Marine Who Vanished Says He Didn't Desert
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  1. #1

    Cool Marine Who Vanished Says He Didn't Desert

    Marine Who Vanished Says He Didn't Desert

    By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer

    QUANTICO, Va. - Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, the Marine who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while on duty in Iraq (news - web sites), insisted on Monday that he was captured by enemy forces and that he is still a loyal Marine.


    "I did not desert my post," he told reporters outside Quantico Marine Corps Base. "I was captured and held against my will by anti-coalition forces for 19 days. This was a very difficult and challenging time for me."


    He did not answer any questions during his brief appearance. He was joined by his brother, who arrived from Utah.


    "I would like to tell all the Marines as well as all those others serving in Iraq to keep their heads up and spirits high. Once a Marine, always a Marine, Semper Fi," Hassoun said, invoking the Marine Corps motto, Latin for "always faithful."


    Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Lapan said the Marine Corps was not in a position to confirm or refute Hassoun's claim.


    Hassoun, 24, of West Jordan, Utah, disappeared June 20 from his base near the troubled Iraqi city of Fallujah and turned up unharmed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut on July 8. It remains unclear how he traveled from Iraq to Lebanon, where he was born and still has some relatives.


    On June 27, Arab television showed a videotape of a blindfolded Hassoun, a sword hanging over his head. At one point during his disappearance, a group claiming to represent his captors announced that he had been beheaded after being lured from the base by a love affair.


    The military is investigating whether the reported kidnapping was a hoax and whether the Muslim Hassoun deserted his unit.


    Hassoun is in the midst of what the Marines call a "repatriation process" in which he is debriefed and given time to decompress and avoid the media spotlight, officials said.


    Hassoun arrived at Quantico on Friday after six days of medical evaluation at a military hospital in Germany. In the coming days, he will leave Quantico for Camp Lejeune, N.C., his home base, Lapan said. He will continue the repatriation process there, Lapan said.


    The Naval Criminal Investigation Service is not expected to question Hassoun until his repatriation procedure is completed, the Marine Corps said.


    Lapan said the Marine Corps reviewed Hassoun's statement and made no changes.


    Marine officials said it may be weeks or months before Hassoun returns to active duty.

    http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...us/marine_iraq


    Ellie


  2. #2
    The jury is still out as far as I'm concerned.
    It's still way too fishy.


  3. #3
    hmmmm. just seems odd that he was released. have any other prisoners been released bvy the enemy?


    guess we'll just have to wait and see.


  4. #4
    Originally posted by HardJedi
    hmmmm. just seems odd that he was released. have any other prisoners been released bvy the enemy?


    guess we'll just have to wait and see.
    Alive ????

    With all body parts intact ????

    500 miles away in Lebanon ????

    Close to family ????


  5. #5

    This tells you a lot

    "Marine officials said it may be weeks or months before Hassoun returns to active duty. "

    He cleaned out his locker, before he disappeared. He left behind a cell phone with phone numbers of his relatives in Lebanon.

    He certainly was very nervous during the news interview.


  6. #6
    Arlene Horton
    Guest Free Member

    Question

    Veerryy interesting. He even said"Semper Fi". Hmmm


  7. #7
    well, didn't think he was gonna say : PRAISE ALLAH! LONG LIVE THE FIGHTERS OF THE JIHAD!" did ya? LOL


  8. #8
    Don't believe a word of this...we will know soon I'm sure.


  9. #9
    he has an active duty ID and can gain access to any military facility stateside,..who does he really have loyalty to, that is my biggest concern


  10. #10
    Issue Date: July 26, 2004

    News Breaks


    Former prisoner to be repatriated
    Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, who disappeared in Iraq June 20 and turned up in Lebanon three weeks later, will remain at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., until he is deemed fit to return to duty, a spokesman said.

    Hassoun arrived at Quantico on July 15 after six days of evaluation at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany.

    “He’s been very cooperative, very helpful and has provided a lot of information,” said Lt. Col. David Lapan, a spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Hassoun is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines.

