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SuNmAN
12-08-06, 08:32 AM
A great example of what we should do in Iraq

Marines Save Iraqi Baby to Honor Fallen Medic
A Routine Patrol Turned Into a Mission to Help Sick Child

(Dec. 8) - The story of a group of Marines' quest to save a sick baby in war-torn Iraq gives some hope to humanity this holiday season.

At the center of the story is Navy medic Chris Walsh and the 1st Battalion 25th Marines. The Marines were patrolling the streets of Fallujah in June when they faced an enemy attack.

"An IED exploded immediately adjacent to Chris' vehicle, so they all piled out to chase the trigger man," said Capt. Sean Donovan.

But the Marines had a surprise encounter in their pursuit.

"And as they did so, a woman came from one of the houses calling to them that the baby was sick. So they stopped, and Chris came up and looked at the baby," Donovan said. "And this was baby Mariam, and it was immediately clear to him that this baby desperately needed care."

Baby Mariam was just 2 months old and suffering from a rare intestinal abnormality. Under the threat of another attack, Walsh had to make a quick decision.

"Right on the spot, the mission changed from the trigger man to the baby girl," Donovan said.

A routine military mission suddenly became a lifesaving mission for Walsh and those around him.

"The shared willingness to engage this mission was the bravery of the family in bringing her forward," Donovan said.

Visiting Under Cover of Darkness

For the next three months, Walsh and the team made house calls under the cloak of darkness into the dangerous city to help the baby.

They were trying to get baby Mariam stabilized, taking photographs, consulting experts, and trying to get her papers to leave the country for medical care.

Staff Sgt. Ed Ewing led the visits.

"We showed up at all different times of the night," Ewing said. "They never knew when we were coming. We did that purposely to protect us and protect their family."

As months went by, the unit continued its routine patrols. On Sept. 4, tragedy struck when one of their Humvees was hit once again by an IED.

This time three men in the unit were killed -- Lance Cpl. Eric Valdepenas; Cpl. Jared Shoemaker; and Walsh, baby Mariam's guardian angel.

For those who survived, saving baby Mariam became a eulogy to their fallen comrades.

"To honor Chris, to honor the other men that died in battalion, we had to go through with the mission and keep fighting," said Father Marc Bishop.
Mission Accomplished

Eventually the Marines won their fight, and baby Mariam was granted permission to leave Iraq.

Dr. Rafael Pieretti from Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital performed the surgery, which took place in October.

"She's doing well," Pieretti said. "She's gained weight. She's socializing more. She has a different life."

On the eve of baby Mariam's arrival, Walsh's mother, Maureen, received a letter from Donovan, telling her the story of a life that was saved because of her son's big heart.

The letter from Donovan read in part: "Although he won't be visible, Chris will be very much on that patrol, the hope for Mariam's very tiny life having arisen from the charity and gallantry of your son."

Recently Maureen Walsh met baby Mariam.

"It made me feel like Chris was there," she said. "He wanted something like this. He wanted to make a difference in somebody's life."


12-08-06 00:17 EST


Copyright 2006 ABCNEWS.com

Sgt Leprechaun
12-08-06, 10:44 PM
SuN..what makes you think we AREN'T doing this kinda thing.....every-single-day??

We are..it just doesn't make the news, since it doesn't "bleed".

jinelson
12-09-06, 01:41 AM
The Sergeant is absolutely correct we Marines have read countless stories here on Leatherneck yet the public is oblivious due to apathy and under reporting by the leftest trash media.

Jim

SkilletsUSMC
12-09-06, 10:53 AM
SuN..what makes you think we AREN'T doing this kinda thing.....every-single-day??

We are..it just doesn't make the news, since it doesn't "bleed".

Thats why I'm always on his ass about not knowing whats really going on over there. Because he really doesnt.

Our Platoon regularly called in ninelines for sick Iraqi kids. We would get the kids to medical care ASAP. We even sent a kid to surgery for a very unfortunate yet disgusting as hell genital deformity. He had a his beans on the end of his frank.:sick:

I remember the first day we patrolled into Kandari market. I swear to you, there was a guy who had been beaten damn near dead and was being carried TO US not more than 1 block in. What did we do? Corpsman up. Then brought him to the jordanian hospital.

