thedrifter
11-22-06, 08:35 AM
11/21/2006
Marine pen pal tells of Iraqi experiences
By CLAIRE KNAPP Staff Writer
ROXBURY TWP. – Marine Lance Cpl. Justin Masterson said his convoy was driving down an Iraqi roadway when it came to a sudden halt because a young Iraqi girl was sitting in the middle of the road, clutching a Teddy bear.
The lead in the convoy got out with an interpreter to ask the child why she was sitting in the road.
Through the interpreter, the girl said she wanted to stop the convoy because a bomb had been placed in the road ahead.
It was one of many events recounted by Roxbury’s Masterson as he told Randolph seventh graders of his seven months in Iraq in a special assembly in October. The children wrote to Masterson, 22, when they were sixth graders last year. Amanda Keller, daughter of school board member, Claire Keller, had suggested the letter writing campaign last year. The Kellers are friendly with Masterson’s family.
Masterson said that after he graduated from Roxbury High School in 2003 he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and felt he wasn’t ready for college.
Marine Enlistee
He enlisted in the Marines in February 2003, before his graduation, and was off to boot camp at Paris Island, S.C. in October. He graduated from basic training on Jan. 4, 2004, and went to Camp Geiger in Jacksonville, N.C. for combat training. He completed training as a truck driver at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. While in Iraq, Masterson’s dangerous mission was assigned to protect convoys. More than 400 students filled the middle school auditorium to her the comments by the 6 foot 5 inch Marine. “I was scared. No doubt about it. You train, train, train, but this was the real thing. But one thing I had was my Marines. It is a family,” he said.
Masterson said his basic mission was convoy security. His unit had the responsibility of protecting truck convoys as they transported supplies from one base to another. “The convoys are important to any war effort,” said Masterson. “A soldier can’t fight if he doesn’t have food, water, medical supplies, guns and bullets. The convoys are what makes sure our soldiers have whatever they need.”
Masterson’s task was to be in front of convoys, scouting for hidden roadside bombs. “We were trained in what to look for,” said Masterson. “The explosive devices are usually well hidden or buried, and you have to be on the look-out for even the tiniest piece of wire that may be showing.”
“Driving down the road at 50 mph you see a little wire in the ground, you stop,” said Masterson. “That little wire could kill you. The people over there are good. They know how to hide the bombs.”
He said that when a bomb is discovered, the area is cordoned off for 300 feet and then Marines search for the “trigger man.”
He said special units are then called to use robots to detonate the devices.
“No one gets within 50 meters of a compound or convoy,” said Masterson. “The civilians know this. As soon as they see a convoy they pull off the road a distance and wait. But terrorists keep on going. If anyone approaches, we yell at them to pull of the road and stop. If they don’t, a pyro, or visual shot is fired. After that, a warning round is fired at 50 meters. Then disabling shots are fired and the vehicle will be taken out. But first we try to shoot out tires or engines.”
He said that in the seven months he was in Iraq, from February to September, his squad suffered only one minor attack and no one was injured.
Masterson said he was also sent on several missions to provide protection for military officers.
“Officers are a higher value target to the enemy than enlisted men like me,” said Masterson. “We sometimes traveled with them to make sure they were safe.”
After his presentation, Masterson answered students’ questions. One asked about the Iraqi people.
“The Iraqi people are not afraid of us,” said Masterson. “They would line up along the road to wave at us. Marines distributed candy and I gave them some of the gifts I received from stateside.”
“It is scary for some of them,” said Masterson. “We roll up in our uniforms, and if they have kids, giving them candy helped to break the ice.”
Masterson said the Iraqi children were important sources for the Marines.
“They know where the bombs are, and if you give them a pack of Skittles they’ll tell you,” said Masterson.
Masterson said the only Iraqi word he learned was “kif,” which means, “stop.”
“Our job was to stop and check people, searching them for explosives or guns. Civilian life over there goes on,” he said.
One mid-afternoon, Masterson said his unit stopped a car with a family in it.
“I love kids, and I noticed a little boy, maybe 3 or 4 years old who had a bleeding eye,” said Masterson. “The parents were not taking him to a hospital, they didn’t have the money. I gave the boy a big teddy bear and had a Navy Corpsman tend to him. We helped him, and that meant a lot to me.