    Lapan said Hassoun will undergo a “repatriation” process at Quantico — which could take weeks or months — until the support team monitoring his recovery decides he is ready to go back to work.

    Lapan offered no details about what Hassoun has said about how he got from Iraq to Lebanon.

    The Corps initially labeled Hassoun’s disappearance an “unauthorized absence,” but later changed his status to captured. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the disappearance, including the possibility that it was a hoax. Hassoun has not been accused of any offense, Lapan said.

    Hassoun was not made available at Quantico for questions from reporters. Lapan said Hassoun has been provided an escort at Quantico to help shield him from too much attention.



    http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/stor...ER-3087857.php


    Ellie


  11. #11
    Looks like a duck ... smells like a duck... For the sake of the Corps I hope it's a chicken. But unfortunately the simplest answer is usually the correct one. I hope I'm wrong but there are a lot of questions on this.
    Quack!

    Bugs me that he threw the motto out there for backing. Like I said , hope I'm wrong.


  12. #12
    U.S. Marine who disappeared in Iraq returns to North Carolina base

    By: Associated Press

    CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- The U.S. Marine who was once feared beheaded by Iraqi insurgents arrived at a base in North Carolina Tuesday to continue speaking with military officials about his disappearance from his unit.

    Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun was transferred to Camp Lejeune to continue what the Marines call a "repatriation process" in which he is being debriefed and given time to avoid the media spotlight, officials said.

    He arrived at the base Tuesday afternoon and was greeted by Marines from his unit, the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism), according to a statement released by base officials. Officials said Hassoun would not be made available for interviews for the time being.


    Hassoun has been under a cloud of suspicion since failing to report for duty June 20. Videotaped images later surfaced showing him apparently kidnapped; he emerged unharmed in Lebanon on July 8 and was brought back to the United States last week.

    On Monday, he denied he was ever a deserter, insisting that "Once a Marine, always a Marine."

    Hassoun, 24, of West Jordan, Utah, disappeared from his base near the troubled Iraqi city of Fallujah and later turned up at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. It remains unclear how he traveled from Iraq to Lebanon, where he was born and still has relatives.

    Marine officials said it may be weeks or months before Hassoun returns to active duty.

    The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is not expected to question Hassoun until his repatriation is complete, the Marine Corps said. The Marines are a separate service within the Department of the Navy.

    http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004..._527_20_04.txt


    Ellie


  13. #13
    Registered User Free Member hack4398's Avatar
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    I hope, for his sake, that he is telling the truth. If he is lying and we find out about it...there ain't a prison in America that can protect him.


  14. #14
    "Marine Who Vanished in Iraq Heading Home"

    =====================================

    Some of you know the type of activities I supervise at the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) or the Joint Service SERE Agency (JSSA) for you more senior gentleman. My staff and I have been directly involved in the repatriation and debriefing of Cpl Hausson. Obviously, I can not discuss the intimate details of his plight. I can share with the MILINET Community that this Marine's story is legit. He was abducted from his place of duty, interrogated, abused, threaten with death, yet upheld the traditional of the Marine Corps, protected his comrades, and abided by the articles of the Code of Conduct.

    It's possible some of you have fallen victim to some official and unofficial mis-statement about Cpl Hassoun. We call the "CNN effect". In the coming days, weeks, or months you will find the media and people who just basically made up **** are wrong. The Marine Corps got one of its own back from the jaws of certain death. He should be welcomed back as a returning warrior, better yet as a Marine who has seen more than his share of hell.

    Semper Fidelis, words that Cpl Hassoun clung to in his darkest hours.

    Jim Perna Deputy Director for Intelligence Operations MSgt, USMC (Ret.)


    Ellie


  15. #15
    Come on jarheads if he cleaned out his locker and left nothing but a dang cell phone DUH it sure sounds like he deserted I really dont think his captors let him go back and get his cloths. bull hockey he had every intentions in my book to desert the corp and leave his brothers and sisters.


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