Pictures of Marines in war in Iraq

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Sgt. James Jabinal hugs his wife, Jessica, at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, Calif., on Thursday. Jabinal and other members of Marine Wing Communications, Squadron 48 are deploying to the Mideast in support of the forces already involved with the war against Iraq.

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Two Iraqi men were burned, one over half his body, by a mortar shell explosion Friday in southern Iraq. U.S. Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force administered first aid. The men were driven by family members to Safwan, which was occupied by U.S. and British military forces.

[Sgt Sostand]

Boy that Bring back memories

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A wounded Iraqi prisoner greets a U.S. Marine medic during his evacuation by helicopter from the field hospital of the 3rd Marine Battalion near Basra in southern Iraq on Saturday.

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Marine Cpl. Brian Shumylo of Dyer, Ind., shields his face from blowing sand at an air base in Kuwait after arriving by helicopter from a ship Tuesday. Shumylo is in a unit that helps load heavy-lifting helicopters

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Simon Robinson dodges shells with the 1st Marine Division as it barrels its way toward Basra, while Michael Ware describes the scene as a suicide bomber kills a colleague in northern Iraq


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BASRA
SIMON ROBINSON
"Multiple Iraqis in the quarry with weapons," said the voice over the radio, "and they're not surrendering." It's Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., Day One of "shock and awe." For hours I have traveled north across the desert with the Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Packed tightly into an amphibious assault vehicle—Marines call it an Amtrak—we head toward our destination, just outside the strategic city of Basra in southern Iraq. The mission will be to cut off troops of the Iraqi army's 51st Division. But first we found ourselves in an old stone quarry miles from Basra that had become a refuge for Iraqi soldiers. Not long after we arrived, two appeared in the open and headed on foot toward one of the Amtraks.

At first the Marines thought the pair was about to surrender—until they opened fire, that is. Instantly a Marine sniper climbed to the top of our Amtrak and lined up a shot, but the two men darted behind the cover of a sandy berm. Moments later, Sergeant Major David Howell, using an Amtrak for cover, sneaked up behind the soldiers as they came out to surrender and forced them to the ground. What these young Marines—many of them barely out of their teens—are discovering is that real-life enemy terrain is not quite like the models on which they trained. A miniature Iraq, built in the sand at their camp in Kuwait, had towns that were small patches of red with Iraqi soldiers represented by black-and-white targets. Now the towns are real and populated by flesh-and-blood Iraqi soldiers ready to kill.

On Tuesday morning, whoops of delight went up around the camp as the Marines heard President Bush give Saddam Hussein 48 hours to capitulate. With that, the men began making final preparations. Most of them had already "sanitized" their packs, leaving behind photos and letters from home—anything that could be used against them if they were to be taken prisoner. Some, though, hid pictures of wives and girlfriends.

After Bush's speech, as they were about to move out, their battalion commander, Lieut. Colonel Bryan McCoy, addressed them: "Demonstrate to the world that there is no better friend and no worse enemy than a U.S. Marine." He added, "We've got a very grim job ahead of us, gentlemen. If the Iraqis try to fight, we'll slaughter them. This is not going to be a fair fight."

McCoy acknowledged later that the moment was probably overwhelming for some of his young Marines. "Up to now," he said, "the biggest knock they've ever taken is being turned down for the prom. I don't think they understand yet the combat capabilities they possess. But they will once they start attacking."

We did not move into Iraq until Friday morning, and Thursday was marked by frequent gas-attack alarms, always false but each of them requiring us to rush into our chemical suits. All through Thursday night, bedded down in sleeping bags on the desert floor, we could hear the huge rumble of U.S. artillery pounding Safwan Hill, just over the border. Sometime around 1 a.m., we were awakened and began to pull out.

A few hours later we were on the road, packed into the Amtrak, 16 in the back, with a crew of three in front to drive and act as shotgun. We reached the Iraq-Kuwait border very quickly, though most of us could not see much. One of the Marines shouted up to Lance Corporal Tyrell Joyner, 19, who was posted up top, "How does Iraq look?" Joyner shouted back, "Like Nevada! There's sagebrush and stuff!" Making swift progress, we passed about a dozen Iraqi pows sitting on the ground cross-legged, with their hands behind their heads. Elsewhere we passed the adobe houses of villagers who were out working in their well-watered gardens. As our convoys drove past, many of the villagers stopped to wave. The young Marines were moved. It was their first encounter with Iraqi civilians, and they had not been sure what to expect.

On Saturday we were headed for Basra International Airport, which the Marines were to secure, when we were almost hit by what appeared to be a tank round. Fortunately, we had learned that the Iraqis are not very good at redirecting fire once they have nearly hit a target. As a further precaution, two Marines prepared to fire a shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon, a rocket that can take out a tank. As they stepped out, another enemy round went off. Missed again.

By the time we got to the airport, having been delayed by a broken fuel pump, Basra International was deserted. The battle for the airport—McCoy would later describe it as "brutal"—was over. Before they fled, the Iraqis had set fire to the airport administration building and had strewn the runway with debris to prevent U.S. planes from using it. All that remained was a statue of a waving Saddam standing forlornly amid the wreckage.

KURDISTAN
MICHAEL WARE
At about 2:45 p.m. Saturday in the Kurdish city of Gerdigo, in northern Iraq, I heard the thump of a mortar firing. It was coming from the battle line held by Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish fundamentalist Islamic group that's allied with al-Qaeda, with some support from Saddam Hussein. The round landed in front of a forward emplacement held by the Kurdish 61st Uprising Battalion, part of the anti-Saddam Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (puk). Moments later, a second round landed even closer. The soldiers scurried into their foxholes, me along with them, before they popped back up to return fire with a DShK heavy machine gun. Then, from behind us, came a whomp of an explosion that I knew wasn't a mortar. Across a grassy field, flame and smoke belched up from what had been a taxicab. With a sickening realization we knew that a suicide bomber had struck. What I didn't know until I got to the scene was that one of the victims was a colleague, Paul Moran of the Australian Broadcasting Corp. He was the first journalist killed in Gulf War II. The most likely suspect: Ansar.

The mortar attack had been a diversion. The taxi had detonated near a Kurdish checkpoint where Moran had been filming some soldiers. The blast loosed a fireball, charred the asphalt and left the taxi a smoking hulk. A roadside stall was set alight. Paul died instantly. Two Kurdish soldiers were also killed and five more seriously wounded.

In the Kurdish-controlled part of Iraq, war can be a two-, three- or even four-way fight. Two main Kurdish groups, the puk and the Kurdish Democratic Party, have co-existed uneasily, even though both despise Saddam. After Sept. 11, several Taliban-like groups also emerged. They mostly blended into Ansar, which, with help from Baghdad, has used brutal tactics to try to impose Islamic fundamentalism on the secular Kurds. There are no noncombatants here. One morning, while in a position being bombarded by mortars for six hours, one of the local fighters known as peshmerga told me, "These bombs don't recognize your identity." Territory shifts frequently. The day before the blast, the checkpoints were manned by a local fundamentalist militia, known as Komal, which is allied to Ansar and protects its northern flank.

This wasn't the terrorists' first suicide bombing, but never before had they successfully targeted a journalist. Two soldiers and a civilian were ripped apart on Feb. 26 in the same region, outside the town of Halabja, when a taxi passenger strapped with explosives detonated himself at a checkpoint. Afterward, Kurdish intelligence sources warned us that more bombers were aiming for journos and our hotel in Sulaimaniyah. American agencies also warned media organizations that intelligence traffic had picked up a threat against the press pack in northern Iraq. The Kurdish military increased protection for us, beefing up troops around our hotel, introducing stricter registration procedures and logging our travels more closely.

On the day Paul died, Ansar and its allies were supposed to be on the defensive. The U.S., which believes the group has ties to al-Qaeda, had set out to crush its stronghold in the mountains near Iran. For more than two hours that morning, Ansar had been hit by what a Kurdish combat commander described as "a cocktail of Tomahawk and cruise missiles." As many as 40 missiles rained down over the snowy Shinerwe Mountain from U.S. warships in the Red Sea, killing dozens and destroying an ammunition dump and a string of the terrorists' forward bunkers.

The missiles silenced the Ansar mortar batteries. One impudent mortar that opened up a few hours later was taken out by a U.S. warplane. The peshmerga cheered the missiles and spent the day sunning themselves on the grass. Translated literally, their name means "those who face death." Tragically, I learned this applies to journalists too.


