Information Suggests 3/25 Marines May Have Been Betrayed

[thedrifter]

Information Suggests 3/25 Marines May Have Been Betrayed



CLEVELAND -- Reports surfacing about the death of 20 Brook Park Marine reservists indicate that the Marines may have been betrayed.

The truth can be found in a classified report containing a completed investigation of the fatal events last August, reported NewsChannel5's Adam Shapiro.

Shapiro spent two weeks conducting numerous conversations with families of the Marines who were killed, as well as ranking officers from the 3rd Battalion 25th Marines.

The families of those who died are being told that on Aug. 1, six Marine snipers from the 3/25 were killed, and it appears they were set up and ambushed.

Two days later, 14 Marines from the 3/25 were sent to arrest the insurgents who killed the snipers, but their vehicle was blown up, killing all of them.

It now appears that they also may have been set up.

Statements from the Marines indicate as much, and a father of one of the slain Marines says that's the story he's being told by Marines who were there.

Paul Schroeder will never forget that awful first week in August when his 23-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Augie Schroeder, died.

Paul Schroeder said his son's fellow 3/25 Marines told him something that the military never told him, how Augie was killed Aug. 3 while trying to capture the Iraqi insurgents who had killed the snipers.

"They were set up. Someone knew where they would be, how they would be, and they went after them," said Paul Schroeder.

The six Marine snipers were killed in a firefight just outside of Hadithah. The Marines said they were on an intelligence-gathering mission, but family of the fallen and Schroeder say insurgents may have infiltrated Iraqi security and betrayed the Marines.

"What we have heard from Marines is that the six snipers who were killed on Aug. 1 were set up," said Schroeder.

NewsChannel5 spoke with Maj. Shenandoah Sanchez, who investigated the events.

"All details pertaining to the incident are still classified," he said.

But Lt. Col. Mike Brown, also with the 3/25, said the investigation, "was about how the people responsible were ultimately found."

Brown declined to say who they were and if they were captured.

But Schroeder said it was the mission of his son and 13 other Marines to capture the insurgents who killed the snipers.

The amphibious assault vehicle carrying Augie Schroeder was blown up and all 14 Marines on board were killed.

Paul Schroeder said his son and the others were also betrayed by Iraqi forces who were supposed to be working with the Marines.

"The two incidents of Aug. 1 and Aug. 3 are tied together, all in an effort to get insurgents who were either part of the Iraqi security forces or who were told by Iraqi security forces where they had their opportunities," said Schroeder.

The Marines will not discuss any of this, but Brown told NewsChannel5, "The fact these men were compromised is a part of the investigation."

Schroeder said, "The Marines I have talked to, which are many, believe the story of what really goes on in Iraq needs to be told in its entirety."

The Marines at the 3/25 have requested that the investigation report be declassified and released.

This could take weeks or possible several months. When it happens, the families of the fallen Marines will be the first to learn what it says, and then the report will be released to the public.

[thedrifter]

Marines Answer Questions About Brook Park Marines' Deaths
Wed Jan 4, 9:26 PM ET
Cleveland - NewsNet5

After a NewsChannel5 report surrounding the deaths of 20 Brook Park-based Marines, Marine brass is now addressing what exactly happened in the Iraqi desert last August.

Several families in northeast Ohio have waited for five months for answers from the Marines explaining how their sons died, and now the Marines are talking, reported NewsChannel5's Adam Shapiro. Lt. Col. Mike Brown from Brook Park's 3rd Battalion 25th Marines spoke to NewsChannel5 on Wednesday, and wants to tell the parents of the fallen Marines that some of what they've been told by other returning Marines is inaccurate.

"All those details will come out as a result of the investigation, which is currently being declassified," said Brown.

The investigation is a classified report completed Sept. 1. It examines what went wrong on Aug. 1, the day six Marine snipers were killed.

Some of their families have been told by returning Marines that the snipers were set up and ambushed by insurgents who infiltrated Iraqi forces working with the Marines, but Brown denies there is any proof of this.

"There is no proof whatsoever that those Marines were turned in by any Iraqis working in part with the coalition," said Brown.

Two days after the snipers were killed, 14 other Marines were killed when their amphibious assault vehicle was blown up by insurgents.

Paul Schroeder, the father of one of the Marines killed, says Marines have told him his son and the others were on a mission to capture the insurgents who killed the six snipers.

When asked why the Marines are telling the families that the two incidents are connected, Brown said, "That connection is, they based it on the loss of the snipers. They wanted to know that what they were going to do on (Aug. 3) was directly responsible in going against the people who hurt their Marines on (Aug. 1)."

Brown said the Aug. 3 incident was never investigated by the Marines because it was ruled part of a combat mission.

But the Aug. 1 incident was investigated thoroughly, an investigation Brown says was about how the people responsible for killing the snipers were ultimately found.

"Having not read the investigation, having not seen the investigation, who am I to judge if they were found or not. I don't know," said Browns.

The Marines are working on declassifying the report of the Aug. 1 investigation, and say they will share it with the families of the fallen as soon as they can.

Ellie