Good News from our Marines
in Iraq
Since 04-08-07
From: Lowell J Mix [mailto:ljmix@juno.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2007 1:12 AM
Subject: Good News from our Marines in Iraq
This is an update from Major Dan Whisnant with A Co, 1stBn, 24th Marines
in Fallujah, Iraq. The 1st Bn, 24th Marines is one of the reserve units
called to active duty and currently serving in Iraq. The pictures that Maj
Whisnant refers to below did not arrive with the e-mail. Thanks to Col. Leo
Kelly, USMC, (Ret’d) for forwarding this and a special thanks to Noble "Heinetheword"
for sending it on. Please notice the last paragraph, you won't read this in
the media today, nor hear it on the news.
******************************************************
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
6 March 2007
Greetings from the Peninsula, [in Iraq]
The month of February was short on days but it was a good month. Not just
because my father's birthday is the 28th of February or because of
Valentine's Day. Those are good things but this particular February was a
good month because we saw the most progress in our zone to date and this
progress will beget more progress in terms of safety and security for the
Iraqi people of the peninsula.
Approximately 60 days ago, 20 insurgents surrounded a house of a family that
is considered friendly to Americans. The Marines of 3rd platoon were able to
fight off the 20 insurgents and the father and son that the insurgents were
after were able to escape to a safe area of the peninsula. The man's wife
and younger children remained in the house. Thankfully the insurgents left
them alone while the husband and oldest son were gone. A couple of weeks ago
I made the decision to keep our Marines at a forward patrol base in the
heart of the peninsula. Some of the indigenous counterinsurgents and sheiks
that we are working with here on the peninsula asked me how long the Marines
were going to stay there. I told them as long as I needed to keep them there
and if that meant until we went home - then so be it. They were obviously
pleased with this answer and probably within 30 minutes the entire tribe
knew. The cell phones were going absolutely nuts and you could almost see
and feel the relief in their faces. It was understood - the Marines are here
to stay. Word quickly reached the father and son who had been the target of
the insurgents and the father immediately looked at his son and said, "It's
okay to go home now, the Marines are staying." Each time I recount this
story I can't help but to get choked up at the power of the father's
statement. I can't imagine what it was like for the lady who was the wife
and mother of these two men when she saw them walking down the road towards
their house in complete confidence that it was now safe because the Marines
were nearby.
Additionally, we conducted a combined medical exercise at the end of the
month that assisted one of the largest tribes here on the peninsula. Some
pictures are attached of the operation and we provided medical attention to
over 600 men, women and children who desperately need it. We also had a
veterinarian and our venerable First Sergeant Baum vaccinate and de-worm
over 75 head of cattle and hundreds of sheep for the farmers in our area.
This operation produced valuable results and broke down some barriers and
shed some light into some Iraqi hearts and minds as to why we are here. We
have been able to provide security and stability with their help and we
wanted to reward them accordingly. The key sub-tribes that we wanted to help
have over 4000 members and they have become a huge ally and quite literally
a weapon against the Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQIZ) elements that we are fighting
against. The men of this tribe have taken up arms and are defending their
homes and villages. They have set up checkpoints along key roads leading in
and out of their villages. On a nightly basis we may have Marines on an
observation post next to a couple of 15 year old boys who are carrying
AK-47s. These peace-seeking Iraqis are protecting and preserving their
heritage and proud to be able to do it.
As of this writing, we lost two additional warriors, PFC Brett Witteveen and
PFC Bufford Van Slyke. These two young Marines gave their lives and
sacrificed everything for their fellow Marines, fellow Americans back home,
and for those Iraqis who are truly seeking an alternative to terrorism -
peace and security. We must forever remember these two and their families.
We must hold u p their families in prayer and comfort them during these very
difficult of times. These are tough losses of two young men who joined the
Marine Corps in order to be a part of something that was bigger than them.
To be a part of something that can actually make a difference in people's
lives. They accomplished that here. The examples that I gave above are just
two of the nearly hundreds of stories we could tell of the difference in
lives your Marines have made in this area along the tranquil Euphrates
River.
Time is passing quickly and as we are nearing the end of our deployment, it
comes with mixed emotions. We have experienced great success and we don't
want to see that taken away from these people. We want to see that continue
and we want to see the enemy completely destroyed. We want to see these
people enjoy life like we enjoy back in the states. It is a great feeling to
know that these people depend on us for their safety and they don't want to
see us go either. However, we deeply miss our families and friends back home
and know that they need us. We look forward to that day as it is coming
soon. This is where I must ask, plead, and make an appeal to those spouses
and families of t! he Marines of Alpha Company. Please give your Marine the
chance to decompress, rest, and relax for those days that we are at 29
Palms, CA. We will have had your Marines for 7 months, just allow us another
10 days to return them to you whole - mentally, physically, emotionally, and
spiritually. That time of reunion is special and doing it earlier than
planned only adds the additional stresses of life that these young men do
not need at this particular time of the deployment. Please join us for our
homecoming at the proper time and the proper place and I guarantee that day
will be a day you will never forget. I appreciate you respecting my request
in this matter as I consider it one of the most important ones that I have
made over this deployment.
Please continue to keep your Marines in your prayers as there is still much
work to be done as we continue to hunt the enemy. Your Marines are ever
vigilant, courageous and steadfast. They have patrolled endless miles and
miles of canals, palm groves and villages to find this enemy and make sure
he knows that he cannot have a home on the Peninsula. Several of our squads
have kept track of the miles they have traveled during our time here and
amazingly some of the GPS units of these young Warriors are reporting over
400 miles traveled by foot! This is in and of itself mind-boggling and yet
at the same time shows the sacrifice of your Marines. They happily conducted
a company-sized operation the other day and the average distance traveled
inside of 10 hours was 23 kilometers. In addition to that small feat they
found 5 sizable weapons caches, detained over 25 insurgents, and killed one
insurgent who actually tried to attempt and challenge the Marines from
Weapons Company with a grenade as they entered his house. Yes, these are
still dangerous times and we have to move several kilometers over land in
order to track down the enemy. But we know the enemy changes his location
every few hours because he knows he is the hunted. We know he is becoming
desperate to stay alive. The sheiks have told us that the enemy has been
forced to 'sleep in the canals' because they no longer have homes that they
can return to because the insurgents fear your Marines and fated capture by
them.
I promise I will keep you updated on our progress more regularly during the
month of March as we close another chapter on this great deployment. These
are some of the most memorable times of our lives and I want to make sure
you share in some of the memories as well. I leave you with one last story.
LtGen Mattis recently visited Iraq and related to
us that Fallujah is 18 months ahead of where everyone thought it would be
during the planning. That is great news and your Marines hard work, blood,
sweat, and tears are obviously paying off. Your Marines have made a huge
difference here and their work will not go in vain.
Semper Fidelis,
Dan Whisnant Major USMC
Alpha Company TF 1/24
Fallujah, Iraq