The "Pendleton '8' K/3/5 - Hamdaniya" The Death of the Marine Corps?

[Ignition]

Well i hope that the CMC will step in and put a stop to this.

Semper Fi

the problem is that it looks that the CMC and SgtMaj of Marine Corps have hung these Marines out to dry.

and thats what p!sses me off to no farking end.

no statements of innocent till proven guilty or any of that. and its wrong

[redneck13]

I was in hopes and I'm with you, that our New Commandant would've come to their aid. And it really makes me angry that they appear to be just lookin' the other way, and whatever happens, happens. I think this is entirely not the Spirit of the Corps. Of course also, they may be in the shadow's due to the "figgin" Politic's. I also feel that their lawyer's will, when they are formally, or if, as there was some word that a second look was being done, charged, they'll present evidence that the mainstream media isn't using, that will prove them "innocent." SF.

the problem is that it looks that the CMC and SgtMaj of Marine Corps have hung these Marines out to dry.

and thats what p!sses me off to no farking end.

no statements of innocent till proven guilty or any of that. and its wrong

[thedrifter]

Marine from Meriden fights Iraq allegations
Monday, August 14, 2006

BY ANDREW LARSON

Copyright © 2006 Republican-American

MERIDEN -- The Marine who led the squad accused of killing 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq told his parents that, in the fog of war, distinguishing between civilians and insurgents can be impossible.

"He says to us, 'You have no idea what it's like, you have no idea who's a good guy and who's a bad guy,'" said David Wuterich, his father.

Frank Wuterich, who grew up in Meriden, last talked to his parents Aug. 3 and said he is trying to cope with stress as he waits for military investigators to determine whether he faces charges for committing war crimes. In the meantime, he has been propelled into the international spotlight as the Haditha tragedy fuels anti-war sentiment.

"He says he's OK," David Wuterich said, standing outside his home, a blue single-story ranch with red shutters. "He has his days, but I think he has a lot of confidence in his lawyer and that what (his squad) did was right."

As the leader of 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Frank Wuterich, 26, is at the center of two military investigations. One is looking into possible charges of murder against members of the squad. A separate probe is looking at whether the Marines tried to cover up the matter.



The investigations stem from the day of Nov. 19, 2005, when the squad's four Humvees were struck by a roadside bomb, killing one Marine. During the next few hours, the squad members are accused of killing five people in a taxi and sweeping through four houses, killing 19 others. Among the dead, only one was armed and five were women and children, Time Magazine was the first to report in March.

The crucial question is, were the rules of engagement followed? Critics are accusing the Marines of deliberately killing civilians, cracking under the emotional trauma of losing one of their own. Others say that the Marines, who were under attack, were justified in killing people they suspected to be dangerous.

Frank Wuterich, a staff sergeant, returned to the United States on April 1 and will remain at Camp Pendleton in California until the investigations are finished.

Meanwhile, he has filed a lawsuit against Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., for libel and invasion of privacy. Murtha, an outspoken advocate for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, has publicly accused Frank Wuterich and his unit of "killing innocent civilians in cold blood." In the federal lawsuit filed on Aug. 2, Frank Wuterich blames Murtha for tarnishing his reputation.

"At no time did the Marines ignore pleas or cries from civilians to spare them," the lawsuit states. "Any accusation that the Marines executed civilians or deliberately targeted noncombatants is either a horrendous misunderstanding or an intentional lie." It also says that Frank Wuterich "never tried to hide what took place."

The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages, but it is more about clearing Frank Wuterich's name than money, his attorney told The Washington Post.

People who knew Frank Wuterich don't believe he is capable of committing war crimes and blame the media for casting him in a negative light.

"I feel very bad with all this going on," said Betty Fisette, who lives in the west Meriden neighborhood where Frank Wuterich grew up. "I don't believe half of what I hear."

"I think there needs to be tolerance to wait until all the facts are known before people start creating a public image," said Jack Hogan, a neighbor who served in the Coast Guard.

It's hard to find any symptoms of a troubled youth in Frank Wuterich.

"He was always polite," Fisette said. "I never heard anything bad about him. He never swore."

As a senior at Orville H. Platt High School, he played the lead role in the school's production of the Thornton Wilder play "Our Town." The honor student played trumpet in the school band and, on the side, taught himself to play the keyboard and guitar. He was a member of nine clubs, including Students Against Destructive Decisions, which encouraged students to avoid drugs and alcohol. In his senior year, he was president of the drama club.

In school and in sports, Frank Wuterich was motivated and disciplined. He was in the high school's gifted and talented program and was "always carrying a musical instrument and books," said Patricia Frank, who lives next to the Wuterichs in Meriden.

