Phantom Blooper
01-04-05, 05:12 PM
Family and Friends,
This morning at 0700, a Memorial Service for Lance Corporal Brian P. Parello, Small Craft Company, 2nd Marine Division, was held, appropriately enough, on the shores of Lake Habbaniyah aboard Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq. Lance Corporal Parello was killed in Al Anbar Province, Iraq on New Year’s Day, 2005 while in combat against enemy forces. He was remembered by his friends and Marine family today.
When I arrived at the service a little early, I was humbled by Maj Dan Wittnam when he asked me to speak at the service. At 0700, the Company “fell in” in front of a pair of combat boots sitting next to an overturned rifle held in the ground by its bayonet, and adorned with dog tags. Chaplain Will Hood read a scripture to begin the service, then LCpl Chunn led a responsive reading of Psalm 23, and then Maj Wittnam (he was promoted to Major on Sunday) marched to the front of the formation and made remarks about LCpl Parello, and what it was like to lead him and Marines like him. His words were right on target. He talked of Brian’s love of being from New Jersey (a fact I can verify), and of his love for the fellow Marines in the company. He then read from Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Then Dan called me forward. I spoke of only knowing LCpl Parello for a little while, as I did the rest of the company, but of knowing a couple of things about him from spending time on his boat during the Battle of Fallujah. The first was that he loved being a US Marine, and second that he loved being in Small Craft Company. His love had reminded me last night, as I thought about the service, of my favorite Bible verse (I had brought my Bible to the service), and I then read of the love of a friend: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15-13
I was followed by a tribute from several Marines. LCpl Ware wondered how you describe a hero. He thoughtfully laid out what a hero is. He is a warrior who is extraordinary. That certainly was LCpl Parello. LCpl Duffy began by saying that when he’d heard that LCPl Parello had been killed, “he was f***ing ****ed off,” but then he realized what Brian had given his life for, and it was worth it. This country will one day be free, and it will be because of Brian’s sacrifice. (A truer statement couldn’t have been uttered.) MSgt Robert Hogan then began the roll call. He called out the names of LCpl Parello’s boat mates. When he got to LCpl Parello, no one answered. He called his name again. Silence. Then again, louder. No answer. Then again, he called Brian’s name, louder still. With no answer, he turned and reported to Maj Wittnam that LCpl Brian Parello had been killed in combat in Al Anbar Province, Iraq on 1 Jan 05. There was not a dry eye on the beach. The roll call was followed by a 21-gun salute, and the playing of Taps. That’s when I lost it. Every Marine, beginning with Maj Wittnam, then marched up to the rifle and boots and rendered a final salute of honor. Following my rendering of honors to Brian, I took my place in the rear of the formation. That’s when three Small Unit Riverine Craft (SURC – the same kind Brian drove) boats roared by. As the second boat passed the ceremony location, it took a sharp left turn out of the formation, in a missing man salute to the Company’s fallen comrade. Again, I lost it, and openly wept. The ceremony was concluded by Chaplain Hood, who offered the closing prayer (he is an Episcopal Priest, so it was a very familiar prayer to me, having grown up hearing it every Sunday at the end of services).
LCpl Brian P. Parello was born in New Jersey on 7 June 1985, and was killed on 1 January 2005. During the Battle of Fallujah, I spent a great deal of time on his boat. He was the coxswain for the platoon commander, 1stLt Andrew Thomas. During the ambush of 15 November 04, he turned his boat (after it had already been hit 4 times, and with the bow gunner wounded) directly into the teeth of the small arms and RPG fire to drop me off with the air radio, and a gunner with a M240G machine gun, and to pick up the ground combat element who were running dangerously low on ammo. He did it without hesitation at Lt Thomas’s order. He ended up extracting both sticks from the banks of the Euphrates, who had been put ashore from two boats. Once we were all back aboard, he piloted the boat to the aid station to get his wounded bow gunner to medical attention. As I said in a previous e-mail. I served in a company of heroes, and LCpl Brian P. Parello was one of them. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, for his Corps, and for his friends, and that’s the purest form of love. Miller, Maj. Kurt L
"May he rest in peace." Semper Fidelis ":marine:
This morning at 0700, a Memorial Service for Lance Corporal Brian P. Parello, Small Craft Company, 2nd Marine Division, was held, appropriately enough, on the shores of Lake Habbaniyah aboard Taqaddum Air Base, Iraq. Lance Corporal Parello was killed in Al Anbar Province, Iraq on New Year’s Day, 2005 while in combat against enemy forces. He was remembered by his friends and Marine family today.
