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thedrifter
07-23-09, 07:43 AM
Lt. Manion Battled To The End
J. Bonasia
Wed Jul 22, 5:54 pm ET


First Lt. Travis Manion was a Marine's Marine, a warrior compelled to lead from the front of the fight.

Such bravery became obvious when Manion heroically died in battle while training Iraqi soldiers for combat readiness.

He set such a strong example that his commander, Joel Poudrier, says it makes him proud to be a Marine.

"I joined the Marine Corps more than 20 years ago so I could serve beside guys like Travis," said Poudrier, a major who ran the brigade that included Manion's battalion. "Only special types of men have the guts to put their lives on the line, and he was one of them."

By 26, Manion was already a seasoned Marine on his second tour of Iraq. He oversaw Americans embedded in an Iraqi army unit. Their goal was to teach the Iraqis how to wage combat without U.S. assistance.

On April 29, 2007, this transition team was patrolling the outskirts of Fallujah in Anbar province, one of Iraq's deadliest battle zones. The platoon was just ending a search of a suspected terrorist house.

Suddenly a Marine got shot when enemy snipers ambushed the patrol with small arms fire.

Manion and a colleague pulled their wounded comrade from the line of fire. After giving first aid, Manion led a counterattack.

When a Navy doctor was wounded, Manion recovered him too while facing fire from five shooters.

Squeezed

A roadside bomb stymied reinforcements from the Iraqi army, leaving Manion and his patrol under attack from three sides.

Now the officer made the gutsiest call of his young life. He jumped into an exposed position to attract more gunfire so the wounded Marines could be rescued.

After getting off several rounds, Manion was struck and killed.

Manion's heroism didn't surprise Poudrier. Early in their work together, the major noticed prized illumination grenades attached to the lieutenant's assault rifle.

"I said, 'I could use a few of those,'" Poudrier recalled. "He said, 'Go ahead sir, take mine.' Right off the bat he was very selfless, and that first impression set the tone."

In the months before his death, Manion constantly faced danger. This was largely due to his leading by example, says Poudrier. "A couple of times Travis had some really close calls as the target of attacks, when he had to dive across the road to get out of the way," the major told IBD. "I told him not to get too gung-ho, don't get yourself shot. But he put himself in harm's way first. That was just how he operated."

In an e-mail home shortly before his death, Manion remained hopeful despite facing great hardships.

"As in anything in life," he wrote, "true success does not come from battles easily won."

Manion's courage can be traced to his proud upbringing as the son of Marine Col. Tom Manion.

Travis was born on Nov. 19, 1980, in Camp Lejeune, N.C. As a military brat, Travis donned camouflage clothes. The family moved around a lot until settling in Doylestown, Pa., when he was 10. In 1988, his dad traded regular service for the Marine Reserve and started a career at Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - News).

Travis liked saying, "Don't send a boy to do a Manion's job."

He sure pulled his Manion weight in high school, where he lettered in three sports and carried a 3.7 grade-point average. That punched his ticket to the U.S. Naval Academy.

In his spare time at Annapolis, Manion taught himself to play guitar. His love of diverse musical styles grew until his iPod was crammed with 3,500 songs. They included everything from hard rock to hip-hop and pop music.

After college, Manion went to Quantico, Va., for training, which ended in March 2005. He quickly asked to be stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., the jumping-off point 15r Marines aiming for Iraq.

Many friends and relatives implored him to reconsider his choice, but Manion was committed to the cause, says his sister Ryan Borek.

"He was always differentiated by that drive and dedication from a young age," she said.

Shortly before leaving for Iraq, Travis attended a Philadelphia Eagles football game with Ryan's husband, David Borek.

On their way out of the stadium, Borek joked that he should throw Manion down the stairs so he could break his foot and avoid the Iraq War. Manion turned serious, asking his brother-in-law, "If not me, then who?" That offhand question became his motto.

On his first tour of duty in Iraq from September 2005 to March 2006, Manion mainly stayed in the protection of a military base.

His second hitch, starting right after Christmas '06, was more perilous, with regular combat patrols, says his mother, Janet Manion.

"On that second tour, a lot went wrong," she said. "He was very modest, so he didn't like to discuss it with us, but toward the end he would talk to his dad about getting into more dangerous situations."

On one foray in March 2007, a bomb hammered Manion's vehicle. Dazed from the attack, he checked for other explosive devices and caught the attacker.

Manion was in the thick of firefights the following weeks. His squad swept in with a response when a suicide car bomb hit a Marine barracks in Fallujah on March 28, 2007, recalls Eric Greitens, a Navy SEAL reservist who worked with Manion in Iraq.

Now Greitens runs a nonprofit, MissionContinues.org, that helps disabled veterans work with charities and civic groups. The Mission Continues effort is partly funded by the Travis Manion Foundation.

Manion's family launched the foundation to channel its pride and grief. Through TravisManion.com, it supports families of fallen soldiers and helps wounded vets adjust to civilian life.

The Iraqi soldiers who served under Manion were so inspired by his leadership and sacrifice, they named a post north of Fallujah after him: Combat Outpost Manion.

"What made Travis so special was he not only had the respect of his own Marines, but he also earned the trust and respect of the Iraqi soldiers he was working with," said Greitens. "Travis really did an extraordinary job every single day."

His Stand

Through it all, Manion maintained an unwavering loyalty to the cause of Iraqi independence and self-rule, says mother Janet. She backed that commitment while worrying about his safety.

"As a family, we all knew Travis had a passion for his mission and he believed in the Iraqi people and their freedom," she said. "He felt he had a job to do, and he was going to do it."

Manion's family got deserved satisfaction on June 30 when U.S. forces handed control of Iraq's urban areas to the country's army, signaling a formal drawdown of the American military presence there -- the main goal for Travis all along.

"We felt much pride in what Travis did and pride for all those men and women whose efforts are a real testament to freedom for the Iraqi people," Janet Manion said.

Ellie