Masterson said he has no political opinions about the war.
“I’m not political,” said Masterson. “I don’t have an opinion on whether the war is right or wrong. But I think if it makes a difference to even one person over there it makes a difference to me. We are helping people who couldn’t help themselves.”
Masterson said Iraq is either urban or open deserts and that there are no suburbs like Randolph or Roxbury.
“The environment changes your mode of operation,” said Masterson. “In the desert it is open. You can see for miles. In the cities, where buildings are close together, it is more dangerous because insurgents can hide.”
One boy asked Masterson if he had shot anyone in Iraq and the Marine hedged the question, saying he did “what he had to do to come home safely.”
Masterson said he was shot at by insurgents.
“One night a tracer bullet went right over my head,” said Masterson. “I looked up to see what it was, and another one went by. My master sergeant told me to get my head down, and I thought – hey, good idea.”
Masterson said he lost a friend in a truck accident in Iraq and that his only injury came when his vehicle was cruising across the open desert at 60 mph.
“We hit a bump and I flew out of the truck,” said Masterson. “I spread my arms and was flying. Thank goodness all I suffered was a few bruises.”
Masterson’s pride in being a Marine was evident after a student asked him if any of his missions had ever failed.
“Marines do not fail,” Masterson said.
Masterson is the son of Gary and Denise Masterson of Mapledale Avenue in Roxbury Township. His brother Kyle, 24, is also a Marine who served in Afghanistan from May to December 2004.
Masterson said he will be returning to Iraq in February, even though his unit isn’t due back until next August.
“I don’t want to wait until then,” he said. “I hate the cold, and going in February it won’t be cold in Iraq. In the summer, it can get to be 130 degrees in Iraq, but it doesn’t bother me as long as I have enough water. It’s hot, but there’s no humidity.”
Masterson said he still hasn’t decided what to do after his active tour in the Marines is completed in two years.
“I’m not going to make a career of the Marines because I want my kids to grow up the way I did,” said Masterson. “One house, one neighborhood, one community to call home. Being in the armed service you move around too much.”
Ellie
Marine pen pal tells of Iraqi experiences
By CLAIRE KNAPP Staff Writer
ROXBURY TWP. – Marine Lance Cpl. Justin Masterson said his convoy was driving down an Iraqi roadway when it came to a sudden halt because a young Iraqi girl was sitting in the middle of the road, clutching a Teddy bear.
The lead in the convoy got out with an interpreter to ask the child why she was sitting in the road.
Through the interpreter, the girl said she wanted to stop the convoy because a bomb had been placed in the road ahead.
It was one of many events recounted by Roxbury’s Masterson as he told Randolph seventh graders of his seven months in Iraq in a special assembly in October. The children wrote to Masterson, 22, when they were sixth graders last year. Amanda Keller, daughter of school board member, Claire Keller, had suggested the letter writing campaign last year. The Kellers are friendly with Masterson’s family.
Masterson said that after he graduated from Roxbury High School in 2003 he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and felt he wasn’t ready for college.
Marine Enlistee
He enlisted in the Marines in February 2003, before his graduation, and was off to boot camp at Paris Island, S.C. in October. He graduated from basic training on Jan. 4, 2004, and went to Camp Geiger in Jacksonville, N.C. for combat training. He completed training as a truck driver at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. While in Iraq, Masterson’s dangerous mission was assigned to protect convoys. More than 400 students filled the middle school auditorium to her the comments by the 6 foot 5 inch Marine. “I was scared. No doubt about it. You train, train, train, but this was the real thing. But one thing I had was my Marines. It is a family,” he said.
Masterson said his basic mission was convoy security. His unit had the responsibility of protecting truck convoys as they transported supplies from one base to another. “The convoys are important to any war effort,” said Masterson. “A soldier can’t fight if he doesn’t have food, water, medical supplies, guns and bullets. The convoys are what makes sure our soldiers have whatever they need.”
Masterson’s task was to be in front of convoys, scouting for hidden roadside bombs. “We were trained in what to look for,” said Masterson. “The explosive devices are usually well hidden or buried, and you have to be on the look-out for even the tiniest piece of wire that may be showing.”