When I arrived at the service a little early, I was humbled by Maj Dan Wittnam when he asked me to speak at the service. At 0700, the Company “fell in” in front of a pair of combat boots sitting next to an overturned rifle held in the ground by its bayonet, and adorned with dog tags. Chaplain Will Hood read a scripture to begin the service, then LCpl Chunn led a responsive reading of Psalm 23, and then Maj Wittnam (he was promoted to Major on Sunday) marched to the front of the formation and made remarks about LCpl Parello, and what it was like to lead him and Marines like him. His words were right on target. He talked of Brian’s love of being from New Jersey (a fact I can verify), and of his love for the fellow Marines in the company. He then read from Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Then Dan called me forward. I spoke of only knowing LCpl Parello for a little while, as I did the rest of the company, but of knowing a couple of things about him from spending time on his boat during the Battle of Fallujah. The first was that he loved being a US Marine, and second that he loved being in Small Craft Company. His love had reminded me last night, as I thought about the service, of my favorite Bible verse (I had brought my Bible to the service), and I then read of the love of a friend: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15-13
I was followed by a tribute from several Marines. LCpl Ware wondered how you describe a hero. He thoughtfully laid out what a hero is. He is a warrior who is extraordinary. That certainly was LCpl Parello. LCpl Duffy began by saying that when he’d heard that LCPl Parello had been killed, “he was f***ing ****ed off,” but then he realized what Brian had given his life for, and it was worth it. This country will one day be free, and it will be because of Brian’s sacrifice. (A truer statement couldn’t have been uttered.) MSgt Robert Hogan then began the roll call. He called out the names of LCpl Parello’s boat mates. When he got to LCpl Parello, no one answered. He called his name again. Silence. Then again, louder. No answer. Then again, he called Brian’s name, louder still. With no answer, he turned and reported to Maj Wittnam that LCpl Brian Parello had been killed in combat in Al Anbar Province, Iraq on 1 Jan 05. There was not a dry eye on the beach. The roll call was followed by a 21-gun salute, and the playing of Taps. That’s when I lost it. Every Marine, beginning with Maj Wittnam, then marched up to the rifle and boots and rendered a final salute of honor. Following my rendering of honors to Brian, I took my place in the rear of the formation. That’s when three Small Unit Riverine Craft (SURC – the same kind Brian drove) boats roared by. As the second boat passed the ceremony location, it took a sharp left turn out of the formation, in a missing man salute to the Company’s fallen comrade. Again, I lost it, and openly wept. The ceremony was concluded by Chaplain Hood, who offered the closing prayer (he is an Episcopal Priest, so it was a very familiar prayer to me, having grown up hearing it every Sunday at the end of services).
LCpl Brian P. Parello was born in New Jersey on 7 June 1985, and was killed on 1 January 2005. During the Battle of Fallujah, I spent a great deal of time on his boat. He was the coxswain for the platoon commander, 1stLt Andrew Thomas. During the ambush of 15 November 04, he turned his boat (after it had already been hit 4 times, and with the bow gunner wounded) directly into the teeth of the small arms and RPG fire to drop me off with the air radio, and a gunner with a M240G machine gun, and to pick up the ground combat element who were running dangerously low on ammo. He did it without hesitation at Lt Thomas’s order. He ended up extracting both sticks from the banks of the Euphrates, who had been put ashore from two boats. Once we were all back aboard, he piloted the boat to the aid station to get his wounded bow gunner to medical attention. As I said in a previous e-mail. I served in a company of heroes, and LCpl Brian P. Parello was one of them. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, for his Corps, and for his friends, and that’s the purest form of love. Miller, Maj. Kurt L
"May he rest in peace." Semper Fidelis ":marine: