Sgt Grit's Marine BS Iraqi War Volume 14

Hayes in Iraq

Hey everyone....coming from Al Asad Iraq in the sunny friendly Al Anbar Province.... just a note to say I'm okay (as of 10pm Thursday night, 21 Sept 2006). I'm sure I've sent a few of you these pics..but, I thought I'd send a few out, just in case.

Humvee Accident Pictures

hello,

I am a proud marine wife and i just wanted to share some pictures with everyone from my husbands humvee explosion. to give you a little info on the pictures, the high back humvee that you see was drug out of a ditch on the side of the road. when the explosion went off under the humvee it blew it into the ditch.My husband was one of the lucky guys to say the least, and i am very happy to say he is doing fine and is still working hard out in iraq. Sadley though three men did die in this explosion and two others suffered severe injuries and are still in the hospital today. I just wanted to share these pictures so everyone could get a glimpse into something that our men and women go through on a daily basis.These men and women need everyones support, so if you feel even for a minute that you dont want to support them, take a second look at these pictures and think how you would feel if that was your own child or spouse in this wreckage. for a positive spin though i am also enclosing some really neat pictures that the USMC 1/1 BRAVO INFANTRY men took while over in iraq. i hope you enjoy them.

THANK YOU
GABRIELLE LIPSCOMB
A PROUD USMC WIFE

Outstanding Customer Service

Several weeks back I placed an order with your business, as I have done many, many times. It was my usual order of several T-shirts and the new Psalms 144 Bumper Sticker. I also ordered 2 (two) custom KIA Bracelets, one for my son who is in 3/2 at Camp Lejeune and one for myself. The KIA Bracelets were in memory of L/Cpl Kevin S. Smith USMC who was killed 21 March 05 in Al Anbar, Iraq by a car bomb. L/Cpl Smith was one of only two Marines killed during 3/2’s last deployment to Iraq.

The Customer Service Representative that took my order was Barbara. She was very polite and professional while taking my order. She informed me that the T-shirts and Bumper Stickers would be sent out that day but the custom KIA Bracelets would not be shipped for about three to four weeks. The T-shirts and Bumper Stickers arrived three days later. A KIA Bracelet arrived in only two and a half weeks. That was great, but I had ordered two KIA Bracelets. I called your Customer Service number on a Monday and explained my problem. As fate would have it, Barbara also fielded my second call. She was very understanding of my problem and stated she would handle the problem and have the second KIA Bracelet made and shipped ASAP. She was not kidding I received the second KIA Bracelet on Wednesday only two days later, well done, Ooh-Rah!

This was the first time I have experienced any SNAFU while dealing with Sgt. Grit. It was handled in a very professional manner and expeditiously. Thanks to you and your Staff especially Barbara for a JOB WELL DONE!

Semper Fi
W.C. (Bill) Borne USMC 70-86

For what it's worth

Just wanted to include my sons, both Marines, to honor their service in Iraq.
Zachary Poore was a crew chief with the 2nd AABN out of Camp Lejeune and participated with in the invasion in 2003. He served with D/2/2 attached to 3/5 RCT-5 1st Mar. Div. Excellently chronicled in the book "The March Up". Zack was honorably discharged at Sgt.
Personal Award includes the Navy/Marince Corps Commendation Medal

Younger brother Eli began his career attached to Presidential Security Forces Camp David then rotated out to Camp Pendleton serving with the 1st Mar. Div. Eli was a Machine Gunner in a Weapons Plt. with F/2/1. He participated in Operations Steel Curtain & Iron Hammer in Anbar Province. Honorably discharged Sgt. this past Friday 5-26-06 and headed home.

Four consecutive generations of Marines, from 1917 to 2006. Lineage photos include:

     

I am SO proud of all our Marines and Sailors!

I just want to shed some light on something that has been bothering me lately! My husband is a Sailor....attached to the Marines...but he's not an HM! He's an RP! All too often, the RMT- Religious Ministry Teams...aka Chaplain's and RP's (Religious Program Specialists) are forgotten!

My husband is currently on his second tour in Iraq, WITH the Marines! He earned his FMF in December 2004! I am EXTREMELY proud of him! I believe he's more a Marine, than he is a Sailor, due to the fact, he's NEVER served on a Ship! But he HAS been out in the field, side by side, taking and sending rounds downrange, with the Marines!

There is a photograph, that has circulated around many military publications, including Soldier of Fortune, which shows, partly, what an RP does!
My husband, RP2 (FMF) Kevin A. Rumsey, was providing security while the Chaplain and HM's provided assistance to the Marines in that 7 ton rollover!