SuNmAN
12-09-06, 12:10 PM
SuN..what makes you think we AREN'T doing this kinda thing.....every-single-day??

We are..it just doesn't make the news, since it doesn't "bleed".

I don't not think so. I just wished its happen more often

SuNmAN
12-09-06, 12:11 PM
Thats why I'm always on his ass about not knowing whats really going on over there. Because he really doesnt.

Our Platoon regularly called in ninelines for sick Iraqi kids. We would get the kids to medical care ASAP. We even sent a kid to surgery for a very unfortunate yet disgusting as hell genital deformity. He had a his beans on the end of his frank.:sick:

I remember the first day we patrolled into Kandari market. I swear to you, there was a guy who had been beaten damn near dead and was being carried TO US not more than 1 block in. What did we do? Corpsman up. Then brought him to the jordanian hospital.

Actions like these will go a long way toward us winning the war.

SuNmAN
12-09-06, 12:11 PM
Thats why I'm always on his ass about not knowing whats really going on over there. Because he really doesnt.

Our Platoon regularly called in ninelines for sick Iraqi kids. We would get the kids to medical care ASAP. We even sent a kid to surgery for a very unfortunate yet disgusting as hell genital deformity. He had a his beans on the end of his frank.:sick:

I remember the first day we patrolled into Kandari market. I swear to you, there was a guy who had been beaten damn near dead and was being carried TO US not more than 1 block in. What did we do? Corpsman up. Then brought him to the jordanian hospital.

Actions like these will go a long way toward us winning the war.

SkilletsUSMC
12-09-06, 05:48 PM
Actions like these will go a long way toward us winning the war.

Sunman,

deep down I KNOW you have the best interst of the Marine Corps and the USA on your mind... All in all, youre a good guy, so I try not to give you too much ****. My only gripe about some of your posts is that you may not actually really "know" whats up in iraq. I have hundreds of photos of my Squad Eating in iraqi houses. Our plan would be to go out with some american cash, post up security, buy LARGE quanities of eggs, veggies, and maybe some "UGART"(you vets know EXACTLY what that stuff is:D ) and then make a quick patrol to a Iraqi house and just knock on the door. When the Man of the house comes to the door, we tell them we have way too much food, and we would like to share it with them. So we hang out, and talk broken arabic, and then the wife will come out with a feast. Good times. After we are done we leave the rest of the food with the family, and it really helps out. We usually get enough food to last the family a week after we have had our "fill".

The Iraqi people in general actaully get along with the Marines pretty good. The ONLY problem is that they know that if they show support for us, or actively help us, Ali-baba is comming with a dull knife.

SkilletsUSMC
12-09-06, 05:51 PM
Actions like these will go a long way toward us winning the war.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/schkoot/dscn0164.jpg

SuNmAN
12-09-06, 05:52 PM
Sunman,

deep down I KNOW you have the best interst of the Marine Corps and the USA on your mind... All in all, youre a good guy, so I try not to give you too much ****. My only gripe about some of your posts is that you may not actually really "know" whats up in iraq. I have hundreds of photos of my Squad Eating in iraqi houses. Our plan would be to go out with some american cash, post up security, buy LARGE quanities of eggs, veggies, and maybe some "UGART"(you vets know EXACTLY what that stuff is:D ) and then make a quick patrol to a Iraqi house and just knock on the door. When the Man of the house comes to the door, we tell them we have way too much food, and we would like to share it with them. So we hang out, and talk broken arabic, and then the wife will come out with a feast. Good times. After we are done we leave the rest of the food with the family, and it really helps out. We usually get enough food to last the family a week after we have had our "fill".

The Iraqi people in general actaully get along with the Marines pretty good. The ONLY problem is that they know that if they show support for us, or actively help us, Ali-baba is comming with a dull knife.

I know that happens

All the guys talk about in my unit are these stories

but on the other side you get stuff like abu ghraib and murdering innocent civilians.

that stuff must never happen.

In the early parts of the invasion, we dropped bombs on civilian population centers just on the CHANCE that some Baath Party Official might be in the area.