From the Mar. 31, 2003 issue of TIME magazine

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Marine Pvt. William Higgins, 20, of Seattle, stops on the street to discuss recent casualties of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sunday, March 23, 2003 in Oceanside, Calif. Oceanside is ajdacent to the Marine base Camp Pendleton and is home to many Marines and their families. (AP Photo/JT Lovette)

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A U.S. Marine from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force stands guard at a burning oil well at the Rumeila Oil fields Sunday, March 23, 2003 in Iraq. Several oil wells have been set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the Rumeila area, the second largest offshore oil field in the country, near the Kuwaiti border. (AP Photo/Ian Waldie/Pool)

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A Marine from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force stands guard at a burning oil well at the Rumeila Oil fields March 23, 2003 in Iraq. Several oil wells have been set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the Rumeila area, the second largest offshore oil field in the country, near the Kuwaiti border. (AP Photo/Ian Waldie/Pool)

[wrbones]

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A Marine from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment, kicks open a door as troops move house to house on Sunday on the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, where allied troops faced some resistance in their northbound advance toward Baghdad.

[wrbones]

LO. That boy ain't no bigger'n a minute, but I bet he kicked that door in! LOL.

[wrbones]

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[wrbones]

US Marines fire on Iraqi position in Nasiriya

[thedrifter]

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Members of the U.S. 15 Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) keep low in the port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq (news - web sites), March 22, 2003. Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) told British forces in a broadcast on Sunday that despite suffering casualties from 'friendly fire' the military campaign in Iraq was proceeding according to plan. (Picture taken March 22). REUTERS/POOL/Simon Walker

[thedrifter]

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.S. soldiers from 1st Marine Expeditionary Force stand guard near a burning oil well at the Rumeila Oil fields Sunday, March 23. 2003 in Iraq (news - web sites). Several oil wells have been set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the Rumeila area, the second largest offshore oil field in the country, near the Kuwaiti border. (AP Photo/Ian Waldie/Pool)

[wrbones]

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Members of the U.S. 15 Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) fight a pitched battle with Iraqi forces at the port town of Umm-Qsar in southern Iraq (news - web sites), March 23, 2003. Photo by Pool/Reuters

[thedrifter]

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building receives tank fire from U.S. Marines beside the port of Umm-Qasr in southern Iraq (news - web sites) on March 23, 2003 as pockets of Republican Guard resistance remain in a residential area beside the port. U.S. forces used planes and tanks on Sunday in a battle to dislodge at least 120 Iraqi Republican Guards were reported to be dug in. Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters

[thedrifter]

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.S. Marines keep watch over displaced Iraqis, in the port of Umm-Qasr in southern Iraq (news - web sites), March 22, 2003. U.S. forces used planes and tanks on March 23 in a battle to dislodge Iraqi fighters from the port town, where at least 120 Iraqi Republican Guards were reported to be dug in. (Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

[thedrifter]

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.S. Marines run for cover from Iraqi fire in the port of Umm-Qasr in southern Iraq (news - web sites), March 23, 2003 as they met pockets of resistance from Republican Guards in a residential area beside the port. Iraqi troops and paramilitary fighters loyal to President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) held up a U.S. advance toward Baghdad on Sunday, inflicting casualties and taking American prisoners on the fourth day of war. (Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

[wrbones]

Brits on patrol

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Originally posted by wrbones
Brits on patrol



Great pictures Bones, Gosh those brits sure are lucky I'm not there.

I would walk up to them in their mini skateboard and ask?

"What's it gona be when it grows up?"

[mrbsox]

'bones,

They look like more fun than 'mules' :p

M274; Platform,1/4 ton,4X4

[greybeard]

Drifter-anybody ever ask ya why your sword's in the wrong hand??

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U.S. Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment emerge March 25 from a hospital outside Nasiriyah that they said had been taken over by Iraqi forces. Several platoons took part in the operation to secure the hospital, with no reported loss of American lives












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A wounded Marine is helped to treatment during an intense firefight March 23 just outside Nasiriyah, a town on the road to Baghdad. Nine Marines were killed when an Iraqi unit indicated it was giving up, then opened fire. About 40 Marines were wounded. The photo was only received March 25.




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A yellow ribbon adorns a tree along the Pacific Coast Highway outside Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Calif. Thousands of Camp Pendleton Marines have been sent to Kuwait and Iraq -- leaving behind anxious families -- and five have given their lives.










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A U.S. Marine from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit cautiously enters a Iraqi command office kitchen at the Iraqi naval base in Az Zubayar, in the southern Iraqi desert, on Sunday.







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U.S. Marines from Task Force Tarawa are tired but alert after a day of intense fighting Sunday in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. The Marines suffered a number of deaths and casualties during gun battles throughout the city.







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A U.S. Marine from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit discards a portrait of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He removed it from the command office of the southern Iraqi naval base in Az Zubayar.



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Members of the U.S. 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit load a mortar during a pitched battle with Iraqi forces at the port in Umm-Qsar in southern Iraq on Sunday.



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U.S. Marines from Task Force Tarawa carry a wounded comrade Sunday during a gun battle in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.









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U.S. Marines protect their position along a highway in southern Iraq on Saturday beneath the overhanging plume from a burning oil well.


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Marine Lt. Col. Rickey Grabowski of Task Force Tarawa sits in his tent at Camp Shoup in Kuwait listening to a radio broadcast of President Bush's address March 17.









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U.S. Marines are handed their allotment of ammunition to be carried on their armored amphibious vehicles March 18 at Camp Shoup, close to the Iraqi border in Kuwait. The Marines continue to prepare in the Kuwaiti desert for war with Iraq.





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Marine Lance Cpls. Michael Lara, left, of Landrum, S.C., and Joseph Aaraszewski, of Yonkers, N.Y., fill their M-16 magazines with ammunition after receiving their allotment March 18 at Camp Shoup in Kuwait.








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A U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit yields the right of way as it heads from Umm Qasr in southern Iraq to a port facility south of Basra on Monday.






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A U.S. Marine from the Marine Expeditionary Unit sleeps under a painting of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the VIP lounge of the port of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq on Monday.






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A U.S. Marine sits inside an armored personnel carrier Monday near the southern Iraqi town of Nasiriyah, the scene of two days of fierce fighting between Marines and Iraqi forces.










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U.S. Marines from Task Force Tarawa wait before moving in as the Iraqi 23 Infantry brigade building is hit Monday in Nasiriyah.








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Marines attack the military garrison of the Iraqi 23 Infantry brigade after it was pounded with rockets.








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U.S. Marines from Task Force Tarawa today watching Iraqis who have surrendered in Nasiriya.


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Heading north to Baghdad, a convoy of U.S. Marine vehicles passed Iraqi soldiers killed in a firefight with marines today.



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Marines from the Second Battalion Eighth Regiment carry the body of one of two Army soldiers killed after having been ambushed by Iraqi forces in Nasiriyah.








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Troops from the First Marine Division endured an open transport truck on the road to Baghdad.



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A First Marine Division convoy made slow progress under surreal skies in Tuesday's sandstorms.





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Sergeant Brian Flaherty of the Marine Corps struggled with refueling equipment for his tank<P>

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Eric Silva, a marine from New Jersey, nearly lost his tent in the storm.<P>


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U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, take cover after coming upon a mortar attack during an orange sandstorm on a road south of Baghdad, Iraq on Wednesday, March 26, 2003. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)



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Stf. Sgt. John Coughlin from Waltham, MA, aims with his precision rifle with the help of pfc. Daniel Tracy, Mississipi - both of the U.S. Marines 3rd batallion 4th Regiment - during a patrol alongside the road used by U.S. led coalition forces in Central Iraq, to advance to Bagdad in central Iraq, Wednesday, March 26, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)


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U.S. Marines of 3rd batallion 4th Regiment on the move alongside the main road to Baghdad used by the U.S. led coalition in central Iraq, Wednesday, March 26, 2003. Sandstorms starting Tuesday thwarted air missions over Iraq and slowed to a crawl U.S.-led coalition forces edging for the capital. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)





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U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Fox Company "Raiders" arrive at the port facility near the town Az-Zubayr, south of Basra March 24, 2003. A defiant President Saddam Hussein said on Monday invaders sent to topple him were trapped in Iraq after five days of war, but the U.S. commander of the invasion said his forces were closing in fast on Baghdad. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan


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A U.S. Marine helps an injured POW moments after securing the port of Um Qusar in southern Iraq, Sunday, March 23, 2003. (AP Photo/Tam McDonald, Ministry of Defense, HO)







