thedrifter
12-06-08, 06:38 AM
A Marine's spoken word
Posted: Tuesday, Dec 2nd, 2008
BY: Jim Dresbach
There is a peace surrounded by insurrection in Rhamadi, Iraq.
The city, which once filled the cable news channels with snipers, suicide bombs and deviance, has become a tamer place to dwell, and Mendota’s Justin Boelk was there to witness the evolution toward a hopeful, long-lasting peace.
Boelk, 21, a Marine machine gunner who just completed a multi-month tour of duty in the Central Iraq city located 70 miles from Baghdad, remembered the war’s close calls and his cravings for American-made pizza and his longing for driving a car during a Thanksgiving weekend interview with The Mendota Reporter.
In the recounting of his Middle Eastern experiences, the member of Fox Company - Second Battalion - Fifth Marines told of how his unit and the locals seemed to feel each other out during his initial days of deployment.
"I was part of The Surge last year, and there were a lot of Marines that filled the streets,” Boelk said. “At first, the people didn't take kindly to us, but once we started helping them - giving them electricity, water, gas - they started liking us a whole lot more. By the time I left, they were sad we were leaving.
“They're very private people,” Boelk said of the Iraqis. “When we do census searches and to make sure there's nothing in their houses, that wasn’t the best situation, but you're doing that for their safety as well as for your own security."
Even though Boelk’s Iraqi tour concluded in November, he recalled how possible insurgents would constantly case the Marines’ surroundings.
"They'd watch you for weeks; they'd watch every little thing you’d do,” Boelk said of the insurgents. “They'd watch to see if you'd make a mistake, and they'd try to take advantage of that.
"Every time you step out on the street, it could be your last time,” a serious Boelk added about his patrol time. “The chances of not coming back are always there. You have to look past that. At first, there were some close calls; when we first got there, we got shot at. By the time we left, I didn't hear a gunshot for weeks, and that's good because Rhamadi was one of the worst (cities) in Iraq for awhile."
Ellie
Posted: Tuesday, Dec 2nd, 2008
BY: Jim Dresbach
There is a peace surrounded by insurrection in Rhamadi, Iraq.
The city, which once filled the cable news channels with snipers, suicide bombs and deviance, has become a tamer place to dwell, and Mendota’s Justin Boelk was there to witness the evolution toward a hopeful, long-lasting peace.
Boelk, 21, a Marine machine gunner who just completed a multi-month tour of duty in the Central Iraq city located 70 miles from Baghdad, remembered the war’s close calls and his cravings for American-made pizza and his longing for driving a car during a Thanksgiving weekend interview with The Mendota Reporter.
In the recounting of his Middle Eastern experiences, the member of Fox Company - Second Battalion - Fifth Marines told of how his unit and the locals seemed to feel each other out during his initial days of deployment.
"I was part of The Surge last year, and there were a lot of Marines that filled the streets,” Boelk said. “At first, the people didn't take kindly to us, but once we started helping them - giving them electricity, water, gas - they started liking us a whole lot more. By the time I left, they were sad we were leaving.
“They're very private people,” Boelk said of the Iraqis. “When we do census searches and to make sure there's nothing in their houses, that wasn’t the best situation, but you're doing that for their safety as well as for your own security."
Even though Boelk’s Iraqi tour concluded in November, he recalled how possible insurgents would constantly case the Marines’ surroundings.
"They'd watch you for weeks; they'd watch every little thing you’d do,” Boelk said of the insurgents. “They'd watch to see if you'd make a mistake, and they'd try to take advantage of that.
"Every time you step out on the street, it could be your last time,” a serious Boelk added about his patrol time. “The chances of not coming back are always there. You have to look past that. At first, there were some close calls; when we first got there, we got shot at. By the time we left, I didn't hear a gunshot for weeks, and that's good because Rhamadi was one of the worst (cities) in Iraq for awhile."
Ellie