thedrifter
09-02-05, 12:50 PM
September 02, 2005
Truck Company involved in convoy, first female Marines' lives lost during OIF
by Sgt. Ethan E. Rocke
MCB Camp Butler
CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan -- Marines who were caught in a deadly suicide-bombing attack June 23 that drew the media spotlight with the revelation that three of the 25 casualties were the first Marine women killed since the war began returned from a seven-month deployment Aug. 10-12.
Marines with Truck Company, Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, made headlines and history in Operation Iraqi Freedom when three female Marines from the unit became members of the first Female Search Force (FSF) in February, an all-female unit responsible for searching Iraqi women for weapons and explosives. The unit was comprised of female Marines from several units operating in Iraq's Al Anbar Province.
The evening of June 23, three female Marines with Truck Company were part of a 16-truck convoy transporting the FSF Marines and others back from an entry control point, when a vehicle carrying a bomb ran into one of the 7-ton tactical vehicles.
Lance Cpl. Christina J. Humphrey, a member of the FSF from 1st Platoon, Truck Company, who was in the back of the 7-ton that night, remembers the terrible attack.
"We noticed the vehicle. We had seen the driver around before, but it didn't fit the profile (of a suicide bomber)," she explained.
The man driving had a woman and child riding with him, Humphrey explained. Most suicide bombers are alone.
"I don't remember the car hitting our 7-ton. It tipped to the side and I remember rolling over a body to get out. I didn't know if anyone else was alive."
After the explosion, the Marines in the convoy began receiving fire.
"I grabbed the first weapon I saw, but the explosion rendered it unserviceable," Humphrey continued. "All the weapons were scattered everywhere, and the blast blew most of them apart.
"After the firefight, we started giving first aid to the casualties," she recalled. "Everyone was in shock, and six Marines had to be air-lifted out."
Six Marines died that day. Among them were the first three female Marines killed in OIF. Nineteen others from the convoy were wounded.
"I remember when we got the call about the convoy being attacked," said Cpl. Anthony V. Rodriguez, a motor transport mechanic with 1st Platoon, Truck Company. "It was about (9 p.m.), so we knew it was the females. When the trucks arrived carrying body bags, I remember looking in to see who was killed, to see if it was any of our females."
The Marines who died that night were not from Truck Company, but the unit felt the loss of their brothers and sisters nonetheless, according to Rodriguez.
"Everyone worked together as a team that day," Humphrey concluded. "The Marines died being Marines. I don't think the females got more attention (for dying in combat). No matter what gender someone is, the pain and loss is still the same."
After returning from Iraq, a friend from boot camp spoke with Humphrey about her experiences there.
"I was shocked when (Humphrey) told me about the attack in Iraq," said Lance Cpl. Rebecca M. Ide, the archive noncommissioned officer for the Combat Camera Center. "The attack gave her a different perspective on life. She values life more now, because she almost lost hers."
Humphrey and the other Marines assigned to the Female Search Force received the Purple Heart Medal for the injuries they sustained, and the Navy Achievement Medal for being part of the FSF.
"The command as a whole is extremely proud of what these Marines accomplished," said Col. Jim Reily, the battalion commander for Headquarters Battalion. "They represented themselves and (III Marine Expeditionary Force) in an honorable fashion."
The Marines of Truck Company were involved in several other noteworthy events. On May 5, south of Fallujah, Marines with Truck Company and India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, discovered one of the largest hidden weapons caches in Iraq.
They also transported hundreds of detainees to prisons around Iraq.
"I couldn't have asked for a better group of Marines," said Staff Sgt. Charles E. Harris, the motor transport chief for 1st platoon while in Iraq. "They performed above and beyond their duties."
Ellie
Truck Company involved in convoy, first female Marines' lives lost during OIF
by Sgt. Ethan E. Rocke
MCB Camp Butler
CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan -- Marines who were caught in a deadly suicide-bombing attack June 23 that drew the media spotlight with the revelation that three of the 25 casualties were the first Marine women killed since the war began returned from a seven-month deployment Aug. 10-12.
Marines with Truck Company, Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, made headlines and history in Operation Iraqi Freedom when three female Marines from the unit became members of the first Female Search Force (FSF) in February, an all-female unit responsible for searching Iraqi women for weapons and explosives. The unit was comprised of female Marines from several units operating in Iraq's Al Anbar Province.
The evening of June 23, three female Marines with Truck Company were part of a 16-truck convoy transporting the FSF Marines and others back from an entry control point, when a vehicle carrying a bomb ran into one of the 7-ton tactical vehicles.
Lance Cpl. Christina J. Humphrey, a member of the FSF from 1st Platoon, Truck Company, who was in the back of the 7-ton that night, remembers the terrible attack.
"We noticed the vehicle. We had seen the driver around before, but it didn't fit the profile (of a suicide bomber)," she explained.
The man driving had a woman and child riding with him, Humphrey explained. Most suicide bombers are alone.
"I don't remember the car hitting our 7-ton. It tipped to the side and I remember rolling over a body to get out. I didn't know if anyone else was alive."
After the explosion, the Marines in the convoy began receiving fire.
"I grabbed the first weapon I saw, but the explosion rendered it unserviceable," Humphrey continued. "All the weapons were scattered everywhere, and the blast blew most of them apart.
"After the firefight, we started giving first aid to the casualties," she recalled. "Everyone was in shock, and six Marines had to be air-lifted out."
Six Marines died that day. Among them were the first three female Marines killed in OIF. Nineteen others from the convoy were wounded.
"I remember when we got the call about the convoy being attacked," said Cpl. Anthony V. Rodriguez, a motor transport mechanic with 1st Platoon, Truck Company. "It was about (9 p.m.), so we knew it was the females. When the trucks arrived carrying body bags, I remember looking in to see who was killed, to see if it was any of our females."
The Marines who died that night were not from Truck Company, but the unit felt the loss of their brothers and sisters nonetheless, according to Rodriguez.
"Everyone worked together as a team that day," Humphrey concluded. "The Marines died being Marines. I don't think the females got more attention (for dying in combat). No matter what gender someone is, the pain and loss is still the same."
After returning from Iraq, a friend from boot camp spoke with Humphrey about her experiences there.
"I was shocked when (Humphrey) told me about the attack in Iraq," said Lance Cpl. Rebecca M. Ide, the archive noncommissioned officer for the Combat Camera Center. "The attack gave her a different perspective on life. She values life more now, because she almost lost hers."
Humphrey and the other Marines assigned to the Female Search Force received the Purple Heart Medal for the injuries they sustained, and the Navy Achievement Medal for being part of the FSF.
"The command as a whole is extremely proud of what these Marines accomplished," said Col. Jim Reily, the battalion commander for Headquarters Battalion. "They represented themselves and (III Marine Expeditionary Force) in an honorable fashion."
The Marines of Truck Company were involved in several other noteworthy events. On May 5, south of Fallujah, Marines with Truck Company and India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, discovered one of the largest hidden weapons caches in Iraq.
They also transported hundreds of detainees to prisons around Iraq.
"I couldn't have asked for a better group of Marines," said Staff Sgt. Charles E. Harris, the motor transport chief for 1st platoon while in Iraq. "They performed above and beyond their duties."
Ellie