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The United States military says its seven-day air and land assault on Iraq is "on plan" to overthrow President Saddam Hussein and rid Iraq of alleged weapons of mass destruction. REUTERS



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[thedrifter]

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Iraqi soldiers man a rooftop position overlooking Sadoun Street in downtown Baghdad Wednesday, March 19, 2003, a few hours before the ultimatum given by President Bush to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to leave expires. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

[thedrifter]

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M-1 A1 Main Battle Tanks with the U.S. 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit standby in the Kuwait desert near the border with Iraq Thursday, March 20, 2003. After the first the bombs and cruise missiles fell on Baghdad early Thursday, reports said at least three missiles were fired by Iraq into Kuwait. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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In this handout photo from the U.S. Navy, aviation ordnancemen assigned to "The Swordsmen" of Fighter Squadron Thirty Two (VF-32) position 2,000-lb. Joint Directional Attack Munitions (JDAMs) for loading on F-14B Tomcat fighter aircraft aboard the USS Harry S. Truman in the Mediterranean Sea, Friday March 21, 2003. The USS Harry S. Truman is currently deployed and is conducting missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy. Justin S. Osborne, HO)

[thedrifter]

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A US Marine keeps his rifle ready as Iraqi soldiers surrender with hands raised in the air near the southern Iraqi border city of Safwan, Friday, March 21, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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An assault convoy of trucks and amored vehicles of the101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team prepare to cross into Iraq Friday, March 21, 2003. (AP Photo/Robert Woodward, US Army)

[thedrifter]

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A F/A-18 Hornet launches from the USS Harry S. Truman en route to strike against Iraq, Friday night, March 21, 2003. The Truman on Friday launched its first strikes in support Operation Iraqi Freedom. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

[thedrifter]

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Iraqi soldiers standing together with their arms raised are silhouetted in a sky covered with black smoke as they surrender to U.S. Marines from the15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in southern Iraq Friday, March 21, 2003. The cause of black smoke is not known. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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A soldier from the U.S. Army A Company 3rd Battalion 7th Infantry Regiment watches the blur of a convoy of 3rd Infantry Division forces as it passes by, pushing deeper into Iraq from the south Saturday, March 22, 2003.(AP Photo/John Moore)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit help an Iraqi soldier with water from a canteen in southern Iraq, on Friday, March 21, 2003. Some 200 Iraqi soldiers surrendered to the U.S. 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit just after an hour after it crossed the border into Iraq from northern Kuwait. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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sand storm before convoying to a position near the Iraqi border Wednesday, March 19, 2003. The commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Buford Blount III, ordered his troops to reposition to locations near the border as Predisent Bush's deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq approached.(AP Photo/John Moore)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines from the 3rd Batt., 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, in background, and surrendered Iraqi soldiers take cover while searching a building near Az Bayr, Iraq on Saturday, March 22, 2003. U.S. -led coalition forces continue their war missions Sunday, with American forces progressing 150 miles (240 kilometers) into Iraq, halfway to Baghdad. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

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U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, return fire after coming upon a mortar attack during an orange sandstorm on a road south of Baghdad on Wednesday, March 26, 2003. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)



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U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, take cover after coming upon a mortar attack during an orange sandstorm on a road south of Baghdad, Iraq on Wednesday, March 26, 2003. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)






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[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. marines keep watch during street fighting in Nassiriyah March 25, 2003. A large convoy of U.S. marines forced their way through the city, a key crossing point over the Euphrates river, where stubborn Iraqi resistance had been holding up Western forces for two days. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj







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[Sparrowhawk]

Bodies of apparent Iraqi republican guard soldiers lie on the ground as US Marines search around a bus shot up earlier in Qat'at Sukkar in central Iraq March 27, 2003. Marines treated enemy wounded on Thursday and searched the luggage of Iraqis killed inside a bus by a storm of bullets from advancing armoured units. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj





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[Sparrowhawk]

A U.S. Marine lights up a cigarette to a wounded Iraqi who appeared to be a Republican Guard soldier as others Marines search around a bus shot earlier on the key road in Qat'at Sukkar in central Iraq March 27, 2003. Marines treated enemy wounded on Thursday and searched the blood-stained luggage of Iraqis killed inside a bus by a storm of bullets from advancing armoured units. Reporters counted four corpses outside the bus and marines said another 16 lay inside. All the bodies were adult men, wearing a mixture of civilian and military clothing and had papers that appeared to identify them as Iraqi Republican Guard. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj



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[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. marines take up positions during street fighting in the city of Nassiriya March 25, 2003. A large convoy of U.S. marines forced their way through the city, a key crossing point over the Euphrates river, where stubborn Iraqi resistance had been holding up Western forces for two days. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj









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[Sparrowhawk]

An Iraqi soldier was killed by marines who were ambushed in central Iraq.


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[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit remove a portrait of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from the wall at the Iraqi Naval base in Az Zubayr, in southern Iraq desert, Sunday, March 23, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)








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[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. Marines from the15th Marine Expeditionary Unit take up firing positions as they patrol at the Iraqi Naval base in Az Zubayar, in southern Iraq (news - web sites)'s desert, Sunday, March 23, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)




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[thedrifter]

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This image from television shows part of the Marines advertising campaign. The Marines have launched a new, more patriotic ad campaign since the war with Iraq (news - web sites) began. The new ads incorporate the credos ``For Honor,'' ``For Courage,'' ``For Country,' with the longtime slogan ``The Few. The Proud. The Marines.'' (AP Photo/US Marines, HO)

[thedrifter]

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A US Marine from the 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment evacuates an old Iraqi blind woman and a man with bullet wounds following clashes with Iraqi forces late 26 March near the southern city of Nasiriyah.(AFP/Eric Feferberg)

[Sparrowhawk]

Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment prepare to enter a hospital used for military purposes by Iraqi forces in the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, where allied troops have found resistance in their northbound advance torwards Baghdad 25 March 2003. Several platoons took part on this operation with no loss of lives. Several platoons took part on this operation with no loss of lives. More than 100 Iraqi bodies littered the road north from Nasiriyah where US marines headed toward Baghdad after fierce fighting in this southern city, an AFP correspondent reported. AFP PHOTO / Cris BOURONCLE

[Sparrowhawk]

A US Marine from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment pulls out an Iraqi flag at a hospital allegedly used for military purposes by Iraqi forces in the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, where allied troops have found resistance in their northbound advance towards Baghdad 25 March 2003. A column of about 4,000 marines managed to cross the Euphrates river after several days of bloody and costly fighting, which left the road out of Nasiriyah littered with the corpses of dead Iraqi soldiers and burned out vehicles. AFP PHOTO / Cris BOURONCLE

[Sparrowhawk]

Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment take positions as they charge into a hospital allegedly used for military purposes by Iraqi forces during a sandstorm in the outskirts of the southern...

[Sparrowhawk]

Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment pose next to a mural of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein found after taking control of a hospital allegedly used for military purposes by Iraqi forces at the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah 25 March 2003. Several platoons took part on this operation with no reported loss of lives. More than 100 Iraqi bodies littered the road north from Nasiriyah where US marines headed toward Baghdad after fierce fighting in this southern city, an AFP correspondent reported. AFP PHOTO / Cris BOURONCLE AFP PHOTO / Cris BOURONCLE

[Sparrowhawk]

Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment charge into a hospital allegedly used for military purposes by Iraqi forces in the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, 25 March 2003....

[Sparrowhawk]

US marines from the 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment arrest an Iraqi after finding weapons in his car, 25 March 2003 in the southern Iraqi town of Nasiriyah, where US Marines were attacked by Iraqi irregular forces 24 March. More than 100 Iraqi bodies littered the road north from Nasiriyah where US marines headed toward Baghdad after fierce fighting in this southern city, an AFP correspondent reported. AFP PHOTO/Eric FEFERBERG

[thedrifter]

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An U.S. marine from CSSC 117, a part of the Marine Corp, covered with a net to protect him from the sand reads a magazine in a trench on March 28, 2003 on the side of the road, some 150-km north of the town of Nassiriya on March 28, 2003. U.S. military convoys have been hampered on the road in the area by small groups of Iraqi soldiers. REUTERS/Oleg Popov

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. marine from CSSC 117, a part of the Marine Corps stands guard on the top of a military truck early morning on March 28, 2003 on road, some 150 km north of the town of Nassiriya on March 28, 2003. Most of the U.S. military convoys wait road to be cleared from small groups of Iraqi troops. With U.S. and British troops facing stiff Iraqi resistance at key river crossings in southern Iraq (news - web sites) and harried by irregular forces striking drawn-out supply lines, U.S. President Bush (news - web sites) refused to be drawn into setting a deadline for an end to the war. REUTERS/Oleg Popov

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines with the 15th Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Fox Company 'Raiders' head off to bathe while wearing gas masks, during a gas attack alert at an undisclosed location in the Iraqi desert, March 28, 2003. The United States unleashed huge 'bunker-buster' bombs on Baghdad on Friday in some of the heaviest air strikes of the Iraq (news - web sites) war, but advancing U.S. ground troops appeared to pause to regroup and strengthen supply lines. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan

[thedrifter]

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A masked US Marine with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, plays cards at an undisclosed desert base in southern Iraq (news - web sites), Friday, March 28, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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Cpl. Brian Walkowiak, 21, of Cape Coral, Fla. And with battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, uses the muzzle break on a 155mm Howitzer to hold a water container to wash his hair Friday in Iraq.

[thedrifter]

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Task Force Tarawa Marines bow their heads in prayer Friday as they stand beside the remains of seven Marines lost during fighting in Nasiriyah.

[thedrifter]

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Marine Capt. Christopher Niemann, with the VMFA-323 “Death Rattlers” squadron, flies his F/A-18 Hornet over Kuwait on Thursday as he returns to the aircraft carrier Constellation.

[Sparrowhawk]

Lance Cpl. Jonas Mallory, from Tulsa, Okla., of the 7th Marine regiment, secures the road to Bagdad, in central Iraq, north of An Nasiriyah on Thursday.





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[thedrifter]

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Elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit , come ashore at Camp Patriot, Kuwait, on Saturday, March 29, 2003, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Journalist 1st Class Joseph Krypel)

[thedrifter]

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A wounded Iraqi man is treated by U.S. Marines, as he begs to be released to see his injured family members, in central Iraq (news - web sites), March 29, 2003. Confused front line crossfire ripped apart an Iraqi family on Saturday after local soldiers appeared to force civilians towards U.S. marines positions. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. marine carries a wounded Iraqi girl from a shooting scene in central Iraq (news - web sites) March 29, 2003. Confused front line crossfire ripped apart an Iraqi family on Saturday after local soldiers appeared to force civilians towards U.S. marines positions. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. marine doctor holds an Iraqi girl in central Iraq (news - web sites) March 29, 2003. Confused front line crossfire ripped apart an Iraqi family on Saturday after local soldiers appeared to force civilians towards U.S. marines positions. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

[thedrifter]

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An U.S. marine from 1-st Civilian Affairs Group, part of the 1-st Tank Battalion, searches a man whom the U.S. marines said was an Iraqi officer, dressed in civilian clothes, after he was detained on the field near the road, some 150-km north of the town of Nassiriyah on March 29, 2003. The United States subjected Baghdad to another day of unrelenting air strikes on Saturday and Iraq (news - web sites) hit back with a car bomb attack that killed at least five people at a U.S. military checkpoint in the south. REUTERS/Oleg Popov

[thedrifter]

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Cpl Owen Campbell, 23, from Vienna, Va., of the U.S. Marines 15th Expeditionary Unit, reads a letter from his family delivered along with a copy of magazine and candies at a Marine camp in southern Iraq (news - web sites) Saturday, March 29, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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A US Marine from the 2nd Battalion Regiment takes position in a bunker near Nasiriyah. Five US troops were killed in a suicide bombing near the Iraqi town of Najaf.(AFP/Eric Feferberg)

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. Marine prays during a Mass said by Roman Catholic Priest Ken Medve of Allentown, Pa., not seen, during a Mass for the15th Expeditionary Unit at a Marine camp in southern Iraq (news - web sites) Saturday, March, 29, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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Seated in the cockpit of an F/A-18 Hornet fighter, a U.S. Marine Corp Aviator assigned to the 'Silver Eagles' of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron One One Five (VMFA-115), conducts a combat mission over Iraq (news - web sites), in this Thursday March 27 photo, made available Saturday March 29, 2003. As some units on the field have been ordered an operational pause for a chance to resupply, U.S. and British aircraft and missile strikes continue to try to wear down the fighters protecting the approaches to Baghdad: Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s Republican guard. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, HO)

[thedrifter]

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Roman Catholic Priest. Ken Medve of Allentown, Pa., offers Holy Communion during a Mass for the U.S. Marines of the15th Expeditionary Unit at a Marine camp in southern Iraq (news - web sites) Saturday, March, 29, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. marines try to treat a wounded Iraqi girl on March 29, 2003. Confused front line crossfire ripped apart an Iraqi family after local soldiers appeared to force civilians towards U.S. marines positions. U.S. Central Command said its forces were facing Iraqi 'terror behavior' that smacked of desperation after a suicide bombing killed four American soldiers. Major General Victor Renuart said the car bombing near Najaf, along with other incidents, was the kind of attack associated with 'terrorists' and suggested an organization ... 'that is beginning to get a little bit desperate.' Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters

[thedrifter]

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US Marines from the 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment escort two Iraqi military prisoners who have surrended after crossing US lines in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq (news - web sites).(AFP/Eric Feferberg)

[thedrifter]

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A US Marine guards the Fox Company camp near the Euphrates River on the southern edge of the city of Nassiriyah in southern Iraq (news - web sites)(AFP/Cris Bouroncle

[thedrifter]

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Pfc Omar Desoto from Glennville, Ca, of the 3rd batallion, 4th marines regiment, cleans his automatic rifle sitting in a fighting hole near the city of Ad Diwaniyah in south central Iraq (news - web sites), Sunday, March 30, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. marine of the 3rd batallion, 4th regiment, Lance Cpl. Alfred Brooks from Tampa, Fla., looks at a medical helicopter flying over his fighting hole near the city of Ad Diwaniyah in south central Iraq (news - web sites), Sunday, March 30, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. Marines from the 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment search a home for weapons as they attempt to secure a supply route to Baghdad on Sunday in An Nasiriyah






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[Sparrowhawk]

Brenda Wilson stands alongside her son Raymond Wilson as she holds a photo of another son, U.S. Marine Pfc. Tomorio Burkett in front of their Buffalo, New York home on Saturday. Burkett, 21, is listed as Missing In Action after his unit came under heavy fire from an Iraqi ambush in an attempt to secure a bridge near An Nasiriyah.








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[Sparrowhawk]

A U.S. marine doctor holds an Iraqi girl in central Iraq Saturday after confused front line crossfire ripped apart an Iraqi family on Saturday.









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[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. Marines from the 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment keep an eye on two Iraqi military prisoners who surrendered March 29 after crossing U.S. lines in Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.









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[thedrifter]

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Marine military policemen from 1st Force Service Support Group, Lance Cpl. Kevin Shay, left, from Bellmore, N.Y., and Pfc. David Lebron from Orlando, Fla., fill sandbags to fortify their checkpoint near the city of Diwaniyah in South-Central Iraq, Sunday, March 30.

[thedrifter]

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Marine 2nd Lt. Douglas Watts, left, of Gretna, La., and Staff Sgt. Chia Cha of Fresno, Calif., both of Combat Service Support Group 3, watch a CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopter take off from a pickup zone in southern Iraq on Friday. The aircraft, along with several others from the Corps and the Air Force, fanned out across Iraq delivering overdue supplies.

[thedrifter]

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Photo by Jud McCrehin/Military Times staff

The Rev. (Cmdr.) Bill Devine, 55, of Boston, celebrates a Catholic service for Marines from Battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, on Saturday in the battery’s artillery position in central Iraq.

[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. marines, part of the force trying to secure cities along supply routes to Baghdad, searched a home in Nasiriyah for weapons.



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[Sparrowhawk]

Marine Sgt. Jose Torres received a Purple Heart on Sunday aboard the U.S.N.S. Comfort, a hospital ship.

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[Sparrowhawk]

Marine Lance Cpl. Michael Ruxsaksrisko at mass on an air base in Kuwait.






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[Sparrowhawk]

A marine in Nasiriya got a snack from home and a letter from his mother.


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[Sparrowhawk]

Marine Cpl. Owen Campbell of Vienna, Va., got a National Geographic and candy.