He competed in high school soccer, tennis and wrestling. In soccer, one of his coaches recalls that, even if he wasn't the most outgoing player, his tenacity made him a leader.

"Frank was a quiet leader, he didn't always say much, but he worked hard and led by example," said Mark Benigni, Meriden's mayor and a former soccer coach.



He was one of the most talented players on the team, Benigni said, and one of the easiest to coach.

"If you said, 'All right, it's time to get on the line and run sprints,' you'd know Frank would be one of the first on the line," Benigni said.

Although Frank Wuterich, with his shaved head and muscular build, looked like a typical military recruit, his interests spanned beyond carrying a gun. In his senior year of high school, he applied to join the Marine Corps band.

He was rejected, but decided to enlist in the Marines because "he believed in what they stood for," David Wuterich said.

"Some of the kids are gung-ho and that's all they think about," his father said. "He wasn't that type of kid."

After graduating from high school, Frank Wuterich served tours in Hawaii, Fiji and Korea. When he returned to the United States, he taught advanced infantry at Camp Pendleton in California. In September 2005, he was deployed to Iraq for a six-month stay. In June, his eight-year commitment to the Marines would have been complete. He planned to pursue a career as a music producer.

Ellie

[GunnyL]

I am going to personally write both of my Senators and Congressman. The treatment these Marines have received makes a person seriously question whether it's a good decision to join the Corps anymore. I have two boys who aspire to be Marines but if this case goes the way it appears headed and these Devil Dogs are convicted, I will advise them both to seek other avenues because a Corps that treats its Marines this way is no place for my kids. Seems all of our Zero's from the Commandant down who are being churned out of these Liberal Indoctrination Institutions otherwise referred to as Colleges and Universities are destroying the basic infrastructure of the Corps that we all love so much.
My kudos to the reporter who wrote the original post in this thread.
I urge all members of Leatherneck to write your Senators and Congressmen/Women and voice your opinion on this case.

[iamcloudlander]

I wrote a reply earlier to this travesty being perpetrated against the Pendelton 8. These young men were sent into a situation very familiar to me as a Viet Nam vet. We also did not know the friendlies from the foes,and in the stress of combat everyone can and will make mistakes. I made the statement that by the time a Marine officer makes general he is no longer a Marine but a puesdo politician.
These general officers will not do anything that will cost them their cushy jobs same with the any elected official.
The powers to be needed a scape goat to show the world that we will send our own people to the gallows to retain our standing in the world so we can say that while we are forcing our ways of thinking in regards to government,religion, justice for all applies only to them not to United States citizens. Any person that could possibly help these men have retracted their b*lls and hid so as not to be hit with any reprecusions or fallout from this "hideous crime" against poor innocent people. I would like to see how they would react if they were made to go into a situation as these men were thrust and see what kind of decisions they would make.
GunnyL said it very eloquently-- as to why would anyone in their right mind after seeing how the Corps are treating these men and abandoning them-- would want to have their sons and daughters become a Marine or be in any other branch of the military and have to fight for another country then due to mitigating circumstances become another chapter in this countries book of atrocities blamed on them.
I realize that I sound bitter and I am as I have to listen to the politicians and even worse the Hollywood dissenters to tell how bad the military and the role in Iraq are. Most of them do nothing but talk never been in the military or much less combat. Don't expect any of these people to extend a hand of help.

[thedrifter]

Accused Hamdania Marine wants to head straight to trial

BY TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

CAMP PENDLETON ---- Calling it a "meaningless exercise," an attorney for one of the eight Camp Pendleton men accused of kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man has filed paperwork to take his client's case straight to court-martial, telling the government this morning that he wants skip the pretrial hearing that would determine if a court-martial would even be necessary.

Attorneys for Pfc. John Jodka III today told Marine Corps officials that Jodka wants to waive the pretrial hearing known as an Article 32 and head straight to trial.

San Diego-based attorney Joseph Casas said he is waiving the hearing because it is "a meaningless exercise because military prosecutors have refused to grant his attorneys access to important evidence that supports his claim of innocence."

"We have no choice," Casas said Wednesday morning. "The government has put us in a position where we have to go to trial."

A Marine Corps spokesman confirmed that authorities had received the paperwork.

"The request has been received, but no decision has been made," said Lt. Col. Sean Gibson.

Casas said that if authorities do no resist Jodka's request, the case could go to trial by late October.

Pointing to frustrations with what he said have been repeated denials by the government to turn over evidence, Casas said he and co-counsel Jane Siegel had been considering the move for weeks. He also said his client is on board with the decision. The two attorneys were hired by Jodka's family and are defending him along with an attorney appointed by the Marine Corps.

