marry his girlfriend — whom he’d met during a deployment in Okinawa, Japan, three years ago — when he returned from Iraq, unit officials said.
The true measure of a man is the legacy he passes to those around him, said Lt. Col. Paul Kennedy, battalion commander, reminding the company that Conde would not want to see its discipline wane.
“He valiantly gave his life so that others can continue in peace,” Kennedy said.
Neal said he’ll begin to miss Conde as soon as he has the time.
“Out here, there isn’t enough time to miss somebody because if you dwell, you’ll [screw] it up,” he said. “But when I get home, hell yes, I’ll miss him.”
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-3074223.php
Ellie
Rest In Peace