"This is for the white in your eyes."
Because of the holidays and the intensity of fighting still through the month of December, a memorial service wasn't held by the regiment until January for the Marines we were losing. We had one in November for those lost through that time. This one in January was for those lost since. I always sat with a few of my close friends at these. My two closest friends, Judy and Joleene, couldn't be there that day, so it was just me.
We only got to honor a few of the Marines that we lost that day. We had a memorial service in November for 12 (I believe) others that we lost prior. The memorial services tore your heart out. Our regimental commander, Col. Jeffrey Patterson, was a truly amazing man. The Corps hadn't hardened him over the years. He was still a person. He stood up there before us each time we had a service, knowing he was talking to widows and fatherless children, spouses of Marines still in danger, and each time he delivered an amazing speech, touching each and every one of us. He once referred to the Marines in 1/3 as "Jedi in green."
When I entered the base theater for this one, I knew I was going alone -- so I was relieved to see Tia. We sat together, held hands as Chaplain Brown led us in prayer, and internally thanked God and every other imaginable deity that our husbands had survived, thus far. To most, this won't make sense, but there were times I wished Casey would get hurt so that he could go to a hospital and be safe. I would wish he'd break a limb, or something that would incapacitate him short term because of my overwhelming fear of losing him. Of course, reflecting on it afterward, it seems so silly and irrational. But in the midst of weeks without talking to him, relying on the news for any information on him and his unit, and watching as Marine after Marine died...the heart has a way of invalidating any semblance of reason the mind may hold.
Tears formed in Col. Patterson's eyes as he recounted his interactions with the families of the Marines memorial was paid to at this service. He choked up and paused several times while talking about LCpl. Downey, amongst others.
Aaron, the Marine in the photo below, was a good friend of Casey and me. One night, when I was feeling especially low, Casey called him to come spend some time with me. This was only a short time of 1/3 left the island. I had no friends or people to keep me company. I spent most of the days on the phone with my family and my best friend, trying to keep my social skills in tact and feel like I wasn't entirely alone. Thank goodness for Aaron.
We had talked on the phone a few times afterward, but I had gained a few friends on the island by that point and wasn't as needy as I was in July. Aaron proved to be a remarkable friend to Casey and me both. I was so relieved to see a tried and true friend at the memorial service that day, someone who knew my husband and knew how much I loved him and knew how hard it was for me to be without him. Aaron knew how scared I was, I think he was scared for them too. Aaron was originally with 1/3. He was fapped to 2/3 before 1/3 deployed. Casey and Aaron were in the same platoon together for a long time. Aaron's brothers were dying and in danger. I never asked, largely in an effort to avoid striking a nerve, but I think it was hard for Aaron to not be with our guys. I think it was even harder for him to attend the memorial services and see our Marines dying, his fellow Marines dying, and not being able to do anything.
I understand I was not and am not in the Corps. I was so young when he left, and when he came back I was an adult. In ten months, I aged five years. The people that I met during my time as a 1/3 spouse, the ones that kept me from myself, will always have a special place in Casey and my lives.
These were the days that reminded us that we were not immune from the tragedy and the level of fighting that was affecting each and every one of our Marines, at anytime that CACO could be on our front step.
And this memorial service was just 13 days before the helicopter crash.
"So this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."
Because of the holidays and the intensity of fighting still through the month of December, a memorial service wasn't held by the regiment until January for the Marines we were losing. We had one in November for those lost through that time. This one in January was for those lost since. I always sat with a few of my close friends at these. My two closest friends, Judy and Joleene, couldn't be there that day, so it was just me.
We only got to honor a few of the Marines that we lost that day. We had a memorial service in November for 12 (I believe) others that we lost prior. The memorial services tore your heart out. Our regimental commander, Col. Jeffrey Patterson, was a truly amazing man. The Corps hadn't hardened him over the years. He was still a person. He stood up there before us each time we had a service, knowing he was talking to widows and fatherless children, spouses of Marines still in danger, and each time he delivered an amazing speech, touching each and every one of us. He once referred to the Marines in 1/3 as "Jedi in green."