"Jodka is excited to go to trial," Casas said. "He's been confined for 77 days now. He wants to begin the process of exonerating him."

Casas said the prosecution has repeatedly refused requests for intelligence reports on the slain man, Hashim Ibrahim Awad.

"They've deemed so much information irrelevant, unilaterally irrelevant," Casas said.

The eight men ---- seven Marines and one Navy corpsman ---- are charged with kidnapping and killing Awad in the Iraqi village of Hamdania on April 26. According to the charges, the men are alleged to have taken Awad, 52, from his home. They are said to have then bound his hands and feet, placed him into a hole and shot him repeatedly, then staged the scene to make it appear he was an insurgent planting a roadside bomb.

In addition to Jodka, 20, an Encinitas native, the accused are Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, Cpl. Trent D. Thomas, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, Hospitalman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos, Lance Cpls. Tyler A. Jackson, Robert B. Pennington, and Jerry Shumate Jr.

The men, all members of Kilo Company, within the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, are awaiting hearings to determine if the charges against them will move forward.

The case is separate from another incident involving a different group of Camp Pendleton Marines being investigated for the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, last November. That case remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

On Monday, Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis assumed command of the I Marine Expeditionary Force and will be the convening authority under the military justice system for the Hamdania case. The six other Marines and Navy corpsman charged in that case and housed in the base brig and have Article 32 hearings scheduled for September and October.

Those hearings are the equivalent of a civilian court pre-trial hearing to determine if criminal charges lodged against a defendant should move forward to trial.

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.

Ellie

[redneck13]

mad: This stinks to high heaven. The prosecution has no right to determine what goes to or not of evidence. They cannot claim irrelevant, as that is up to the Courts-Martial Judge, and if I were his defense lawyer I would ask for another Art 32, Evidentuary hearing. If I were his attorney's I'd file a motion of prosecutorial mis-conduct, and take it to the Supreme JAG official, as this isn't right. I do know a little about Military Law, since I worked in it. CID. The Naval Criminal Invest. Serv. NCIS, sucks. They couldn't investigate a hangnail. Just my experience talking, as, I had to deal with these bozo's, and believe me, they are a different bunch. I don't know why CID wasn't involved. They would've cleared this mess up a hell of a lot quicker. And I think based on what I've read, they the Prosecution is pulling at strings. If they won't give any and all evidence, which is required, they are afraid of making themselves look bad. And I think, feel, that this Marine is being set up. As do I think the 8 are also. Somebody is CYA'ing up the ying yang. They have left this Marine out to dry. Ellie? I tried to send an e-mail to the reporter, it's either incorrect, or my server doesn't recognize it. Thanks for the Update. Wind./COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

[Bige1371]

Kinda off subject but glad to see you didn't take too much time off Wind.

[Zulu 36]

mad: This stinks to high heaven. The prosecution has no right to determine what goes to or not of evidence. *Snipped* ]

I agree Bro. Wind. The prosecution can claim anything it wants, but the judge decides.

The more the prosecution drags their feet on discovery the more I'm convinced they have a crap case involving a "victim" more than deserving of being legitimately killed.

This whole things smells like rotten fish and that is the cop talking, not the Marine.

[6yrforMar]

It seems to me the way the Marine Corps. is behaving with these marines is they have no rights what so ever,I think they are being railroaded for the sake of the Far left military {kangaroo court} justice system.Where are all these civil rights & ACLU groups when we need them.

[powermig]

I finished reading Fontman's inspirational and very accurate messages.

Prior to the events leading up to and during the coverage of the Pendleton 8, I permitted others to do the grunt work. No longer.

I am one of the few people who shows up at the Pendleton 8 Rallies, held at Camp Pendleton very Saturday. We desperately need your support. Go to www.pendleton8.com. The word is given.

NO! We are not asking for money. There is strength in numbers. PARTICIPATE!

Miguel Hidalgo
Former Corpman, Proudly attached to USMC-Reserves
Always and forever!

[thedrifter]

8 Marines to have Article 32 hearing

By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer

The Marine Corps has denied four Marines accused of killing an Iraqi civilian the option of going straight to trial, a decision that defense lawyers claimed was a sign that prosecutors don't have a solid case.

The four are among seven Marines and a sailor accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian in the town of Hamdania last spring. All are in the brig at Camp Pendleton and could face the death penalty.

The men had been scheduled for Article 32 hearings, where a commanding officer determines if there is probable cause to bring a defendant to trial. But last week they asked to waive their right to the hearings and proceed straight to trial.

Their attorneys argued the Article 32 hearings would be a "rubber stamp" and a waste of time and money because all charges would eventually be referred to courts-martial anyway.

