thedrifter
11-14-07, 10:55 AM
A different war: Kankakee Marine, back from Iraq, is optimistic
11/13/2007, 10:39 am
By Gary Mays
gmays@daily-journal.com
815-937-3359
U.S. Marine Sgt. Frank Denault, of Kankakee, still looks so young and unjaded by a violent, faraway world in his hooded sweatshirt and Jack Daniel's T-shirt.
But take a second look and his hair, neck muscles and quiet confidence are all jarhead. And at 21 -- having just been promoted after a recent combat tour in Iraq's al-Anbar Province -- those young, brown eyes of his have seen plenty.
"For a 21-year-old kid, he sure has seen an awful lot," says his mother, Pam.
Yet, Sgt. Denault doesn't hesitate to share thoughts on his tour. His is a story of dedication to duty and to his USMC brothers in the face of a fierce war debate that's expected to only intensify with the presidential race and Denault's looming second tour in Iraq.
"I saw things getting better over there myself, with my own eyes," says the soft-spoken young man of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, which proclaims itself 'the most highly decorated battalion in the United States Marine Corps.'
"We made real progress over there," says Denault, "and if we pulled out now, all those lives lost in the fight would be wasted."
Once a hotbed of insurgent activity that many war critics had written off as lost, there are now 8,000 Iraqi police officers and 14 functioning police stations in Ramadi, The Associated Press reports, citing figures from the U.S. military. That's compared to fewer than 200 in spring 2006.
"For veterans of Ramadi, it seems like a different place and a different war," the AP said of the Marines' al-Anbar/Ramadi mission in October. "Just last year, soldiers were breaking down doors, hunting insurgents and struggling to secure the city block by block. U.S. troops now are invited into the homes of sheiks for lunch."
That likely would have been Denault and his buddies doing the insurgent hunting.
Not only that, but in achieving such results, the 2/5 Marines did not lose a single one of their men. Denault credits that survival rate in part to their rigorous training and the fact that, of the group of about 250 he went into Iraq with, he was among only 50 who had not participated in previous missions there.
"We had people seriously injured there, losing limbs," he said, stirring his flavored coffee during an interview Monday. "But we all made it home alive." Denault says he got into his first firefight within three days of his arrival in Ramadi. He was manning a guard post when insurgents attacked with AK-47s, rocket propelled grenades and other weapons.
Getting through that first fight, he said, prepared him to remain vigilant.
Patrolling the streets day after day helped him win friends with many Iraqis, who Denault says are vital to the U.S. mission.
Denault joined the Marines in 2004 with his good friend and now USMC brother, Caleb Giles. Thus, the two Marines from Kankakee trained, deployed and fought very near each other throughout their tour, a rare thing in the Corps and something for which Denault is grateful. Giles, he says, is somewhere in the Caribbean recovering from their recent tour.
Prior to his work in Ramadi, from December 2005 to July 2006, Denault and the 2/5 deployed to Okinawa with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. That's where they joined in several humanitarian operations, including the grim task of landslide recovery in the Philippines.
Denault says he doesn't pay attention to politics and news reports, preferring, like most Marines, to focus on the mission. "I've been there; I've seen what's going on," he says. "I don't need to read about all that stuff back here."
Ellie
11/13/2007, 10:39 am
By Gary Mays
gmays@daily-journal.com
815-937-3359
U.S. Marine Sgt. Frank Denault, of Kankakee, still looks so young and unjaded by a violent, faraway world in his hooded sweatshirt and Jack Daniel's T-shirt.
But take a second look and his hair, neck muscles and quiet confidence are all jarhead. And at 21 -- having just been promoted after a recent combat tour in Iraq's al-Anbar Province -- those young, brown eyes of his have seen plenty.
"For a 21-year-old kid, he sure has seen an awful lot," says his mother, Pam.
Yet, Sgt. Denault doesn't hesitate to share thoughts on his tour. His is a story of dedication to duty and to his USMC brothers in the face of a fierce war debate that's expected to only intensify with the presidential race and Denault's looming second tour in Iraq.
"I saw things getting better over there myself, with my own eyes," says the soft-spoken young man of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, which proclaims itself 'the most highly decorated battalion in the United States Marine Corps.'
"We made real progress over there," says Denault, "and if we pulled out now, all those lives lost in the fight would be wasted."
Once a hotbed of insurgent activity that many war critics had written off as lost, there are now 8,000 Iraqi police officers and 14 functioning police stations in Ramadi, The Associated Press reports, citing figures from the U.S. military. That's compared to fewer than 200 in spring 2006.
"For veterans of Ramadi, it seems like a different place and a different war," the AP said of the Marines' al-Anbar/Ramadi mission in October. "Just last year, soldiers were breaking down doors, hunting insurgents and struggling to secure the city block by block. U.S. troops now are invited into the homes of sheiks for lunch."
That likely would have been Denault and his buddies doing the insurgent hunting.
Not only that, but in achieving such results, the 2/5 Marines did not lose a single one of their men. Denault credits that survival rate in part to their rigorous training and the fact that, of the group of about 250 he went into Iraq with, he was among only 50 who had not participated in previous missions there.
"We had people seriously injured there, losing limbs," he said, stirring his flavored coffee during an interview Monday. "But we all made it home alive." Denault says he got into his first firefight within three days of his arrival in Ramadi. He was manning a guard post when insurgents attacked with AK-47s, rocket propelled grenades and other weapons.
Getting through that first fight, he said, prepared him to remain vigilant.
Patrolling the streets day after day helped him win friends with many Iraqis, who Denault says are vital to the U.S. mission.
Denault joined the Marines in 2004 with his good friend and now USMC brother, Caleb Giles. Thus, the two Marines from Kankakee trained, deployed and fought very near each other throughout their tour, a rare thing in the Corps and something for which Denault is grateful. Giles, he says, is somewhere in the Caribbean recovering from their recent tour.
Prior to his work in Ramadi, from December 2005 to July 2006, Denault and the 2/5 deployed to Okinawa with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. That's where they joined in several humanitarian operations, including the grim task of landslide recovery in the Philippines.
Denault says he doesn't pay attention to politics and news reports, preferring, like most Marines, to focus on the mission. "I've been there; I've seen what's going on," he says. "I don't need to read about all that stuff back here."
Ellie