Marines experience ‘scene out of a bad horror movie’

By Cpl. Ryan C. Heiser, 2nd Marine Division

COMBAT OUTPOST RAWAH, Iraq (June 11, 2007) -- Cpl. Jose J. Prado was just stepping through the gate of his company’s headquarters for a patrol May 24, when the sky lit up and the ground rumbled and shook. Another improvised explosive device had rocked the small city of Rawah, Iraq, overlooking the Euphrates River.

Prado, the company armorer with Company D, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, sprinted after the rest of his patrol as they rushed to get to the site, a few city blocks away.

“When we got there, you could still smell the residue, like sulfur, in the air around the street,” said Prado, a Modesto, Calif., native.

Upon arriving, the patrol immediately saw the small four-door sedan which had run over the IED. It was parked on the right curb, with the front end scattered as far as 50 meters down the road. Blood covered the grisly scene.

“By the time we got to the blast, some locals had already taken the victims to the local hospital,” said Prado, a two-time Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran.

After quickly securing the area, the Marines of the patrol gathered all the people who were nearby for questioning.

“We tactically questioned about a dozen people,” said Sgt. Lawrence W. Hrna, the company’s communications chief. “We found out what each person was doing, why they were in the area, checked IDs, general stuff like that to make sure they weren’t involved.”

Then the ground shook with another explosion, followed by a second and a third, mere minutes later.

“When the artillery mission started, it definitely scared us. I scooted up tighter to the wall until I found out it was just friendly artillery for a nearby city,” Prado said.

Hrna, a Floresville, Texas, native, agreed the timing of the artillery illumination mission was a bit of a shocker, even though he knew it was coming.

“You lose track of time when something like that happens,” he said. “I had to check my watch to see what time it was because I was so surprised.”

The city had been plagued by sand storms all day long, blinding the company’s patrols and limiting sight to a few feet. Once again the wind started to pick up, and the dust started to fly.

“It was like a scene out of a bad horror movie,” Prado said. “Every time you thought it couldn’t be worse, something else would happen and you were forced to think, ‘What next?’”

Then the lights went out.

“I remember thinking, ‘This isn’t fun,’” said Prado. “I just kept watching down my street and making sure the (Iraqi Police) we had with us were alright. They did well considering everything that happened.”

The city’s police were out in full force, questioning locals and patrolling the nearby area.

“The Marines we have, though most of them are in Iraq for the first time, handle everything extremely well. They have very few errors and never lose their cool when stuff happens,” said Hrna, who is currently on his fifth deployment in support of OIF. “The IPs mirror that competence and efficiency. They are actually acting like a police force.”

The two Marines agree the city is a better place now than before they got there. In a recent interview, RCT-2 commander Col H. Stacy Clardy stated that attacks in western Al Anbar province have dropped from an average of 95 a week down to roughly 20 a week since.

“It is a lot safer than it was. We have a good foot in this town and it is only going to get better,” Prado said.

“That explosion was a tragedy, but the locals know we are here to help,” said Hrna. “They see we are on their side, trying to make their city safer, and that’s what counts. They won’t forget that.”

Ellie