thedrifter
01-11-07, 11:38 AM
'I found God in Somalia'
January 11, 2007
Fox Company 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) hit the beach in Somalia on Dec. 9, 1992, and took the seaport, airport and U.S. Embassy back from the militias all in one day.
Lance Cpl. Scott A. Taras was part of this covert operation during Operation Restore Hope.
"As a scout swimmer in Somalia aboard the USS Juneau, we landed in the port of Mogadishu on Dec. 9, 1992, 22 miles off the coast of Africa. There were 20 Zodiac boats that consisted of 15 scout swimmers, who swam about 1,000 meters to the beach. It was at dark, and about 1 a.m. Once we arrived on the beach about 4 a.m., looking for snipers, we ended up seeing CNN news instead with their big bright lights shining in our faces. They were filming us. We immediately told them to turn the lights off, 'You're going to get us killed,'" Taras recalls.
Somalia was very important to me. It changed my life forever, and it made me a different person, both good and bad. I was there when the first Marine was killed in action. Actually, he was the first U.S. serviceman to be killed in Somalia. My brother in arms, Lance Cpl. Domingo Arroyo, was shot and killed in an ambush by Somali gunmen."
A life-changing event
"After that U.S. servicemen were murdered and dragged through the streets behind vehicles. It changed my life forever, I still have nightmares. I am different from my peers, my family, my spouse, the people at The Herald News. I have something inside of me that most people will never know or understand," he said. "Combat is only glorified in Hollywood, on TV, etc. It's not glorious; it's hell. It's life-changing. I found God in Somalia."
Taras said there are no atheists in an ambush.
"My fire team, four Marines and myself, was pinned down behind an old Caterpillar vehicle. We were under heavy fire, in an ambush by Somali gunmen, some I'd say were no more that 16 years old, maybe younger. It was the most scared I'd ever been in my entire life. Hearing those rounds hit the vehicle, the sound of the rounds whizzing over my head, it's something I'll never forget," he said.
Taras said loud, sudden noises still startle him.
The day before the ambush a Navy chaplain gave Taras a pocket Bible.
"I carried mine over my heart, my left breast pocket," Taras said.
"During that ambush I thought it was over for me. I thought of my family, my mom and dad and little brother. I thought about freedom and that this was insane that I was 9,000 miles from home and about to die in Africa -- the true feeling cannot be put into words," he said.
He whipped out his Bible and opened it to Psalm 23 and read, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."
"We shot our way out of there, and here I am, a different man," he said.
Taras said Somalia is in the news again, but said that it's too dangerous and U.S. troops should not go back.
Taras spent 92 days in Somalia. He left in the middle of March 2003.
Preparing for the worst
During training to become a scout swimmer, Taras recalls the "helo dunker," a simulated helicopter at Miramar, Calif., that hung 15 feet over the water and had two exits. It was on cables. When they released the cables, the chopper slammed into the water with great force, sunk 10 feet and turned upside down.
"We were in five-point harnesses (seat belts), just like on a helo. You were trained to wait till the helo filled up with water completely (upside down) until you made your escape. The reasoning is if you try to get out with all that water rushing in you could get trapped in some gear, your gear, cargo nets, etc.," Taras said.
The training helped the servicemen prepare for anything that could go wrong.
Switching to a camera
Taras has been one of The Herald News' freelance photographers for four years. In that time, he has photographed two stories I have covered: the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan Barrows and the 2006 Marine Ball.
I truly enjoy working with him and wanted to thank him personally for the photos he has taken for my stories.
"I traded in my M-16 for a Nikon (camera)," he said. "That's who I am."
Know a current or retired soldier who would like to talk about his or her experiences in the U.S. armed forces? Contact Jean Edwards, staff writer, at (815) 729-6049 or at jedwards@scn1.com /a>
Ellie
January 11, 2007
Fox Company 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) hit the beach in Somalia on Dec. 9, 1992, and took the seaport, airport and U.S. Embassy back from the militias all in one day.
Lance Cpl. Scott A. Taras was part of this covert operation during Operation Restore Hope.
"As a scout swimmer in Somalia aboard the USS Juneau, we landed in the port of Mogadishu on Dec. 9, 1992, 22 miles off the coast of Africa. There were 20 Zodiac boats that consisted of 15 scout swimmers, who swam about 1,000 meters to the beach. It was at dark, and about 1 a.m. Once we arrived on the beach about 4 a.m., looking for snipers, we ended up seeing CNN news instead with their big bright lights shining in our faces. They were filming us. We immediately told them to turn the lights off, 'You're going to get us killed,'" Taras recalls.
Somalia was very important to me. It changed my life forever, and it made me a different person, both good and bad. I was there when the first Marine was killed in action. Actually, he was the first U.S. serviceman to be killed in Somalia. My brother in arms, Lance Cpl. Domingo Arroyo, was shot and killed in an ambush by Somali gunmen."
A life-changing event
"After that U.S. servicemen were murdered and dragged through the streets behind vehicles. It changed my life forever, I still have nightmares. I am different from my peers, my family, my spouse, the people at The Herald News. I have something inside of me that most people will never know or understand," he said. "Combat is only glorified in Hollywood, on TV, etc. It's not glorious; it's hell. It's life-changing. I found God in Somalia."
Taras said there are no atheists in an ambush.
"My fire team, four Marines and myself, was pinned down behind an old Caterpillar vehicle. We were under heavy fire, in an ambush by Somali gunmen, some I'd say were no more that 16 years old, maybe younger. It was the most scared I'd ever been in my entire life. Hearing those rounds hit the vehicle, the sound of the rounds whizzing over my head, it's something I'll never forget," he said.
Taras said loud, sudden noises still startle him.
The day before the ambush a Navy chaplain gave Taras a pocket Bible.
"I carried mine over my heart, my left breast pocket," Taras said.
"During that ambush I thought it was over for me. I thought of my family, my mom and dad and little brother. I thought about freedom and that this was insane that I was 9,000 miles from home and about to die in Africa -- the true feeling cannot be put into words," he said.
He whipped out his Bible and opened it to Psalm 23 and read, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."
"We shot our way out of there, and here I am, a different man," he said.
Taras said Somalia is in the news again, but said that it's too dangerous and U.S. troops should not go back.
Taras spent 92 days in Somalia. He left in the middle of March 2003.
Preparing for the worst
During training to become a scout swimmer, Taras recalls the "helo dunker," a simulated helicopter at Miramar, Calif., that hung 15 feet over the water and had two exits. It was on cables. When they released the cables, the chopper slammed into the water with great force, sunk 10 feet and turned upside down.
"We were in five-point harnesses (seat belts), just like on a helo. You were trained to wait till the helo filled up with water completely (upside down) until you made your escape. The reasoning is if you try to get out with all that water rushing in you could get trapped in some gear, your gear, cargo nets, etc.," Taras said.
The training helped the servicemen prepare for anything that could go wrong.
Switching to a camera
Taras has been one of The Herald News' freelance photographers for four years. In that time, he has photographed two stories I have covered: the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Jordan Barrows and the 2006 Marine Ball.
I truly enjoy working with him and wanted to thank him personally for the photos he has taken for my stories.
"I traded in my M-16 for a Nikon (camera)," he said. "That's who I am."
Know a current or retired soldier who would like to talk about his or her experiences in the U.S. armed forces? Contact Jean Edwards, staff writer, at (815) 729-6049 or at jedwards@scn1.com /a>
Ellie