That should never happen either.

SkilletsUSMC
12-09-06, 07:30 PM
I know that happens

All the guys talk about in my unit are these stories

but on the other side you get stuff like abu ghraib

(Abu ghraib isnt that big of a deal to me, there is similar hazing still going on in the Corps itself.)


and murdering innocent civilians.(murder is murder wether you are in uniform or not. I dont think anyone here condones it, but with milions of diferent troops rotaing in and out, there are going to be some incidents)


that stuff must never happen.

In the early parts of the invasion, we dropped bombs on civilian population centers just on the CHANCE that some Baath Party Official might be in the area

That should never happen either..

(the idea was that we could spare much more bloodshed in the future, if we could decapitate the resistance at the onset. It obviously didnt work, but Its still understandable)

SuNmAN
12-09-06, 08:38 PM
(Abu ghraib isnt that big of a deal to me, there is similar hazing still going on in the Corps itself.)

(murder is murder wether you are in uniform or not. I dont think anyone here condones it, but with milions of diferent troops rotaing in and out, there are going to be some incidents)

.

(the idea was that we could spare much more bloodshed in the future, if we could decapitate the resistance at the onset. It obviously didnt work, but Its still understandable)


Osama Bin Laden deserves to be tortured and killed for his treachery, but for #3, I guarantee you the violence will not stop with the capture and death of high level Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama Bin Laden.

SkilletsUSMC
12-09-06, 08:42 PM
Osama Bin Laden deserves to be tortured and killed for his treachery, but for #3, I guarantee you the violence will not stop with the capture and death of high level Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama Bin Laden.

Im speaking of iraq. The idea was to disrupt their command structure. As for Al queda... they are very compartmentalized, the only way to chop the head off "that Snake" would be to somehow kill a huge amount of insurgent leaders similtaneosly.

SuNmAN
12-09-06, 10:24 PM
Im speaking of iraq. The idea was to disrupt their command structure. As for Al queda... they are very compartmentalized, the only way to chop the head off "that Snake" would be to somehow kill a huge amount of insurgent leaders similtaneosly.


if you do that the lower ones would step up and take command

Sgt Leprechaun
12-11-06, 07:29 AM
So...the problem is insurmountable, and we should just give up?

THAT's not gonna work.

And, as far as this line goes: "In the early parts of the invasion, we dropped bombs on civilian population centers just on the CHANCE that some Baath Party Official might be in the area."

Cite the facts you are basing this on. Where did you get the information, and what is the reliability of same?

Standard Intelligence questions.

SuNmAN
12-11-06, 01:11 PM
So...the problem is insurmountable, and we should just give up?

THAT's not gonna work.

And, as far as this line goes: "In the early parts of the invasion, we dropped bombs on civilian population centers just on the CHANCE that some Baath Party Official might be in the area."

Cite the facts you are basing this on. Where did you get the information, and what is the reliability of same?

Standard Intelligence questions.

No, we should not just give up

just sayin' killin an Al Qaeda leader is of no strategic value other than the feeling of retribution - "thats what you get biotch !!" lol


I have newspaper articles to back those claims up...BUT

#1 I'm tired as hell right now don't feel like digging online
#2 you'll likely dismiss those media sources as too leftist

outlaw3179
12-11-06, 01:40 PM
Unfu*kingbelivable.

Sgt Leprechaun
12-11-06, 01:56 PM
Oh, come on now SuN. Even lefties occassionally tell the truth. Unlikely, but occassionally. Still, ya shouldn't make blanket statements like that without sourcing it. More "basic Intel 101" LOL.

I'm gonna make an Analyst outta you yet.

SuNmAN
12-11-06, 03:56 PM
Oh, come on now SuN. Even lefties occassionally tell the truth. Unlikely, but occassionally. Still, ya shouldn't make blanket statements like that without sourcing it. More "basic Intel 101" LOL.

I'm gonna make an Analyst outta you yet.