When I entered the base theater for this one, I knew I was going alone -- so I was relieved to see Tia. We sat together, held hands as Chaplain Brown led us in prayer, and internally thanked God and every other imaginable deity that our husbands had survived, thus far. To most, this won't make sense, but there were times I wished Casey would get hurt so that he could go to a hospital and be safe. I would wish he'd break a limb, or something that would incapacitate him short term because of my overwhelming fear of losing him. Of course, reflecting on it afterward, it seems so silly and irrational. But in the midst of weeks without talking to him, relying on the news for any information on him and his unit, and watching as Marine after Marine died...the heart has a way of invalidating any semblance of reason the mind may hold.
Tears formed in Col. Patterson's eyes as he recounted his interactions with the families of the Marines memorial was paid to at this service. He choked up and paused several times while talking about LCpl. Downey, amongst others.
Aaron, the Marine in the photo below, was a good friend of Casey and me. One night, when I was feeling especially low, Casey called him to come spend some time with me. This was only a short time of 1/3 left the island. I had no friends or people to keep me company. I spent most of the days on the phone with my family and my best friend, trying to keep my social skills in tact and feel like I wasn't entirely alone. Thank goodness for Aaron.
We had talked on the phone a few times afterward, but I had gained a few friends on the island by that point and wasn't as needy as I was in July. Aaron proved to be a remarkable friend to Casey and me both. I was so relieved to see a tried and true friend at the memorial service that day, someone who knew my husband and knew how much I loved him and knew how hard it was for me to be without him. Aaron knew how scared I was, I think he was scared for them too. Aaron was originally with 1/3. He was fapped to 2/3 before 1/3 deployed. Casey and Aaron were in the same platoon together for a long time. Aaron's brothers were dying and in danger. I never asked, largely in an effort to avoid striking a nerve, but I think it was hard for Aaron to not be with our guys. I think it was even harder for him to attend the memorial services and see our Marines dying, his fellow Marines dying, and not being able to do anything.
I understand I was not and am not in the Corps. I was so young when he left, and when he came back I was an adult. In ten months, I aged five years. The people that I met during my time as a 1/3 spouse, the ones that kept me from myself, will always have a special place in Casey and my lives.
These were the days that reminded us that we were not immune from the tragedy and the level of fighting that was affecting each and every one of our Marines, at anytime that CACO could be on our front step.
And this memorial service was just 13 days before the helicopter crash.
"So this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."
Friday, January 14, 2005THE WAR IN IRAQ
Leis draped the portraits of 10 soldiers killed in Iraq during yesterday's memorial service at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe.
10 soldiers are remembered for
As more than 800 Kaneohe Marines solemnly honored 10 comrades killed in Iraq since Nov. 8, Col. Jeffrey Patterson reminded them that "freedom isn't free."
paying the ultimate price
"In fact, it's so precious, it cost the lives of these 10 brave men," the commanding officer of the 3rd Marine Regiment told the fatigue-clad, close-shaven Marines in the Marine Corps Base Hawaii auditorium.
Nearby on a stage, 10 sets of boots, rifles and helmets sat behind a large photograph of each man, draped with a purple orchid lei.
Patterson also thanked wounded Marines and sailors who were in the audience. Some of them just recently returned from Iraq.
"The Bible says that no greater love has man than to lay down his life for his brother. The Marines and sailor whose pictures you see on this stage exemplify that," Patterson said.
A total of 19 soldiers, one sailor, 17 Marines and one civilian with Hawaii ties have been killed in Iraq since the war started in March 19, 2003. Of the 38 deaths in Iraq, 35 were due to hostile action.
Crystal Hines, whose husband, Cpl. Casey Hines, is currently in Iraq, wept on the shoulder of Cpl. Aaron Green.
Beyond the common denominator of giving their lives for their comrades, each of the fallen honored yesterday was unique, Patterson added. He and other Marines who served with the fallen offered tidbits about each:
» Lance Cpl. Jeffery Blanton, 23, of Fayetteville, Ga., was married to an Army soldier who was serving in Afghanistan at the time of his death in Iraq. "I guess you can say serving your country was a family affair," Patterson said, acknowledging Amber Blanton in the audience. "I want to thank you for being here."
» Lance Cpl. Aaron Pickering, 20, of Marion, Ill., nicknamed "Slick" for evading trouble, was a former all-state golfer who learned the game from his mother. Cpl. Scott Gatto praised Pickering as "a religious man" who encouraged the reading of Psalm 91 before each mission and spoke highly of his family.
» Cpl. Michael Cohen, 23, of Jacobus, Pa., told his mother he loved Hawaii and wanted to stay here and study to be a nurse or medical technician after his Marine service.
