thedrifter
03-15-07, 03:49 PM
Mary Sauceman: Marine's talk offers vivid glimpse of Iraq
Walker County Messenger, GA
03/15/07
Mary Sauceman
A picture worth more than a thousand words was never more depicted as was in Sunday’s paper by a cartoonist (Plante). He had drawn a soldier in full military gear: helmet, backpack, boots and gloves that only partially covered his fingers. He was seated with his face in his hands and beside him, on the ground, lay a newspaper with the headlines that read, “Build up in Iraq needed into 2008.”
Last Tuesday, a young Marine spoke to a group of women meeting as a mission group in the First Baptist Church, relating to us a small part of his tenure in Iraq. He was a tall, fine-looking young man, with cropped-off hair, ruddy complexion and a willingness to tell us any aspect that we wished to ask. Already he had served two tours of duty in Iraq and re-enlisted — he called it re-up — for another term. He was 20 years old.
He told about his first mission, which consisted of many things, among them being the searches of homes suspected of bomb-making, explosives of any nature, as well as insurgents that were there to spy and kill the American troops. When asked how they could tell the enemy from the regular Iraq people, he said they could not. So we had to assume that all were enemies until proven different.
In his second re-enlistment, he was returned to Iraq as a seasoned Marine and was assigned a machine gun, mounted on the back of a truck with several other Marines doing various jobs as they traveled that part of the country to which they had been assigned. During this tenure of duty he told of the roadside bombings, the suicide car bombing and pipe bombings found along their route of duty.
He told us that during this tour he and his fellow Marines lost four trucks while each was occupied by their crew. On one occasion, he said he relieved the driver, who became very fatigued as they had been on a long tour of duty, and a new recruit took his place atop the truck as the machine gunner. He referred to him as “just a kid.” On their way to their destination a pipe was spotted laying in the road but slowing and taking a good look, it was deemed harmless and they continued on.
As they returned to their point of departure, they ran over the same pipe which exploded and injured each of them, some more severely than others. He too was injured and spent time in a hospital. He said the young man who was to fire the machine gun was thrown from the truck and severely injured.
He was asked about their equipment. His answer was “very inadequate.” He told their “flak” jackets were not heavy enough and if they wanted one that was, they had to buy them, at a price that exceeded $200. He went on to say not many Marines could afford that.
When asked about the food, he said you ate only to survive and at times that was hard to do as it was “terrible.” Occasionally they were invited to eat at a home they had been told to search, and they did so because the food was cooked well and was very edible even though it was foreign to their palates.
When asked why he had re-enlisted for the third time, he said he had decided to make the Marines his career and they promised him if he re-enlisted he would not be sent back to Iraq and would be stationed in the States.
In reference to the “kid” who replaced him on the trip they ran over the pipe bomb, he was asked how old was he — the fellow who was speaking — and he smiled and said 20. The “kid” was 17. As he said this, I thought about how his two trips already had made him a man of more years that his chronological age. He had seen more than many men had seen who had lived to be a ripe old age.
Alongside the group of women who were members of the Mission group sat his pretty young wife and a baby boy about six months of age, his grandmother, a native LaFayette girl, and other members of his family.
I felt that I had paid a brief visit to the country that has consumed our military and cost many young men and women their lives.
As he continued to answer questions and relate his experiences, I marveled at his acceptance of his duty to serve his country and the bravery of him and every member of the military that is fighting an unseen enemy on an hourly basis. Most of these who fight are mere boys.
I will continue to pray for this young man’s safety and well as those with whom he serves. This should be the daily prayer of each of us.
Mary Sauceman, a resident of LaFayette, writes a weekly column for the Walker County Messenger.
Ellie
Walker County Messenger, GA
03/15/07
Mary Sauceman
A picture worth more than a thousand words was never more depicted as was in Sunday’s paper by a cartoonist (Plante). He had drawn a soldier in full military gear: helmet, backpack, boots and gloves that only partially covered his fingers. He was seated with his face in his hands and beside him, on the ground, lay a newspaper with the headlines that read, “Build up in Iraq needed into 2008.”
Last Tuesday, a young Marine spoke to a group of women meeting as a mission group in the First Baptist Church, relating to us a small part of his tenure in Iraq. He was a tall, fine-looking young man, with cropped-off hair, ruddy complexion and a willingness to tell us any aspect that we wished to ask. Already he had served two tours of duty in Iraq and re-enlisted — he called it re-up — for another term. He was 20 years old.
He told about his first mission, which consisted of many things, among them being the searches of homes suspected of bomb-making, explosives of any nature, as well as insurgents that were there to spy and kill the American troops. When asked how they could tell the enemy from the regular Iraq people, he said they could not. So we had to assume that all were enemies until proven different.
In his second re-enlistment, he was returned to Iraq as a seasoned Marine and was assigned a machine gun, mounted on the back of a truck with several other Marines doing various jobs as they traveled that part of the country to which they had been assigned. During this tenure of duty he told of the roadside bombings, the suicide car bombing and pipe bombings found along their route of duty.
He told us that during this tour he and his fellow Marines lost four trucks while each was occupied by their crew. On one occasion, he said he relieved the driver, who became very fatigued as they had been on a long tour of duty, and a new recruit took his place atop the truck as the machine gunner. He referred to him as “just a kid.” On their way to their destination a pipe was spotted laying in the road but slowing and taking a good look, it was deemed harmless and they continued on.
As they returned to their point of departure, they ran over the same pipe which exploded and injured each of them, some more severely than others. He too was injured and spent time in a hospital. He said the young man who was to fire the machine gun was thrown from the truck and severely injured.
He was asked about their equipment. His answer was “very inadequate.” He told their “flak” jackets were not heavy enough and if they wanted one that was, they had to buy them, at a price that exceeded $200. He went on to say not many Marines could afford that.
When asked about the food, he said you ate only to survive and at times that was hard to do as it was “terrible.” Occasionally they were invited to eat at a home they had been told to search, and they did so because the food was cooked well and was very edible even though it was foreign to their palates.
When asked why he had re-enlisted for the third time, he said he had decided to make the Marines his career and they promised him if he re-enlisted he would not be sent back to Iraq and would be stationed in the States.
In reference to the “kid” who replaced him on the trip they ran over the pipe bomb, he was asked how old was he — the fellow who was speaking — and he smiled and said 20. The “kid” was 17. As he said this, I thought about how his two trips already had made him a man of more years that his chronological age. He had seen more than many men had seen who had lived to be a ripe old age.
Alongside the group of women who were members of the Mission group sat his pretty young wife and a baby boy about six months of age, his grandmother, a native LaFayette girl, and other members of his family.
I felt that I had paid a brief visit to the country that has consumed our military and cost many young men and women their lives.
As he continued to answer questions and relate his experiences, I marveled at his acceptance of his duty to serve his country and the bravery of him and every member of the military that is fighting an unseen enemy on an hourly basis. Most of these who fight are mere boys.
I will continue to pray for this young man’s safety and well as those with whom he serves. This should be the daily prayer of each of us.
Mary Sauceman, a resident of LaFayette, writes a weekly column for the Walker County Messenger.
Ellie