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[Sparrowhawk]

Marine Cpl. Ryan Moran, 22, of Springhill, Fla., read a letter from his high school teacher

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[thedrifter]

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Cpl Frederick Ellis, from West Palm Beach, Fl, of the 3rd batallion, 4th marines regiment, bench presses a friend to stay in shape near Ad Diwaniyah in south central Iraq (news - web sites), Monday, March 31, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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Lance Cpl Ronald Miller from Jarrettsville, Md, of the 3rd Batallion, 4th Marines regiment, digs a machine gun trench while securing the main highway to Bagdad, near Diwaniyah in south-central Iraq (news - web sites), Monday, March 31, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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A tired U.S. Marine from the 15th Expeditionary Unit takes a short break in the deserts near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah Monday, March 31, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[greybeard]

Remember days & nights like this? Hope this works.

[thedrifter]

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Lance Cpl. Sean Enghauser from Phoenix, Az, of the 3rd battalion, 4th marines Regiment, guards Iraqi prisoners near the town of Diwaniyah in south central Iraq (news - web sites), Tuesday, April 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. marines from CSSC 117, a part of the Marine Corps,. listen to a speech by his commanding officer at their camp in the Iraqi desert, some 150kilometers north of the town of Nassiriya, April 1, 2003. Earlier on Tuesday, Iraq (news - web sites) said its troops were battling U.S.-led invasion forces inside Nassiriya and on the city outskirts, inflicting heavy casualties. REUTERS/Oleg Popov

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. Marine from the 15th Expeditionary Unit walks past a building at a Iraqi military base in the desert near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah Tuesday, April 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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Pfc. Ryan Aiello, 23, right, listens to instructions as he and other members of Bravo Company prepare to clear buildings of Iraqi soldiers at an agricultural complex near An Najaf on Sunday.

[thedrifter]

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Members of Bravo Company 1-327 Infantry Regiment break through glass and rip out metal bars Sunday, capturing a large cache of weapons and ammunition. Several Iraqi soldiers were killed.

[thedrifter]

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Getty Images Photo/Joe Raedle

Marine Lance Cpl. Stephen Plumer of Arvada, Colo. and with Task Force Tarawa reads a letter from his mother Sunday in Nasiriyah, Iraq.

[thedrifter]

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Getty Images Photo, Ian Waldie

A Marine with E Company plays ball as he awaits deployment at Camp Patriot near Kuwait City on Sunday.

[thedrifter]

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Getty Images Photo/Ian Waldie

A CH-53 troop-carrying helicopter takes off over the heads of Marines with E Company waiting to deploy at Camp Patriot, near Kuwait City on Sunday.

[Sgt Sostand]

Originally posted by thedrifter
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030331/lthumb.1049123255.war_iraq_us_military_reb105.jpg

Cpl Frederick Ellis, from West Palm Beach, Fl, of the 3rd batallion, 4th marines regiment, bench presses a friend to stay in shape near Ad Diwaniyah in south central Iraq (news - web sites), Monday, March 31, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours) Hard Core :marine:

[Sparrowhawk]

Staff Sgt. Jose Mariscal of 29 Palms, Calif., and the 3rd Batallion, 11th Marines regiment, looks at a photo of his daughter, Maricela, 2, as his artillery unit takes a break from pounding Iraqi positions near the town of Diwaniyah in south-central Iraq on Tuesday.







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[Sparrowhawk]

A United States Marines CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter with the 3rd Marine Air Wing's HMM 268th helicopter unit passes over a herd of camels as it heads back to base after dropping off some troops at a forward position in Iraq on March 31






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[thedrifter]

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Lance Cpl. Santiago Ventura from Houston, Texas, of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines Regiment, proudly displays an Iraqi brand of cigarettes he confiscated from a prisoner of war near Diwaniyah in south central Iraq (news - web sites), Tuesday, April 1, 2003. Marines, having been away from their supply camps in Kuwait are severely short of smokes while in Iraq. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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US Marines Cap Brian Ross from the 2nd Battalion/8th Regiment looks at a World War I British rifle found at an aluminium factory in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.(AFP/Eric Feferberg)

[Fox 2/23]

LCpl Ventura better be careful with those, they're probably made from camel manure

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marine First Lieutenant, 26-year old James Uwins, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment from Camp Lejeune, NC, hometown South Pasadena, Ca, sits in a wheelchair prior to a press conference at the U.S. Medical Center in Landstuhl, southern Germany, Wednesday, April 2, 2003. Uwins was wounded during combat in Iraq (news - web sites). (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

[thedrifter]

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US Marine with the 15th Expeditionary Unit, holds a baby as the baby's mother attempts to pass through a checkpoint at the Saddam Hospital in the city of An Nasiriyah, southern Iraq (news - web sites) on Wednesday, April. 2, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment, attend a memorial service Wednesday, April 2, 2003 for a Marine killed in a road accident, Monday March 31, 2003 near the town Diwaniyah in south central Iraq (news - web sites). (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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Sgt. Jeff Seabaugh, a squad leader with the 15th Marines Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (15th MEU (SOC)), foreground, moves his Marines to their objective during a mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Zubayr, southern Iraq (news - web sites), in this March 23, 2003 photo made available Wednesday, April 2, 2003. (AP Photo/Lance Cpl. Brian L. Wickliffe/MOD/Pool)

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. Marine attached to the 15th Marines Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable (15th MEU (SOC)) dashes over foothills and trenches while conducting a mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Zubayr, southern Iraq (news - web sites), in this March 23, 2003 photo made available Wednesday, April 2, 2003. (AP Photo/Lance Cpl. Brian L. Wickliffe/MOD/Pool)

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A US Marine from the 2nd Battalion/8th Regiment forces the door of a house at the aluminium complex factory in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.(AFP/Eric Feferberg)

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Judy and Joseph Childers, the parents of Marine 1st Lt. Therrel Shane Childers listen to 'Amazing Grace' during funeral services for their son Tuesday April 1, 2003 in Powell Wyoming. Lt. Childers was leading a platoon of riflemen in an assault on an oil pumping station in southern Iraq (news - web sites) when he was killed on March 21. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. Marines from Lima Company, a part of the 7th regiment, secure a bridge over Tigris river on April 2. U.S. Marines captured a bridge on the River Tigris on Wednesday, securing a key crossing point for their advance on Baghdad, Marines on the scene said.









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[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. Marine Cpl. Joseph Ellis of Hickory, N.C., and Task Force Tarawa places sandbags on his Humvee as parakeets used to detect chemical weapons sit on the hood Wednesday in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.









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Battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment in an artillery position in central Iraq on Tuesday.

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Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Torrell Newell, of Miami, Fla., examines an Iraqi man who was complaining of a sore throat during the opening of a first aid station Tuesday in Nasiriyah.

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Marines with Task Force Tarawa watch Iraqi civilians approach with a white flag Tuesday in Nasiriyah.

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Iraqi civilians approach Marines with Task Force Tarawa on Tuesday in Nasiriyah.

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AP Photo/Dallas Morning News/David Leeson

Pvt. 2nd Class Roy Lawrence, of Maine, cleans his weapon somewhere in Iraq on Monday. His tattoo reads, “Hear my voice O God, preserve my life from fear of the enemy.”

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Marine infantrymen with the Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment conduct a reconnaissance mission some 75 miles south of Baghdad on Monday.

[thedrifter]

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Staff Sgt. Jose Mariscal, of Twentynine Palms, Calif., with the 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, listens to the radio as his artillery unit takes a break from pounding Iraqi positions near the town of Diwaniyah, Iraq on Tuesday.

AP Photo/Laurent Rebours

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AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Mike Zerby

Cpl. Benjamin Webster of Columbus, Ohio, gunner on the tank nicknamed “Gabriel,” recounted when he “killed” his first T54 Iraqi tank Monday in Southern Iraq.

[thedrifter]

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AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

Marine Lance Cpl. Julio Martinez sits alone after a memorial service Tuesday at an air base in the Persian Gulf for the three Marines who died when their UH-1N Huey helicopter crashed Sunday in Iraq.