The RMT's and HM's are a unique breed in this military! They're not necessarily Marines, but yet, they've never set foot on a ship! I've coined my own term....Navrine! This is the license tag my husband has on his truck!

I am the mother of 7 children, 1 son who just returned from Iraq, days after his dad went over for round two, and 4 other kids at home! Although it's not easy "keeping the home fires burning", I hold my head up high, knowing that my kids can sleep soundly at night, not having to worry about bullets and bombs going off in our backyard!

God Bless the Marines and Sailors, and God Bless the USA!
PROUD "Navrine" wife
Trish Rumsey
Wife to RP2 (FMF) Kevin Rumsey
1/23 8/04-3/05
MWSG-37 4/06-??

Halloween Fun

Dear Sgt Grit, And here is yet another photo for submission - This was just cracks me up. These guys had so much fun and even gave masks and candy to the children in the streets of Fallujah.
Co B - 4th Recon Battalion - attached to 2nd Recon - Co. B.

This is GySgt Larry Carlson serving in Fallujah, Iraq (10/18/04). The guys had a blast with their Halloween treats!
Gunny retired January 7, 2005, after 24 years of military service, 22 of those years with the USMC!! Larry recently retired from Co B - 4th Recon BN.

God Bless!

Cpl Castellano

To all at Sgt. Grit thank you for always showing your support proudly for all our military men and women. I recently received this picture of Cpl. Castellano who has been bravely serving his country in Iraq for the last year. Thank you for your consideration and God Bless.

Sincerely,
Ashley Holubec

One proud Dad

Dear Sgt Grit-

After reading your newsletters for the last 7 months I had to write & share some of "my pride & joy". In mid February 2006 I had the pleasure to be part of my first "Marine Homecoming" at Camp Lejeune, NC. My son is a LCpl in E Company, 2/2 Warlords & was deployed in Iraq since July 2005. Your Sgt Grit newsletters have been great & I read them all during his deployment. It is truly amazing how diverse, proud & devoted the Marine Corps Family is and I too now understand the pride at being a Marine parent. As the 5 buses full of Marines arrived, the +300 crowd went wild & erupted in cheers. While it took nearly 30 minutes for me to be reunited with my son among the hundreds of family members & Marines that "all look alike" , the 7 month & 30 minute wait was worth it. By sharing the many stories & experiences in your newsletters from other parents & Marines, my wait was OK as many others had or were doing the same. Attached is a picture of what Marine Corps Family pride & joy truly look like. Keep the great newsletters & catalogs coming.

One proud Marine Dad in NJ

On the Road to Baghdad

My stepson, Cpl. Brian T. Jackson, Echo Btry 2/11 is on his 3rd deployment to Iraq. He didn't need to go but he extended his enlistment to make the trip. The pic is him on the road into Baghdad at the start of Iraqi Freedom, I guess he knows what's important. Myself, I were a Gunners Mate USN, '73-77. No trips to the Nam for me, my brother and friends handled that. I spent time on the Nashville, an Amphib. My experience with the crotch was you always slid down ladders and left black heel marks on freshly waxed decks. All I can say is the Corps helped my son become a Man. I am glad you guys are on our side. Oohrah.

Stephen J. Essex

Rock Throwing Kids

Kids Throwing Rocks
Kids throw rocks at an American Convoy.

Quote of the Week

Woman Voter in Iraq
Voices her opinion.

LCpl Timpson

Devil Doc

Gunny Davis Update

3/25 Scout Sniper Platoon

Sgt. Grit,

Just a few days ago, I had the honor of meeting my late husband's scout sniper platoon. What a great bunch of Marines and men. One of the guys, Nate Adey, just got married by Chaplain Malmstrom on Amy Grant's show, 3 Wishes, two days earlier, but took time out to meet my family and the family Cpl. Jeff Boskovitch. I just wanted to send you over a picture. My husband, LCpl. Brian Montgomery is in the middle (standing) and Cpl. Jeff Boskovitch is standing to the right of him. Both were killed as heroes on 8/1/2005 in an ambush. These men are all heroes in this picture, and so is every Marine that has ever served before. Thanks Marines for keeping me free.

Promotion

Sgt Grit,

Enclosed are some photos of my son, Thomas W. Tilque Jr., getting promoted in Al Asad, Iraq on Nov 1, 2005. He is with the 13th MEU which was deployed from San Diego this last July. Before Iraq the 13th MEU had port calls in Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Australia and Egypt for Operation Bright Star.

