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thedrifter
02-14-06, 11:57 AM
February 20, 2006
The Lore of the Corps: A 5-minute history lesson
Corps has long history of aiding New Orleans
By Barry R. Fetzer
Special to the Times

The relationship between the Marine Corps and New Orleans dates back to the 19th century.

Led by Maj. Daniel Carmick in January 1815, Marines held the center of the American line in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

The bravery of Carmick and his Marines led to the American defenders killing or wounding 2,036 British soldiers and capturing 500 prisoners.

New Orleans was saved.

After the war, Congress passed a resolution thanking the leathernecks “for the valor and good conduct of Major Carmick, and of the officers, noncommissioned officers, and Marines under his command.”

But Carmick would not live to bask in the glory of his part in saving New Orleans. He died later that year of wounds sustained during the battle.

Another group of Marines also “saved the day” in New Orleans in January 1973.

This four-man Marine helicopter crew led by the commander of the Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment in New Orleans, Lt. Col. Charles “Chuck” Pitman, assisted the New Orleans Police Department during a sniper attack in the heart of the city.

Mark J. Essex, later confirmed to be the sole sniper, had killed and wounded several New Orleans police officers when, on Jan. 7, 1973, he ascended to the top of a Howard Johnson hotel, killing seven and wounding 11 people along the way.

After his rampage, Essex reached the roof level of the hotel and barricaded himself in a protected position. From there, police sharpshooters positioned on adjacent rooftops could not get a clear shot at him.

Pitman and his crew flew back and forth over the rooftop of the Howard Johnson at night in poor weather conditions with three police sharpshooters aboard.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper, the Marines were pressed into service after the sniper’s death toll reached seven.

Each time the helo returned to a parking lot to rearm the police sharpshooters, two crewmen went over every inch of the aircraft with flashlights. After 20 passes over the hotel, they had found several bullet holes but no serious damage. On each pass, the helo hovered about two minutes while the police snipers emptied clip after clip of 5.56mm AR15 rounds into the sniper’s position.

Under pressure from the relentless assault of the Marines and police sharpshooters, Essex eventually ran from his protected position and was cut down by a shot from Pitman’s helo.

For his heroism, Pitman drew both the praise of the people of New Orleans and the ire of his senior officers for allegedly acting without official approval.

Pitman and his men saved the city of New Orleans from a sniper that day. His fellow leatherneck Carmick had saved the same city exactly 158 years earlier.

More recently, Marines deployed to New Orleans in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Active-duty and Reserve Marines deployed from all over the Corps to help.

The Corps’ aerial lift assets and amphibious assault vehicles helped Marines reach people stranded by floodwaters.

The writer is a retired Marine living in eastern North Carolina.

Ellie