thedrifter
03-29-03, 10:17 AM
Mar 29, 10:31 AM EST
Pilots Fly Supplies Through Iraqi Gunfire
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS
Associated Press Writer
OVER NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AP) -- Skimming the treetops, two CH-46E assault helicopters clattered toward Marines pinned down by Iraqi forces on the northern side of Nasiriyah, even as missile bursts lit up the sky.
Fires dotted the south-central Iraqi city Thursday night, scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war in Iraq. A burning power plant sent clouds of black smoke billowing overhead.
Balls of white flame burst on the horizon, giving way to plumes of smoke as Cobra attack helicopters bringing in ammunition and other supplies blasted in and around the city of about 500,000 on the Euphrates River.
Mortars and tank rounds rumbled in the distance, shaking the ground up to 11 miles away.
Peering intently from the windows of one helicopter, S.Sgt. Marcus Gormillion, 29, from Columbus, Ga., and Sgt. Nick Savena, 26, of Pittsburgh, trained .50-caliber machine guns at any sign of life - men standing outside a house, families walking along a canal, a taxi driving down the highway.
Many came running out of their houses to wave at the helicopters as they skirted the eastern edge of the city where farmers worked in green pastures, shepherds tended flocks of sheep and women in enveloping black robes gathered children around them.
Small white flags fluttered over some of the few vehicles on the roads, although they gave little comfort to members of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Time and again, pilots and crews said, groups of young men have leaped out of the trucks and homes to fire rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at passing aircraft.
Even more deadly were the installations of radar-guided, anti-aircraft artillery positioned in the smoldering city.
Marines have set up tank positions in muddy clearings on the outskirts, amid blown-out buildings and piles of debris. They trade fire with Iraqi forces scattered around the area, some in uniform and others in civilian clothes.
Keeping low to the ground to avoid being spotted, the helicopters approached a spot north of the city ringed by U.S. armored vehicles.
Three times they were forced back, twice because ground forces were taking fire and once because they lost communications with the site. On the fourth try they were able to land.
Kicking pallets of ammunition out the back of the aircraft, they took on two Iraqi civilians. A woman arrived on a stretcher, her head wrapped in bandages and a terrified-looking man in a white robe accompanied her to a nearby medical facility run by U.S. forces.
As the helicopter lifted off there was a final burst of white flame - one more volley from the Cobras.
Sempers,
Roger
Pilots Fly Supplies Through Iraqi Gunfire
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS
Associated Press Writer
OVER NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AP) -- Skimming the treetops, two CH-46E assault helicopters clattered toward Marines pinned down by Iraqi forces on the northern side of Nasiriyah, even as missile bursts lit up the sky.
Fires dotted the south-central Iraqi city Thursday night, scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war in Iraq. A burning power plant sent clouds of black smoke billowing overhead.
Balls of white flame burst on the horizon, giving way to plumes of smoke as Cobra attack helicopters bringing in ammunition and other supplies blasted in and around the city of about 500,000 on the Euphrates River.
Mortars and tank rounds rumbled in the distance, shaking the ground up to 11 miles away.
Peering intently from the windows of one helicopter, S.Sgt. Marcus Gormillion, 29, from Columbus, Ga., and Sgt. Nick Savena, 26, of Pittsburgh, trained .50-caliber machine guns at any sign of life - men standing outside a house, families walking along a canal, a taxi driving down the highway.
Many came running out of their houses to wave at the helicopters as they skirted the eastern edge of the city where farmers worked in green pastures, shepherds tended flocks of sheep and women in enveloping black robes gathered children around them.
Small white flags fluttered over some of the few vehicles on the roads, although they gave little comfort to members of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Time and again, pilots and crews said, groups of young men have leaped out of the trucks and homes to fire rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at passing aircraft.
Even more deadly were the installations of radar-guided, anti-aircraft artillery positioned in the smoldering city.
Marines have set up tank positions in muddy clearings on the outskirts, amid blown-out buildings and piles of debris. They trade fire with Iraqi forces scattered around the area, some in uniform and others in civilian clothes.
Keeping low to the ground to avoid being spotted, the helicopters approached a spot north of the city ringed by U.S. armored vehicles.
Three times they were forced back, twice because ground forces were taking fire and once because they lost communications with the site. On the fourth try they were able to land.
Kicking pallets of ammunition out the back of the aircraft, they took on two Iraqi civilians. A woman arrived on a stretcher, her head wrapped in bandages and a terrified-looking man in a white robe accompanied her to a nearby medical facility run by U.S. forces.
As the helicopter lifted off there was a final burst of white flame - one more volley from the Cobras.
Sempers,
Roger