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View Full Version : Iraqi-born U.S. Marine was in thick of action



thedrifter
05-13-03, 06:12 AM
Posted on Mon, May. 12, 2003

Iraqi-born U.S. Marine was in thick of action
Family in Northeast talks of his exploits
By WILLIAM BUNCH
bunchw@phillynews.com

Iraqi-born U.S. Marine Tony al-Shammeree's personal revenge mission against Saddam Hussein almost came to a bloody and premature end some 90 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Al-Shammeree, a lance corporal, recently told his anxious family back in Northeast Philadelphia that his Marine unit was advancing near the historic city of Al-Kut last month when his convoy stopped early one morning along some farmland and a stand of palm trees.

"He and a friend were walking when all of sudden there was a hail of bullets over his head," said Mahdi al-Shammeree, who spoke with his brother last week on a satellite phone.

"Some of them struck the Humvee he had been riding in and shattered the right window. He said if he'd been still sitting in that spot, he would have been hit right in the face."

Instead, al-Shammeree - a skilled rifleman - and his unit returned the fire. "They started running, and he said that he thinks he killed two of them," his brother said. "He said one of them appeared to be an officer."

It was the most adrenaline-filled moment of a remarkable two months for the 25-year-old who was born in Baghdad and barely fled Saddam's thugs during the Shiite Muslim uprising of 1991. He became a U.S. citizen and then fulfilled his dream of becoming a Marine like the ones who guarded his refugee camp in Saudi Arabia.

When his elite Marine company was shipped from California's Camp Pendleton to Kuwait early this year, al-Shammeree had written to his family that "it's Desert Storm all over again for me - but this time I'm on the right side."

Al-Shammeree's family - including 30-year-old brother Mahdi and their parents - now live in a garden apartment near Roosevelt Boulevard and near where their father, Salih as-Washah, works as a civil engineer.

With Saddam toppled, as-Washah is already making plans through the Pentagon's reconstruction office to return to Baghdad - possibly in a couple weeks - to help rebuild Iraq's roads and bridges. Other family members eventually may follow.

Finding the POWs

But the rocky road to Baghdad has already been blazed by his son al-Shammeree, whose ability to speak Arabic and whose knowledge of Iraqi culture and geography often placed him at the center of the military campaign there.

That was especially true on April 13, when al-Shammeree's unit drew near the town of Samara, about 110 miles north of Baghdad, on its way to Saddam's hometown of Tikrit. Suddenly, a uniformed Iraqi officer peacefully approached the Marines, and so al-Shammeree was called in to act as a translator and to help interrogate him.

"The officer said, 'I need to talk to somebody,' " Mahdi al-Shammeree said. "There are some guys we've been holding hostage and we need to give them up."

The hostages that the Iraqi officer was talking about were the last seven American POWs, the group that included Pennsauken's Sgt. James Riley. Based on the information that al-Shammeree translated, Marines broke down the door to their remote hiding place and rescued the Americans.

"We're excited and proud," said Mahdi al-Shammeree, referring to his brother's role in overthrowing Saddam, who had repressed, tortured and killed members of their Shiite sect, including members of their own family.

Currently, according to his brother, al-Shammeree is aiding in the interrogation of Iraqi prisoners, including some of the top aides to Saddam captured in recent days.

But probably the most emotional moment for the Marine lance corporal came when his unit entered Nasiriyah, his family's hometown and scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the war.

In 1991, when he was just 13, al-Shammeree had cleaned rifles there while his then-15-year-old brother took part in the unsuccessful uprising by Shiites in southern Iraq against Saddam.

Now, the Marine tried to help out in humanitarian efforts in the town.

"They had him talk to all the people who had come down," Mahdi said. "A lot of them knew his last name, and some of the people knew his grandfather, some of them knew his father, so they had a sense of security with him. He more listened than anything else."

Most of al-Shammeree's relatives were long gone. Mahdi al-Shammeree said many of them fled into neighboring Syria, but some were not so lucky.

"Some of our relatives were executed prior to the war," he said. "There was a shootout with Baath Party officials, and they got caught in the middle. Later, the men were extracted, shot, and the corpses were sent to their families."

Although thrilled that Saddam is out of power, Mahdi al-Shammeree is also dismayed with the chaos that has taken place with the American military now in control of the country. He said the Shiite rebels in 1991 were better organized. "It's really sad what's going on," he said.

Family members hope that things will improve when as-Washah arrives in Baghdad to assist the reconstruction team led by retired Gen. Jay Garner. Mahdi said his father's trip was delayed, but he could go for a six-month stint as early as next week. As-Washah may move back permanently after that.

Would Mahdi? He said maybe after he gets his own degree in civil engineering here in Philadelphia.

"I'd love to go back," he said. "It's my mother country."

Sempers,

Roger