I just took a nap - here it is

Source #1: Militant Muslim Combat Methods, by H. John Poole

Source #2: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-12-10-cluster-bomb-cover_x.htm

Source #3: http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2003/10/09/anger_and_faith_fuel_iraqi_resistance/

It is common knowledge that the US air force performed air strikes based on CIA intel reports that Baath Party Officials were in the area and often they not only missed the targetted personnel but also killed civilians

Source 3 especially illustrates my points...

Sgt Leprechaun
12-11-06, 04:39 PM
MM combat methods is a great book.


Source 3. Lets take a look at what ole Abdalla, who is a 'wanted man', BTW, says, shall we? This line is telling: "For 10 years, I couldn't get the people to fight Saddam's government," Abdalla said in Fallujah, 35 miles west of Baghdad. "Now in a few months Bush has achieved what I couldn't in 10 years. All Muslims are grateful for Bush."

So....what should we take from this? "Could" ole Abdalla be a militant islamist, perhaps? Unhappy with Saddam...and unhappy with secular westernism?

This is a wonderful example of anti-american propaganda (I'm not discounting the article, however, I am stating a good reporter would look to motives of those being interviewed...a good cop would, and so does a good Intel Analyst....) None of those motives are presented, other than the usual grievances and allegations that can't be proven.

So much for source 3. Still didn't see the 'common knowledge' about air strikes killing civilians; 3 says they are being killed by ground troops in accidental shootings.

On to source 2. Here we have the crux of the matter:
"One anti-war group calculates that cluster weapons killed as many as 372 Iraqi civilians"

Now, I'll have to say that the article has been researched, it appears. However, all of the above (in USA today), no malice is indicated, and it would appear that rather than the USAF, it's US ground forces artillery that would be the culprit. There is no indication, either, that the strikes 'missed' targetted personnel, since the BDA's aren't provided.

Therefore, I'd say the argument presented, while having 'some' basis in fact, is also based off of only "one" source, and one slanted source.

Does this mean it's untrue? No. But, it would cause me to look at it with a 'hairy eyeball', based on years of experience.

SuNmAN
12-11-06, 05:55 PM
MM combat methods is a great book.


Source 3. Lets take a look at what ole Abdalla, who is a 'wanted man', BTW, says, shall we? This line is telling: "For 10 years, I couldn't get the people to fight Saddam's government," Abdalla said in Fallujah, 35 miles west of Baghdad. "Now in a few months Bush has achieved what I couldn't in 10 years. All Muslims are grateful for Bush."

So....what should we take from this? "Could" ole Abdalla be a militant islamist, perhaps? Unhappy with Saddam...and unhappy with secular westernism?

This is a wonderful example of anti-american propaganda (I'm not discounting the article, however, I am stating a good reporter would look to motives of those being interviewed...a good cop would, and so does a good Intel Analyst....) None of those motives are presented, other than the usual grievances and allegations that can't be proven.

So much for source 3. Still didn't see the 'common knowledge' about air strikes killing civilians; 3 says they are being killed by ground troops in accidental shootings.

On to source 2. Here we have the crux of the matter:
"One anti-war group calculates that cluster weapons killed as many as 372 Iraqi civilians"

Now, I'll have to say that the article has been researched, it appears. However, all of the above (in USA today), no malice is indicated, and it would appear that rather than the USAF, it's US ground forces artillery that would be the culprit. There is no indication, either, that the strikes 'missed' targetted personnel, since the BDA's aren't provided.

Therefore, I'd say the argument presented, while having 'some' basis in fact, is also based off of only "one" source, and one slanted source.

Does this mean it's untrue? No. But, it would cause me to look at it with a 'hairy eyeball', based on years of experience.


good arguments

to be honest I did do a pretty hasty google search to find those two articles

and I admit I can't find the original article I did do a speech on last year lol

I agree with just about everything you said above.

Sgt Leprechaun
12-12-06, 05:48 AM
Consensus! LOL.

Research, old bean, matters. While professors may accept sloppy research, because quite frankly they do not have the time, nor the inclination most of the time to fact check, in the real world, and esp. at the pointy end of the stick, when lives depend on information, you have to make sure you have the ability to backup what you say/quote, with facts, and then support your position.

Just throwing stuff out there randomly usually gets you stood on the little yellow footprints in front of 'the man' in my line of work.