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Iraqi-American Mahdi al-Shammeree, 27, right, holds up a photograph of his younger brother, U.S. Marine Tony al-Shammeree, 24, while his mother, Fawzi al-Washah, watches news coverage of the war in Iraq (news - web sites) in their Philadelphia home Wednesday, April 2, 2003. Tony al-Shammeree enlisted with the U.S. marines in 1999, eight years after he and his family moved to the United States, and is now fighting with the U.S. military to liberate Iraq. (AP Photo/Mark Stehle)

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Marine reservists carry the coffin of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Phillip Jordan, 42, the first Connecticut resident who lost his life during a battle in Iraq (news - web sites), at St. Patrick cemetary in Enfield, Conn., Wednesday, April 2, 2003. (AP Photo/Steve Miller)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines from Lima Company, a part of the 7th regiment, secure a bridge over the Tigris river on April 2, 2003. U.S. forces thrust to within 20 miles of Baghdad, smashing two of President Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard divisions that blocked their way. (Oleg Popov/Reuters)

[thedrifter]

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Lcpl. Andrew Weable, of Columbia, Mo., with India Co., 3rd Batt., 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, keeps watch while his convoy pauses south of of An Numaniyah, Iraq (news - web sites) on Wedneday, April 2, 2003. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. marines with India Co., 3rd Batt., 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, run to secure an Iraqi army outpost and training center near the town of Numaniyah, Iraq (news - web sites) on Wedneday, April 2,2003. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch

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.S. Marine 1st Lieutenant James Uwins, (L) and U.S. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Bill Hale, both from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment from Camp Lejeune, N.C., are helped by a Marine after a press conference at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in southwest Germany, April 2, 2003. Uwins has shrapnel in his legs and left arm, while Hale suffered a concussion, nerve damage and injuries to his lower back and knee after being blasted into the air by Iraqi fire. Photo by Michael Dalder/Reuters

[thedrifter]

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Activity at the Jalibah Forward Operation Base, a U.S. air base in the western desert of southern Iraq, is seen Wednesday, April 2, 2003. The base is home to the 16th and 29th U.S. Marine Air Groups. (AP Photo/Ian Jones, Pool),

[thedrifter]

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U.S. marines from Lima Company, a part of the 7th regiment, secure a bridge over the Tigris river on April 2, 2003. U.S. Marines captured a bridge on the River Tigris on Wednesday, securing a key crossing point for their advance on Baghdad, Marines on the scene said. REUTERS/Oleg Popov

[thedrifter]

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US Marines with the 15th Expeditionary Unit, remove the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)' portrait from a wall in the city of An Nassiriyah, southern Iraq (news - web sites) on Wednesday, April. 2, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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A convoy of 2nd MEF (Marine Expeditionay Force) crosses a bridge over the Euphrates river in the town of Nassariya in central Iraq (news - web sites) April 3, 2003. U.S. troops pushed to within six miles of the southern edge of Baghdad on Thursday, and were preparing to fight for control of the city's airport, U.S. officials said. (Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

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U.S. Marines from Lima Company, a part of the 7th regiment, secure a bridge over Tigris river on April 2, 2003. U.S. military trucks rumbled across a Tigris crossing west of the city of Kut on April 3 after Iraqi troops fled their posts nearby with barely a fight. The convoy's orders: 'Get to Baghdad as quickly as possible,' officers told a Reuters correspondent. (Oleg Popov/Reuters)

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U.S. Marines from Lima Company, a part of the 7th regiment, escort a group of prisoners of war on a bridge over the Tigris river, April 2, 2003. More than 9,000 Iraqis have been taken prisoner of war by U.S. and British troops, British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said on April 3. (Oleg Popov/Reuters)

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An unidentified Marine with India Co., 3rd Battalion., 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, center, patrols the Numaniyah streets, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, April 3, 2003. Officers of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines are to meet on Thursday with local leaders in Numaniyah, worrying that destruction and confiscation of weapons will leave them unable to maintain security in the town. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

[thedrifter]

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An unidentified Marine with India Co., 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, looks at a portrait of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) found in a school in Numaniyah, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, April 3, 2003. Officers of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines are to meet on Thursday with local leaders in Numaniyah, worrying that destruction and confiscation of weapons will leave them unable to maintain security in the town. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

[thedrifter]

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Cpl. Emmanuel Duran of San Diego, with India Co., 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, gestures as he tries to move a crowd out of the street while on patrol in Numaniyah, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, April 3, 2003. Officers of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines are to meet on Thursday with local leaders in Numaniyah, worrying that destruction and confiscation of weapons will leave them unable to maintain security in the town. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

[thedrifter]

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An unidentified Marine with India Co., 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, left, patrols an intersection in Numaniyah, southeast of Baghdad,Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, April 3, 2003, as a local resident cycles past. Officers of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines are to meet on Thursday with local leaders in Numaniyah, worrying that destruction and confiscation of weapons will leave them unable to maintain security in the town. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

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Soldiers of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Fox Company 'Raiders' secure a bridge over the Euphrates river in the town of Nassiriya in central Iraq (news - web sites), April 3, 2003. U.S. troops pushed to within six miles of the southern edge of Baghdad on Thursday, and were preparing to fight for control of the city's airport, U.S. officials said. Elements of four elite Iraqi Republican Guard Divisions were reported to be moving south to defend the city, but U.S. officials reported no direct engagement with the Iraqi troops. (Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

[thedrifter]

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Lt. Ty Yount, 25, of Morganton, N.C. and the executive officer for battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, looks around Wednesday in central Iraq.

Photo by Jud McCrehin, Times Staff

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Photo by Jud McCrehin, Times Staff

Lance Cpl. Steven Lopez, 19, of Los Angeles, Calif., with battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, helps provide convoy security Wednesday in central Iraq.

[thedrifter]

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United States Marines carry a wounded Marine to a helicopter for evacuation after after two convoys headed in opposite directions collided on a road south of Baghdad Thursday, April 3, 2003 in central Iraq (news - web sites). (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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An Iraqi boy waves to United States Marines as a convoy passes by on a road heading north to Baghdad Thursday, April 3, 2003 in central Iraq (news - web sites). Marines holding the area said that Thursday was the first time in several days that local residents had ventured from their homes. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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A convoy of 2nd MEF (Marine Expeditionay Force) crosses a bridge over the Euphrates river in the town of Nassariya in central Iraq (news - web sites) April 3, 2003. U.S. troops pushed to within six miles of the southern edge of Baghdad on Thursday, and were preparing to fight for control of the city's airport, U.S. officials said. (Desmond Boylan/Reuters

[thedrifter]

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United States Marines carry a wounded Marine to a helicopter for evacuation to a mobile surgical hospital after after two convoys headed in opposite directions collided on a road south of Baghdad Thursday, April 3, 2003 in central Iraq (news - web sites). (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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Two U.S. Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment, walk past a bullet ridden mural of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in the town of Kut, central Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, April 3, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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Rosa Gonzalez, the parent of Marine Corporal Jorge Gonzalez who died in combat March 23, holds a photograph of her son during a program to provide memorial trees to California families that have lost a relative in the war against Iraq (news - web sites), Thursday, April 3, 2003, in El Monte, Calif. The first tree in the program, called Branches of Honor, was donated to the Gonzalez family. (AP Photo/Rene Macura)

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A U.S. Marine honor guard escorts the body of Marine Sgt. Nicholas Michael Hodson, 22, of Smithville, Mo., after funeral services Thursday, April 3, 2003 at the House of Deliverance Church in Richlands, N.C. Hodson was with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade when he was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq (news - web sites). (AP Photo/Jeffrey A. Camarati)

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Laurent Rebours / AP photo

Marines artillery pounds Iraqi positions near a key east-west road to Baghdad near Kut, Iraq, Thursday, April 3, 2003.

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Marines fire mortars at Iraqi positions in the central Iraq town of Kut, Thursday, April 3, 2003. While some Marine units advanced toward Baghdad Thursday, others from the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines battled building to building with Iraqi fighters in Kut.

Laurent Rebours / AP photo

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AP photo

In this image made from video, smoke rises after a coalition air assault on Baghdad, Wednesday, April 2, 2003.

[Sparrowhawk]

President Bush walks among saluting members of the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Thursday. With U.S. troops facing the possible use of chemical weapons on the outskirts of Baghdad, Bush told the Marines that nothing the Iraqis might try would deter the U.S.-led invasion







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[Sparrowhawk]

Members of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Fox Company, known as the "Raiders," eat and rest beneath a bullet-pocked wall in a house in Nasiriyah on Thursday.