“Driving down the road at 50 mph you see a little wire in the ground, you stop,” said Masterson. “That little wire could kill you. The people over there are good. They know how to hide the bombs.”
He said that when a bomb is discovered, the area is cordoned off for 300 feet and then Marines search for the “trigger man.”
He said special units are then called to use robots to detonate the devices.
“No one gets within 50 meters of a compound or convoy,” said Masterson. “The civilians know this. As soon as they see a convoy they pull off the road a distance and wait. But terrorists keep on going. If anyone approaches, we yell at them to pull of the road and stop. If they don’t, a pyro, or visual shot is fired. After that, a warning round is fired at 50 meters. Then disabling shots are fired and the vehicle will be taken out. But first we try to shoot out tires or engines.”
He said that in the seven months he was in Iraq, from February to September, his squad suffered only one minor attack and no one was injured.
Masterson said he was also sent on several missions to provide protection for military officers.
“Officers are a higher value target to the enemy than enlisted men like me,” said Masterson. “We sometimes traveled with them to make sure they were safe.”
After his presentation, Masterson answered students’ questions. One asked about the Iraqi people.
“The Iraqi people are not afraid of us,” said Masterson. “They would line up along the road to wave at us. Marines distributed candy and I gave them some of the gifts I received from stateside.”
“It is scary for some of them,” said Masterson. “We roll up in our uniforms, and if they have kids, giving them candy helped to break the ice.”
Masterson said the Iraqi children were important sources for the Marines.
“They know where the bombs are, and if you give them a pack of Skittles they’ll tell you,” said Masterson.
Masterson said the only Iraqi word he learned was “kif,” which means, “stop.”
“Our job was to stop and check people, searching them for explosives or guns. Civilian life over there goes on,” he said.
One mid-afternoon, Masterson said his unit stopped a car with a family in it.
“I love kids, and I noticed a little boy, maybe 3 or 4 years old who had a bleeding eye,” said Masterson. “The parents were not taking him to a hospital, they didn’t have the money. I gave the boy a big teddy bear and had a Navy Corpsman tend to him. We helped him, and that meant a lot to me.
Masterson said he has no political opinions about the war.
“I’m not political,” said Masterson. “I don’t have an opinion on whether the war is right or wrong. But I think if it makes a difference to even one person over there it makes a difference to me. We are helping people who couldn’t help themselves.”
Masterson said Iraq is either urban or open deserts and that there are no suburbs like Randolph or Roxbury.
“The environment changes your mode of operation,” said Masterson. “In the desert it is open. You can see for miles. In the cities, where buildings are close together, it is more dangerous because insurgents can hide.”
One boy asked Masterson if he had shot anyone in Iraq and the Marine hedged the question, saying he did “what he had to do to come home safely.”
Masterson said he was shot at by insurgents.
“One night a tracer bullet went right over my head,” said Masterson. “I looked up to see what it was, and another one went by. My master sergeant told me to get my head down, and I thought – hey, good idea.”
Masterson said he lost a friend in a truck accident in Iraq and that his only injury came when his vehicle was cruising across the open desert at 60 mph.
“We hit a bump and I flew out of the truck,” said Masterson. “I spread my arms and was flying. Thank goodness all I suffered was a few bruises.”
Masterson’s pride in being a Marine was evident after a student asked him if any of his missions had ever failed.
“Marines do not fail,” Masterson said.
Masterson is the son of Gary and Denise Masterson of Mapledale Avenue in Roxbury Township. His brother Kyle, 24, is also a Marine who served in Afghanistan from May to December 2004.
Masterson said he will be returning to Iraq in February, even though his unit isn’t due back until next August.
“I don’t want to wait until then,” he said. “I hate the cold, and going in February it won’t be cold in Iraq. In the summer, it can get to be 130 degrees in Iraq, but it doesn’t bother me as long as I have enough water. It’s hot, but there’s no humidity.”
Masterson said he still hasn’t decided what to do after his active tour in the Marines is completed in two years.
“I’m not going to make a career of the Marines because I want my kids to grow up the way I did,” said Masterson. “One house, one neighborhood, one community to call home. Being in the armed service you move around too much.”
Ellie