But the Marine Corps said late Tuesday the accused must go to preliminary hearings. Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson said the move was made "to make a fair and impartial decision on the disposition of these cases."

Some of the attorneys for the men were surprised with the decision.

"They are trying to buy themselves more time to finish an investigation which was incomplete to begin with," said Joseph Casas, who represents Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate.

Attorney Victor Kelly, who represents Cpl. Trent Thomas, called the decision "profoundly unusual." The two other Marines that hoped to waive their hearings were Pfc. John Jodka III and Cpl. Marshall Magincalda.

The Marines are among eight service members alleged to have gone into Hamdania, taken a man from his home, tied him up and shot him without provocation April 26.

The Article 32 hearings for the eight men could start as soon as Aug 28.

Ellie

[powermig]

The Drifter,

Thank you for providing me this information. We now have a Special Forces Unit committed to participating in a Rally held every Saturday at Camp Pendleton.

The one point to be made perfectly clear. All the media attention should focused on the Pendleton 8. That is why we are NOT a protest group or a bunch of wackos out there to draw attention to ourselves.

One more point. When we are out there, the Marines and their families know we are there to support them. And, they give us the biggest smiles and grateful looks of appreciation.

I am honored to be there.

Doc Hidalgo

[thedrifter]

Posted on Thu, Aug. 24, 2006

AMERICA IN IRAQ
Transcript backs Marines' report of civilian deaths
AL-HADITHAH RESPONSE CALLED APPROPRIATE
By Josh White
Washington Post

WASHINGTON - A sergeant who examined the scene hours after Marines killed two dozen Iraqis in Al-Hadithah last year said the shootings appeared to be an appropriate response to a coordinated insurgent attack, according to a sworn statement obtained by the Washington Post.

Sgt. J.M. Laughner, part of a Marine human-intelligence exploitation team that was hunting down insurgent bomb makers, went house to house in Al-Hadithah on Nov. 19, 2005, and acknowledged finding two dozen bodies, including some women and young children.

But Laughner said the scenes of the slayings appeared to match the version of events the Marine squad provided that day and did not seem especially out of the ordinary, according to a transcript of Laughner's interview with military investigators in March.

Laughner's account supports the argument made by some Marines in Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines -- that they believed they were following their rules of engagement when they opened fire on groups of people inside at least three homes after a roadside bomb killed a member of their unit. Several Marines are under criminal investigation in connection with the civilian deaths that day, but no one has been charged.

Laughner's statement, although just one viewpoint, is further evidence that Marines who were on the ground that day viewed the civilian deaths as accidental rather than the result of a vengeful rampage.

The transcript was provided to the Post by someone who is sympathetic to the enlisted Marines facing scrutiny for the shootings. Laughner's full name is not used in the interview, and efforts to locate the Marine on Wednesday by telephone were unsuccessful. It is not clear whether Laughner has an attorney.

In a 34-minute interview with two colonels, Laughner described taking pictures of each of the bodies while moving from room to room in three houses, as the Marines described what happened in each circumstance. The Marines told Laughner they had taken fire from the houses and believed they heard people ``racking AK-47s'' -- preparing to fire the automatic weapons.

The Marines then ``cleared'' the rooms using fragmentation grenades and rifle shots. Two other accounts given by lawyers for Marines in the unit are consistent with the version Laughner heard from the Marines involved in the incident Nov. 19.

Laughner also said that 30 Jordanian passports and large amounts of cash were found in a home near the shooting scenes.

One investigator asked Laughner if there was anything about the number of civilian victims or the circumstances of the casualties that gave reason to pause and ``say `jeez.' ''

``Any time you see women and children, sir, I thought that,'' Laughner said. ``But from what the Marines had told me and from what I understood from them, that I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing in their situation. If I hear somebody racking AK rounds, and I don't know how many guys are there, I'm going to protect me and my guys.''

Ellie

[powermig]

Hello everyone.

First I apologize in advance if I am poking in and out of here. My time is tapped. The Drifter, I linked our website to this thread. I hope that is ok.

I was contacted today by the Rick Amato show. Rick Amato has extensive ties to all types of media coverage. For additional information, go to www.pendleton8.com.

Dr. Michael Savage (Savage Nation) and Rick Roberts KFMB, San Diego, have also be extremely supportive of our efforts.

I am extremely grateful to all the emails being received. I thought I was all alone. I want to stress that our group does not suck up to the media. It is not about us. We are not demonstrating or protesting against our Marines. NO! We are not like Sheeham, desperate for attention.

All the media coverage MUST go to the Pendleton 8. They are in serious trouble and it's our goal to set them FREE!

Doc Hidalgo