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Staff Sgt. Jack Coughlin from Boston, Mass, of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines Regiment, jokes with Iraqi villagers, seen in mirror on right, as its convoy moves toward Bagdad, Friday, April 4, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

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Staff Sgt. Jack Coughlin from Boston, Mass, of the 3rd battalion, 4th Marines regiment, is greeted by an Iraqi girl as its convoy moves toward Bagdad, Friday, April 4, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

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Kenneth Damon Waters-Bey, 10, passes a member of the U.S. Marine honor guard as he enters the St. Matthews Catholic Church for the funeral for Marine Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon Waters-Bey in Baltimore Friday, April 4, 2003. Kenneth is the son of Sgt. Waters-Bey, who died March 21 in a helicopter crash in the war in Iraq (news - web sites).(AP Photo/Roberto Borea)

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US marines patrol a rural areas on the southern edge of the city of Nasiriyah. A US commander leading a push by Marines through southern Iraq (news - web sites) towards Baghdad was relieved of his post for an undisclosed reason.(AFP/File/Cris Bouroncle)

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HM1 Kyle Norris of San Clemente, Calif., with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Units, Echo Company, treat an Iraqi woman, who with upper torso injuries as her husband and son look on at back, in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq (news - web sites) on Friday, April 4, 2003. The injuries were caused by a US military explosion one week ago in the city. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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Locals walk past US Marines with the 15th Expeditionary Units at a main street in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq (news - web sites) Friday, April 4, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye

[thedrifter]

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United States Marine Sgt. Michael Castaneda, of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaisance, tries to communicate with two Iraqi men who were stoppped at a checkpoint near a U.S. military camp south of Baghdad in central Iraq (news - web sites) Friday, April 4, 2003. The men were wearing military uniforms under white overgarments and were carrying military identification. Marines searched civilians traveling along the road to check for suicide bombers as well as Iraqi soldiers dressed as civilians. Castaneda said members of the Republican Guard are suspected of walking roads to Baghdad without weapons, carrying lots of cash and dressed as civilians with the tops of their boots cut off to look like regular shoes. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

[Sparrowhawk]

Dust-covered U.S. Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment travel north near Diwaniyah in central Iraq after leaving Nasiriyah on Friday.



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The sun sets over the Iraqi desert as the US Marines' 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment continue their northwest-bound advance, south of the central Iraqi city of Diwaniya.(AFP/Cris Bouroncle)

[thedrifter]

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Marines from Battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment fire a 155mm howitzer towards Iraqi military positions in Al Kut, Iraq, Thursday afternoon.

[thedrifter]

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A long convoy of Marine Corps vehicles drive move through a highway in central Iraq, on the move toward Baghdad The Marines continue to sweep through the country looking for enemy forces.

[thedrifter]

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Jud McCrehin / Military Times staff

Lance Cpl. Jeff Alford, 20, of Austin, Texas, with Battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, digs an entrenchment for 155mm howitzer Friday afternoon on the outskirts of Baghdad.

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marine Gunner Sergeant Kimberlee Williams from Dayton, Ohio, and Marine Johnnie Jackson cry while attending an emotional Protestant mass at an air base in Kuwait (Sunday, March 30, 2003)

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Nancy Rodriguez of Rockford, Michigan holds tight a framed photo of her son, Joshua Rodriguez, 21, as she bows her head in prayer during a troop support rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Rodriguez's son is currently serving in Iraq (Saturday, March 29, 2003)

[thedrifter]

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An unidentified woman reaches to touch the casket bearing Marine Capt. Ryan Beaupre following graveside services in Beaupre's home town of St. Anne, Illinois. Beaupre died when the helicopter he was piloting crashed in Kuwait last month (Thursday, April 3, 2003)

[thedrifter]

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Kuni Takahashi / AP Photo

Four Iraqi men place their hands on their heads as they surrender Thursday to Marines during fighting in the town of Kut. Marines battled suicide attacks and fought at close range with Republican Guard fighters and Baath Party irregulars Thursday in Kut, but many civilians waved white flags and welcomed the troops.

[thedrifter]

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An F/A-18 Hornet from the Silver Eagles of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 is put through routine maintenance on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman Thursday. The Truman and Carrier Air Wing 3 are deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Mediterranean Sea.

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[thedrifter]

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Marine 1st Lieutenant Harry Thompson (L) and other Marines of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines rest after riding all night in amphibious assualt vehicles towards Baghdad, in central Iraq (news - web sites), April 4, 2003. U.S. forces called in hundreds more troops to reinforce Baghdad airport on Friday after Iraqi television showed what it said was President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) being mobbed and cheered in the streets of the city. Hundreds of U.S. troops would add to an estimated 1,500 now at the airport, a key objective for U.S. forces, who could use it as a forward base in any battle for this sprawling ancient city of five million people. NO MAGS/NO TV/NO SALES/RIVERSIDE PRESS-ENTERPRISE OUT/SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE OUT REUTERS/Hayne Palmour via North County Times

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Marine Staff Sgt. David Wilson (R) makes a quick count of hundreds of Iraqi mortar rounds, moments after he and Marines with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, discovered the ammunition in a school room, in the small town of Muwaffaqiya in central Iraq (news - web sites), on April 2, 2003. U.S. forces called in hundreds more troops to reinforce Baghdad airport on Friday after Iraqi television showed what it said was President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) being mobbed and cheered in the streets of the city. Hundreds of U.S. troops would add to an estimated 1,500 now at the airport, a key objective for U.S. forces, who could use it as a forward base in any battle for this sprawling ancient city of five million people. NO MAGS/NO TV/NO SALES/RIVERSIDE PRESS-ENTERPRISE OUT/SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE OUT REUTERS/Hayne Palmour via North County Times

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. Marines convoy of M1A1 tanks, part of the 7th Marine Regiment, passes through an Iraqi village on a road southeast of Baghdad, April 4, 2003. U.S. forces pounded eastern Baghdad with an intense artillery barrage early on April 5, lighting up the night sky with explosions and drawing return fire from Iraqi defenders, a Reuters correspondent said. Photo by Oleg Popov/Reuters

[thedrifter]

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An Iraqi man gives Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, two thumbs up after they told him to sit while they provide cover, as other Marine vehicles pass through the town of Muwaffaqiya, in central Iraq (news - web sites), April 3, 2003. U.S. forces called in hundreds more troops to reinforce Baghdad airport on Friday after Iraqi television showed what it said was President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) being mobbed and cheered in the streets of the city. Hundreds of U.S. troops would add to an estimated 1,500 now at the airport, a key objective for U.S. forces, who could use it as a forward base in any battle for this sprawling ancient city of five million people. NO MAGS/NO TV/NO SALES/RIVERSIDE PRESS-ENTERPRISE OUT/SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE OUT REUTERS/Hayne Palmour via North County Times

[thedrifter]

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The immediate family of Marine Cpl. Randal Kent Rosacker stand during the singing of 'Amazing Grace' at his funeral services at the First United Methodist Church in Alamosa, Colo., Friday, April 4, 2003. Rosacker was killed in action in Iraq (news - web sites). From left: Rodney Rosacker, father; Debra Rosacker, mother; Samantha Rosacker, sister; Brooke Rosacker, wife; and Antoinette Rosacker, sister. (AP Photo/Glenn Asakawa, Pool

[thedrifter]

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Members of a Marine Honor Guard carry the casket of Marine Cpl. Randal Rosacker to its final resting place during burial services at the Colorado State Veterans Center near Alamosa, Colo., on Friday, April 4, 2003. Randal Rosacker was killed in Iraq (news - web sites) on March 23. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. marines from Lima Company, of the 7th Marine Regiment, look at a burning refinery from the top of an Amphibia Assault Vehicle (AAV) as they move along a road southeast of Baghdad, April 4, 2003. The U.S. military said it was confident that it had breached the defensive ring around Baghdad, but Iraqi Special Republican Guards were still operating in the area. REUTERS/Oleg Popov

[thedrifter]

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Clouds of smoke rise after U.S. Marine engineers used plastic bombs to blow up the artillery abandoned at an Iraqi military base in the deserts near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, Monday, March 31, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[Sparrowhawk]

A little larger picture of the one Roger posted above..


The many faces of a Marine.

Just think, what Marines are capable of.

Seconds before or after these pictures were taken, this same Marine will if he has to command Marines to assault and kill the enemy. He'll do it without hesitation.

Then, he'll turn around and reach out to innocent civilians, with great compassion.

This is part of what the Corps is all about.





Staff Sgt Jack Coughlin from Boston, Mass., of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines Regiment, jokes with Iraqi villagers Friday as his convoy moves north of Kut toward Baghdad.