» Lance Cpl. David Branning, 21, of Cockesville, Md., was a talented visual arts student.
» Lance Cpl. Brian Medina, 20, of Woodbridge, Va., liked to share the latest hip-hop moves with fellow Marines but had an intense desire to serve his country. "To me he was the kind of person that legends were made of," Lance Cpl. Michael Erdman said.
» Lance Cpl. Michael Downey, 21, of Phoenix died at Bethesda Naval Hospital, 11 days after being shot by a sniper's bullet, with his parents by his side. "His mother told me that he loved being a Marine, that he loved our way of life," Patterson said, breaking down in tears.
» Lance Cpl. Franklin Sweger, 24, of San Antonio loved the science of chemistry and wanted to become a chemist.
» Petty Officer 3rd Class Julian Woods, 22, of Jacksonville, Fla., wanted to be a Marine but joined the Navy out of respect for his father being a career Navy man. When assigned as a medical corpsman for the Marines, Woods told his mother it was "the best of both worlds." He left behind a 3-year-old daughter named Israel.
» Lance Cpl. Blake Magaoay, 20, of Pearl City was a local boy who loved surfing and the outdoors and who returned to battle in Fallujah twice after being wounded. "His family said his heart was as big as all outdoors," Patterson said, "and I will tell you that heart is shared by every member of his family and that the apple didn't fall very far from the tree."
» Sgt. Rafael Peralta, 25, of San Diego was a Mexican immigrant who enlisted the day he received his green card, and earned U.S. citizenship while in the Marines. After Fallujah insurgents shot him in the face as he entered a room, Peralta smothered a grenade blast with his body, thereby saving others in his squad and earning recommendation for a Medal of Honor.
Somber U.S. Marines attended a memorial service yesterday at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe for 10 soldiers with Hawaii ties killed in Iraq.
"History is full of battles that changed the course of the world," Patterson said, citing Gettysburg in the Civil War and the landing at Inchon in the Korean War as examples.
"I believe the Battle of Fallujah (in November) will go down in history as one that helped turn the tide in the war against terrorism," he said. "The bravery of these Marines inspired many Iraqis to stand up to the terrorists."
Lance Cpl. Cody Alt permanently lost vision in his left eye and was wounded in the leg during fighting in Fallujah. "It's a small price I paid for freedom," he said after yesterday's service. "These guys gave the ultimate price."
Said Master Sgt. Lloyd Williams after the service: "I think it's important that we remember these guys. We're all brothers. It's very important for Marines to see this type of ceremony. It hits home that we are there -- in Iraq -- and reality is hitting."
The U.S. soldiers honored yesterday
» Lance Cpl. Aaron C. Pickering: 20, of Marion, Ill., died Nov. 10 as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kaneohe.
» Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Julian Woods: 22, of Jacksonville, Fla., killed Nov. 10 in Fallujah. Assigned as hospital corpsman to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kaneohe.
» Lance Cpl. David M. Branning: 21, of Cockesville, Md., killed Nov. 12 in Fallujah. Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kaneohe.
» Lance Cpl. Brian A. Medina, 20, of Woodbridge, Va., killed Nov. 12 in Fallujah. Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kaneohe. (No photo available.)
» Sgt. Rafael Peralta: 25, of San Diego, killed Nov. 15 in Fallujah. Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kaneohe.
» Lance Cpl. Michael A. Downey: 21, of Phoenix died Nov. 19 at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., from wounds received in enemy action Nov. 11 in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment from the Combat Engineer Battalion in Okinawa, Japan. (No photo available.)
» Cpl. Michael R. Cohen: 23, of Jacobus, Pa., killed Nov. 22 in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kaneohe.
» Lance Cpl. Blake A. Magaoay: 20, of Pearl City, killed Nov. 29 in Fallujah. Assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton, Calif., but attached to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines during the battle for Fallujah.
» Lance Cpl. Jeffery S. Blanton: 23, of Fayetteville, Ga., died Dec. 12 as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar province. Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kaneohe.
» Lance Cpl. Franklin A. Sweger: 24, of San Antonio died Dec. 16 as a result of enemy action in Al Anbar province. Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Kaneohe.1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment
www.mcbh.usmc.mil/3mar/1dbn/1-3%20INDEX.htm
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
www.mcbh.usmc.mil