God Bless America

3 Heroes

Dear Sgt. Grit,
This photo was taken over this past weekend at the 1/5 Marines annual Marine Corps Ball in Las Vegas, NV celebrating the 230th birthday of our beloved Marine Corps. These 3 heroes of 1/5 have stuck together through thick and thin on all three 1/5 deployments in Iraq, from Kuwait to Baghdad in 03, to Fallujah in 04, and Ramadi in 05. Left to Right:

(Click to enlarge)

Sgt. Clay Anderson, sniper, Weapons Co. and former Charlie Co. squad leader, Sgt. Clint Hurda, squad leader, Charlie Co., and Sgt. Mike Roper, squad leader, Charlie Co. Think these three have some stories to tell??? Semper Fi, J. Anderson, USMC 71-73

Last Salute

Dallas - Fort Worth - Marine Corp League receiving a Marine home form Iraq for the last time. DFW airport
Sgt David Wilson USMC 1966-1970

GySgt Burghardt

Recent photos of GySgt Burghardt

My Fiance

I just wanted to brag about my fiance Lcpl CARTER of 2/7 Fox Co. He is currently in Iraq and I wanted to thank you for putting on such a great web site and newsletters. It really helps those of us who are waiting here at home. Before he left for Iraq I remember reading other people's stories, knowing that someday I was going to be living them as well. Now, that time is here, and talking to him and listening to what he tells me reminds me of things that I learned not that long ago in history books at school. As you can imagine it is really hard just waiting here not knowing much, but Marines are the coolest and bravest people that walk this earth! God Bless you all.

Proud Marine Girlfriend,
Karina

Honorary Nephew

Greetings! My "honorary nephew" is back, safe, sound and newly promoted from his deployment in Iraq with the extremely hard-hit 3rd/35th USMC Reserves. Both he & his dad were very pleased with the items I got for them from Sgt. Grit; they as well as their fellow Marines & families thought my "Strength and Honor" T-shirt very appropriate too.

I enjoyed getting your online Newsletter and thought you might like to see ( & possibly include ) a photo I took form the homecoming parade for his unit last week. As you can see, some of the troops in the last busses in line waiting to unload got a mite tired of waiting & decided to use the roof escape hatches. Next thing we knew, the crowd had supplied them with both US & Corps flags & they led us in a chant of "USA".

Sincerely yours, Jeff Jensch

Fox Co.

Sabre Update

Next time you think about whether you want to take time to vote, remember this: it took Sabre Squadron six months, the loss of six of our heroes, and hundreds of combat operations to set the conditions for the Iraqi Referendum Vote for their constitution today. The good people of Tal Afar went to the polls in huge numbers to vote. Not a shot was fired. The crowd below was chanting, “No to terrorism” in Arabic. The purple fingers signify those that voted. They displayed them all over the city with tremendous pride. The guy in the blue shirt and helmet is the Chief of Police of Tal Afar and the guy to the right in a helmet is the commander of the Iraqi Army brigade in Tal Afar. Your Soldiers did an absolutely tremendous effort to make this historic event happen. Thank you for your continued support. We are good to go.

Thank You Sgt Grit

Just a note to say thank you for all that you do. I am very proud to have earned the title MARINE!
Semper Fi!

Anthony Williams (SSGT 1977-1992)

Thoughts

Although I am not good with words, I feel like writing. Here we are, September 11th, 2005. Four years after that devastating day when we as American's were attacked on our own land by cowards and lost thousands of innocent people. And we saw a nation come together in the wake of a tragedy, and a new breed of heroes came about. Both firefighters and police alike gave there lives for something that seems very simple, because most watch it through a T.V. Saving a life, in the middle of chaos, and giving your own, easy to see, easy to write, but not easy to do. During a moment of silence today, when we rose our Colors in Al Asad Iraq, this was all passing through my mind. I will never forget that day, neither will anyone that existed during it. I was honored to be able to take a moment of silence, in Iraq for all the victims, then I looked around and and took my own personal moment for all the Marines I saw around me serving with me in this war, the one that began on that day. Most of them barely 20, and some not even 19, men and women, who knew exactley where they were gonna go, and still signed their life away, VOLUNTARILY. I thought about what brought me here, in 2001 I was a 18 year old punk, who did not have a care in the world, no respect for authority, nonetheless, for anything. I was careless on a one way road to nowhere, was not thankful for anything. Then at work on that day I heard the news stating the attacks in New York, it was merely reported as a plane hitting one of the towers, and eventually turned into alot more than just that. We took a smoke break, then Lee came and let us clean up and head home to watch the news. When it got soaked in, it freaked me out, and noone really knew what to make of it, we were all freaked.