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[thedrifter]

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Cpl. Adrian Beck of White Haven, Pa, with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Units, Echo Company, washes himself at a makeshift shower in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq (news - web sites) on Saturday, April 5, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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An Iraqi man gives a boutonniere to a US Marine with the 15th Expeditionary Units, Echo Company, at a checkpoint in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq (news - web sites) Saturday, April 5, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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Sgt. Bruce Whitfield of Los Angeles, Calif., with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Units, Echo Company, takes a break in the sun in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq (news - web sites) Saturday, April 5, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. Marines AAV (Amphibia Assault Vehicle) drives next to the bodies of dead Iraqi soldiers on a road southeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, April 5, 2003. A U.S. Marine commander said on Saturday American troops would use overwhelming force to crush any resistance if ordered to storm Baghdad and that the battle would cost many civilian lives. REUTERS/Oleg Popo

[thedrifter]

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US Marines from Combat Service Support Battalion 22 Task Force Tarawa inspect artillery shells at an Iraqi ammunition supply point where Iraqi forces left tens of thousands tons of ammunition in around 100 bunkers from Russia, Yugoslavia, Italy, Jordan and the United States that could arm a division.(AFP/Eric Feferberg)

[thedrifter]

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A picture of Marine Cpl. William Thomas, who is deployed in Iraq (news - web sites), is shown pinned to his wife Stephanie's shirt during the Enduring Families Walk Saturday, April 5, 2003, in Jacksonville, N.C., near Camp Lejeune, N.C. About 1,000 people took part in the walk to show support for the Marines that are deployed from Camp Lejeune. (AP Photo/Bob Jordan)

[thedrifter]

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United States Marines Corpsman Chris Crumpler, center, treats a 5-year-old Iraqi boy for shrapnel wounds to his face as the boy's father sits quietly while on board a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter enroute to a mobile surgical hospital Saturday, April 5, 2003 in central Iraq (news - web sites). Crumpler was working with the HMH 364 Purple Foxes of the 3rd Marine Air Wing. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

[thedrifter]

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United States Marines Corpsman Joe Clairmont, left, of Jacksonville, Fla., leads a group of Marines carrying a wounded soldier to a casualty evacuation helicopter Saturday, April 5, 2003, south of Baghdad. Despite having been shot four times in different parts of his body, the wounded Marine was conscious and in good spirits upon arriving at the mobile surgical hospital several miles away. Clairmont was flying with the HMH 364 Purple Foxes of the 3rd Marine Air Wing. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

[thedrifter]

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Corporal Byron Estay of New Orleans, Louisiana, with the Marines of the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), stands near a line of Iraqis waiting to collect water from the Euphrates river in the town of Nassiriya in central Iraq (news - web sites), April 5, 2003. Water and power supplies have been disrupted by fighting in the city for the last two weeks. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment, take position after they were taking fire from an Iraqi sniper on the main road linking to Baghdad , about a half mile (10 km) from the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, Saturday, April 5, 2003. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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Iraqi Talal Ali Katham lies on a stretcher waiting to be treated for severe burns all over his body, at an open-air military hospital clinic set up by the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in the town of Nasiriyah in central Iraq (news - web sites), April 5, 2003. Hafid Katham, uncle of Talal, said he was in his home and was burned in U.S. air-strikes that killed eleven of his relatives thirteen days ago and decided to show up today for treatment. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marine of the 3rd battalion, 4th regiment, fire mortar shells during fighting on the outskirts of Baghdad, Saturday, April 5, 2003 . (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. Marine of the 3rd battalion, 4th regiment, cools off by dousing himself with his water bottle during fighting on the outskirts of Baghdad, Saturday, April 5, 2003 The Marines were firing mortars on Iraqi army positions, and spent mortar containers litter the streets of Baghdad's suburbs. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

[thedrifter]

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Laurent Rebours / AP photo

Marines of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, take up positions after coming under fire from an Iraqi sniper on the main road to Baghdad on Saturday.

[thedrifter]

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Marines of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine regiment, take up positions after coming under fire from an Iraqi sniper.

Laurent Rebours / AP photo

[thedrifter]

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Laurent Rebours / AP photo

Marines of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, escort suspected Iraqi deserters about 6 miles from Baghdad on Saturday.

[thedrifter]

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Laura Rauch / AP photo

Lance Cpl. Jerod Powell, of Springfield, Mo., with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, sleeps against his automatic weapon as his convoy stops on a road just south of Baghdad on Saturday.

[thedrifter]

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Laura Rauch / AP photo

Marines with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, guard a convoy stopped along a road just south of Baghdad on Saturday.

[thedrifter]

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John Makely / AP photo

Less than 20 miles south of Baghdad, Marines with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, keep watch from an embankment during a firefight in which one Marine died and at least two others were wounded near Al Muhaydi As Salih, Iraq, on Friday.

[thedrifter]

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John Makely / AP photo

Less than 20 miles south of Baghdad, Marine Sgt. Josh Pryor wipes his brow as a medical evacuation CH-46 flies overhead near Al Muhaydi As Salih, Iraq, on Friday. An injured Marine was being evacuated after India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, engaged in a fierce firefight in which one Marine died and at least two others were wounded.

[thedrifter]

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Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Lance Cpl. Kristopher Ecker of Irvington, Ky., and others of Task Force Tarawa attach an American flag to a pole to be hung from their Amphibious Assault Vehicle in central Iraq on Friday.

[thedrifter]

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Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Marine Corps helicopters are refueled at a refueling depot Saturday in central Iraq. The Marines continue to sweep through the country looking for enemy forces.

[thedrifter]

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Joe Raedle / Getty Images

A Marine Corps Amphibious Assault Vehicle from Task Force Tarawa is driven through central Iraq on Saturday.

[thedrifter]

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Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Marine Sgt. Humberto Acosta, of Juaynabo, Puerto Rico, shaves in his fighting hole in central Iraq on Saturday.

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines riding in amphibious assault vehicles heading north to Baghdad, Iraq, cross the Tigris River over a ribbon bay bridge constructed by Bridge Co. Bravo on Thursday April 3, 2003. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines of the 2nd Maintenance Battalion, Sgt. Justin Webber, 28, of Battle Creek, Michigan, left, and Sgt. Corey Varela, 25, of Swansboro, North Carolina, take a combat rubber recon craft out on the Tigris River in Iraq on it Thursday, April 3, 2003, in Iraq. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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Marines transport a ribbon bay section and the MK II Bridge Erection Boat across the Tigris River in Iraq using the new ribbon bay bridge constructed by Bridge Co. Bravo on Thursday. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines of Bridge Co. Bravo, Lance Cpl. Adam Sempert, 21, of Coloma, Michigan, standing, and Cpl. Norman Aponte, 21, of Rochester, New York, sitting, eat while on guard duty as a U.S. Marine ACE bulldozer crosses the Tigris River. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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After the U.S. Marines of Bridge Co. Bravo built a new ribbon bay bridge across the Tigris River in Iraq, Contra Costa Times photographer Eddie Ledesma ate a wild rice pilaf MRE (meal ready to eat)for lunch on Thursday. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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A U.S. Marine gunner on a Huey helicopter provides air cover for the Marines of Bridge Co. Bravo, 8th Engineers Support Battalion, so the company may build a bridge across the Tigris River on Wednesday, April 2. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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The Marines of Bridge Co. Bravo help Iraqi villagers herd some loose cows before heading to the Tigris River to begin bridge building. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marine Pfc. Juan C. Chinique, 20, of Miami, Fla., gets a few more minutes of sleep before Bridge Company Bravo goes to work building a bridge. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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Bridge Company Bravo completes a span of a Tigris River canal. (Eddie Ledesma/Contra Costa Times)

[thedrifter]

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Lance Cpl. Juan Vela of Warden, Wa., finishes a letter to his fiancee, as Marines from the Fourth Marines of the First Marine Division get mail out for the first time in more than a week. Marines commonly use MRE boxes to send cards home from the field. PABLO ALCALA, Lexington Herald-Leader

[thedrifter]

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Sgt. Jeff Wirges of Tampa, Fla., and Bravo Company, of the Fourth Marines of the First Marine Division, enjoys a rare treat - popcorn - on a small gas cooker, both sent by family members. PABLO ALCALA, Lexington Herald-Leader

[thedrifter]

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U.S. Marines of the 6th Motors Transport Battalion (left to right) Lcpl. Zane Smith, 24, of Odessa, Texas, and Lcpl. Jorge Villalobos, 22, of Midland, Texas, wait for Lcpl. Eric Lutz, 20, of Little Ferry, New Jersey, to discard his bikini girls playing cards during a game of Spades. PHOTO BY EDDIE LEDESMA/CONTRA COSTA TIMES

[Sparrowhawk]

U.S. Marines of the 3rd battalion, 4th Marines regiment, return fire during combat with Iraqi gunmen to secure a key bridge into Baghdad on Sunday.




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