thedrifter
10-16-08, 10:09 AM
New probe sought in servicemembers’ deaths
Lawmaker petitions Army after video of battle suggests friendly fire
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, October 16, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — A congressman from Philadelphia has called on the Army to reinvestigate the deaths of two soldiers in Iraq after evidence has emerged that raises questions about whether they were killed by friendly fire.
Pfc. Albert M. Nelson, 31, of Philadelphia, and Pfc. Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, 21, of Miami, were killed in Ramadi on Dec. 4, 2006. According to Army spokesman Paul Boyce, an investigation into the incident concluded that the two died of injuries from enemy mortar rounds.
But the Web site Salon.com posted video earlier this week in which other troops in the two soldiers’ unit say they were shot at by a U.S. tank.
"In light of new information regarding the circumstances of a deadly firefight that resulted in the death of Pfc. Albert M. Nelson and his comrade, Pfc. Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, I am requesting the Army conduct an official and thorough investigation into the incident surrounding their demise," wrote U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa.
The Army will review Fattah’s letter and respond shortly, Boyce said.
The evidence indicates that the two soldiers were not killed by friendly fire, he wrote in an e-mailed response to questions.
"Post-blast analysis of the point of impact on the building’s roof is consistent with a high-angle 120 mm mortar explosion," Boyce wrote. "Shrapnel from a 120 mm mortar, uniform fragments, bone fragments, damage to bricks and other structural elements were dispersed in a 360-degree pattern common to high-angle mortar impacts."
The investigation also found that all friendly tank rounds fired that day hit their intended targets, Boyce said.
"Gun-camera footage from a U.S Marine Corps Harrier aircraft flying nearby in support of U.S. troops showed the presence of at least one enemy mortar team, as did U.S. counter-fire radar," he said.
But in footage of the incident posted on the Salon.com Web site, several soldiers can be heard yelling that they were taking fire from a tank.
The footage, which does not show Nelson or Suarez Gonzalez getting hit, was taken by the Sgt. 1st Class Jack Robinson, according to Salon.com.
"I want it understood that that was a tank, that was one of our tanks," Robinson can be heard saying when talking on the radio.
After the radio call, he relays that he’s been told they were hit by a mortar and tries to calm soldiers, some of whom are protesting, by saying "it doesn’t matter."
"Until we hear different, it was a 120 mm mortar," he says. "I don’t think it was, but for now, that’s the way it is, and that’s what happened, got it?"
"Though it is expected that lives will be lost in war, it is imperative that factual information, no matter how painful, is provided to the victim’s families," Fattah wrote. "As a result of the ultimate sacrifice of their loved ones, the truth is the least their loved ones deserve."
Ellie
Lawmaker petitions Army after video of battle suggests friendly fire
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, October 16, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — A congressman from Philadelphia has called on the Army to reinvestigate the deaths of two soldiers in Iraq after evidence has emerged that raises questions about whether they were killed by friendly fire.
Pfc. Albert M. Nelson, 31, of Philadelphia, and Pfc. Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, 21, of Miami, were killed in Ramadi on Dec. 4, 2006. According to Army spokesman Paul Boyce, an investigation into the incident concluded that the two died of injuries from enemy mortar rounds.
But the Web site Salon.com posted video earlier this week in which other troops in the two soldiers’ unit say they were shot at by a U.S. tank.
"In light of new information regarding the circumstances of a deadly firefight that resulted in the death of Pfc. Albert M. Nelson and his comrade, Pfc. Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, I am requesting the Army conduct an official and thorough investigation into the incident surrounding their demise," wrote U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa.
The Army will review Fattah’s letter and respond shortly, Boyce said.
The evidence indicates that the two soldiers were not killed by friendly fire, he wrote in an e-mailed response to questions.
"Post-blast analysis of the point of impact on the building’s roof is consistent with a high-angle 120 mm mortar explosion," Boyce wrote. "Shrapnel from a 120 mm mortar, uniform fragments, bone fragments, damage to bricks and other structural elements were dispersed in a 360-degree pattern common to high-angle mortar impacts."
The investigation also found that all friendly tank rounds fired that day hit their intended targets, Boyce said.
"Gun-camera footage from a U.S Marine Corps Harrier aircraft flying nearby in support of U.S. troops showed the presence of at least one enemy mortar team, as did U.S. counter-fire radar," he said.
But in footage of the incident posted on the Salon.com Web site, several soldiers can be heard yelling that they were taking fire from a tank.
The footage, which does not show Nelson or Suarez Gonzalez getting hit, was taken by the Sgt. 1st Class Jack Robinson, according to Salon.com.
"I want it understood that that was a tank, that was one of our tanks," Robinson can be heard saying when talking on the radio.
After the radio call, he relays that he’s been told they were hit by a mortar and tries to calm soldiers, some of whom are protesting, by saying "it doesn’t matter."
"Until we hear different, it was a 120 mm mortar," he says. "I don’t think it was, but for now, that’s the way it is, and that’s what happened, got it?"
"Though it is expected that lives will be lost in war, it is imperative that factual information, no matter how painful, is provided to the victim’s families," Fattah wrote. "As a result of the ultimate sacrifice of their loved ones, the truth is the least their loved ones deserve."
Ellie