In the coming weeks after, I started to realize how much of a loser I really was, and how much I had taken for granted in my life, I had everything a kid coulda wanted, and a good head, but I pissed it away, and barley made it out of school. I was in a 1 bedroom roach infested apartment, lived like a slob, and came to the conclusion there was no way out, I could not afford school, neither could my parents. So after alot of thought, and some advice, I took a walk to the recruiting station, and straight to the Marines office, I decided if I do it, take the hardest road, to not only teach myself a lesson in life, but to prove I wanted to change. I got laughed at, I was quite overweight, took me 6 months to drop about 70 pounds, just to get shipped to boot camp. And change I did, I had an attitude at first, but it got knocked out of me quick, in about 1 second to be exact. I made it through, 30 more pounds lighter, and a whole new outlook.


Then came the news, which I knew would come eventually, but not right away, that we are going to Iraq, our Drill Instructors said that 60% of the platoon would go there. We did not take him seriously at all, till that day. I was nervous, more so in telling my family. It went ok, mainly due to the fact I really did not know where we were going till later, so I told them I was just going on the ship. Then the news started shoeing the building tension, and then we all knew what was coming. Then OIF kicked off on 17 march with the cruise missles, and we got word we would be crossing the border on the 23rd. At first we were pretty excited, nervous, the whole butterfly thing, then the fear set in, I'll admit it, we were scared shitless, invading someones country is very real, and when you are first, history tells it is the worst, just look at the beach of Iwo Jima and try to picture how many dead Marines were laying there. So a couple sleepless days later, we are on the flight deck about to board the helicopter, know the butterflies turn into the shits, and you're thinking is this real. Hell yes it is, and hell yeah you are here. You can see the other guys, same emotionless young blank stare you got, you would never know we wanted to shit ourselves. The flight starts, we are over water for about 30 minutes, and most of us fell asleep, just a natural reaction to being on a bird. Then comes the first shots you hear, the .50 cal starts ripping up bad guys on the ground, not what you wnted to wake you up, but the beginning to the longest 21 days of our lives, 21 to baghdad, the highway to hell. 21 days that will live with me and the men I served it with the rest of my life. 1 day was all it took to make me look around and appreciate everything we have to live for, the freedoms we have, the luxuries we don't think twice about because they are always there, and always have been.

So with your thoughts today, mourn the victoms, and their families from the 9/11 attacks, that day changed history, my life, and many others lives. And do me a favor, and take a minute, or at least a second, to praise the men and women serving out here, people just like me, many I have found have a similar backround as me, and decided to change their lives. We all remember, none of us will forget. We all know someone who has paid the ultimate price, gave their life for the flag, and continue to press on and complete our mission to serve and protect innocent people around the world, and make sure that a 9/11 does not happen again. I am proud to serve America, I have never been more proud to be a Marine. Words cannot explain what I felt today, but I tried. "Courage, is being scared to death and being willing to saddle up anyways."-John Wayne. Semper Fidelis.

Danny

Really Bad Day

Notice the ABSENSE of USMC identifiers....which leaves only one other branch....something about a cluster of ONE.......ji

Chicago Suburban Marine Awarded Prestigious Silver Star

Homecoming of 3/4 Weapons Company

Photos of the AAV7 that hit an IED

These photos show the devastation of the explosion that ripped the AAV7 apart several days ago that killed 14 Marines. Pass them on to remind people that good men are dying in this fight.
R. Goldman

Message for Jane Fonda

MS FONDA
WE'RE HOLDING
YOUR REGULAR
SEAT IN TIKRIT

Vehicle Photo

Here is a photo of what's left of my vehicle I was in that got blown up.

My Husband In Kuwait

This is a picture of my hubby, CDR James Armstrong (OIC Camp Beuhring MEF) in his office in Kuwait...once a Marine....

Thank God For Body Armor!

Bulletin Board

Hey!

Thanks!

I'm home till the 29th; I appreciate you folks getting the gear to us!

Please say 'hi' to all the Sgt. Grit folks there for me. I can't express enough gratitude in regard to the bulletin board you have; http://www.grunt.com/usmc-web/aboutforum.asp I've met Marines as a result that I wouldn't have otherwise. At least not here in the 'world'.

Semper Fi.
Rich

Desert Library

4th Platoon 2nd FAST, MCSFCO. Keflavik

Sgt Grit,

As my promise to complete my mission of finding my unit logos, I scanned them and have them ready for you to look at. Also, I included some other pictures that may interest you about Operation Determined Response, in Aden, Yemen on 12OCT2000. As a fellow Marine for life, I thought it would be nice for you to see that we treated the remains of the sailors with full honors as we brought them from ship to shore. I left out many photos, but included a couple that you could appreciate. Included as promised: Logos of FAST COMPANY, 2nd FAST COMPANY, MCSFCO Keflavik, and a USS COLE ships coin given to me from the Command Master Chief. I hope this helps you as well as me. Thanks for your time and SEMPER FI!

SGT. FISHER USMC RET.

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