War Crimes

John W


I'd also like to know why an individual should be held accountable for, say, murder, and someone like Hitler should be held accountable, but leaders of so-called democracies should NOT be held equally accountable for ordering the premature termination of human life, and our beloved Marines, who are after all only "following orders" like their "enemy" counterparts, should not be held similarly accountable.
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Craig


I think we all can agree that anyone who commits a crime should be given a fair trial and punished if guilty. Having participated in numerous investigations, court martials, and office hours, I can assure you that the military and the Marine Corps punish people for crimes.




So we are a long way from perfect. And we need always to try harder. And when some of our people screw up  and commit crimes, we need to punish them, apologize and move on. But we also must not beat ourselves up when a few people embarrass us with crimes.
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John


This sounds reasonable. If you, Craig, and the rest of our classmates will go on record as being willing and ready to do all within your  power - and I do mean ALL - to depose and punish this current crop of deathmongers and war profiteers - Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield, Ashcroft, Rice, etc., as well as corporate criminals like Kenneth Lay and his ilk - then I'll shut up and quit beating up on myself and our beloved nation.



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Craig 


The two Marine Reserve units in Chicago were activated this week, and will be departing for Iraq shortly. The units activated include 2nd Battalion 24th Marines located on the west side of Chicago, and Marine Wing Communications Squadron 48 in Great Lakes, Illinois.


MWCS-48 was in the war last year, and is going again. I was a member of both of these units and know a number of the Marines. Most of the men and women are 18 to 21.


The memorial service below was held in Iraq by one of the unit they will be supporting. Most of the people killed would have been 18 to 21.


31 May 2004. Memorial Day.
RCT-7 Memorial Day Service


Remarks by Commanding Officer, Regimental Combat Team-7: "Americans across the globe pause today to remember and honor our nation's war dead. Back home, in cities, county parks, farming towns, and backyards amidst parades, picnics and speeches our country remembers millions. We gather here today, in a dusty courtyard on an airbase in Iraq, to remember 23.


Many have told me over these last few days that this short talk  should reverberate with words linking those we remember today to great causes and purposes. I do not have those kinds of words in me today. I don't need them.


The truth has nobility enough. Our families and friends assemble today at their picnics and parades free of fear and terror. They assemble as the normal commerce of life in the U.S. proceeds apace, their children safe from the terror that stalks this globe. That sense of security and freedom from fear does not, however, make this enemy any less dangerous or any less real. This is a war against terror, fighting an enemy whose strategy is to focus his death and destruction on our families, our neighbors, and our citizens; an enemy whose tactics are designed to instill fear by killing our children in their homes as we stand helplessly by. That horror has moved away from our shores because men like you, and those men we remember today, are willing to endure the sacrifices required to engage this enemy here. Each man we honor today paid the ultimate sacrifice, and when that moment of sacrifice alighted upon each Marine's personal battlefield, his feet stood fast, he stood to his duty, and he honored the loyalty of his friends and his fellow Marines. They were worthy of their country, of their forefathers, and of their buddies. We can pay them no greater honor than to paint each of them into our memory and to promise, each in our own way and each to our own thoughts, that we will never forget them. And for as long as any here live, their memorial day will not be the last Monday in May; their memorial is their lives sculpted into the hearts of their friends, a memorial enduring for the generations all of you have left to live, a memorial that comes to life when we speak of them, laugh over their antics, cry over them, talk to our family and friends about them, or sit quietly and feel the pain of their loss to our fellowship.


As for me, I knew few of them personally, but I remember all of  their names; I remember the hour and date of their death, I remember how and where they died, I know the names of those they left behind. And for the remainder of my days their memorial will be that remembering: that these young men I counted as my sons have far exceeded the honors of their fathers. "


In Memoriam


LCPL ARIC J. BARR
2ND Bn, 7TH Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Hit, Iraq
On 3 March 2004


PFC RICKY A. MORRIS
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received Husaybah, Iraq
On 17 March 2004


PFC BRANDON C. SMITH
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received Husaybah, Iraq
On 18 March 2004


CPL DAVID M. VICENTE
2ND Bn, 7TH Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Hit, Iraq
On 19 March 2004


PFC DUSTIN M. SEKULA
2ND Bn, 7TH Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Al Anbar Province, Iraq On 1 April 2004


LCPL CHRISTOPHER B. WASSER
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Husaybah, Iraq
On 8 April 2004


CPL NICHOLAS J. DIERUF
1st LAR Bn
Died as a result of wounds received in Al Bu Jardin, Iraq
On 8 April 2004


LCPL ELIAS TORREZ III
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Sa'dah, Iraq
On 9 April 2004


CPL DANIEL R. AMAYA
3RD Bn, 4th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Fallujah, Iraq
On 11 April 2004


LCPL TORREY L. GRAY
3RD Bn, 4th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Fallujah, Iraq
On 11 April 2004


1STLT OSCAR JIMENEZ
3RD Bn, 4th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Fallujah, Iraq
On 11 April 2004


CPL JASON L. DUNHAM
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Husaybah, Iraq
On 14 April 2004


CAPT RICHARD J. GANNON II
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Husaybah, Iraq
On 18 April 2004


CPL CHRISTOPHER A. GIBSON
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Husaybah, Iraq
On 18 April 2004


LCPL MICHAEL J. SMITH JR
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Husaybah, Iraq
On 18 April


LCPL RUBEN VALDEZ JR
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Husaybah, Iraq
On 18 April


LCPL GARY F. VANLEUVAN
3rd Bn, 7th Marines
Died as a result of wounds received in Husaybah, Iraq
On 18 April 2004


LCPL BOB W. ROBERTS
C Co, 1st CEB
Died as a result of wounds received in Al Asad, Iraq
On 17 May 2004


CPL RUDY SALAS
1st LAR Bn
Died as a result of wounds received on MSR Tin, Iraq
On 20 May 2004


SSGT JORGE A. MOLINABAUTISTA
1st LAR Bn
Died as a result of wounds received in Al Anbar Province, Iraq
On 23 May 2004


CPL MATTHEW C. HENDERSON
C Co, 1st CEB
Died as a result of wounds received in Hit, Iraq
On 26 May 2004                                            


LCPL KYLE W. CODNER
C Co, 1st CEB
Died as a result of wounds received in Hit, Iraq
On 26 May 2004
                    
Share Your Courage  Ancient History Sourcebook: Thucydides  (c.460/455-c.399 BCE): Pericles' Funeral Oration from the Peloponnesian War (Book 2.34-46)
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Craig


Note I received today from a friend in Iraq. He is our age, Vietnam Vet, still flying helicopters. His Commanding Officer was Tammy Duckworth, the woman who lost both her legs in a Helo crash.


Craig,


I received a care package from Mayor Ed Zabrocki of Tinely Park which is most appreciated by the Men and Woman of Co B 1st/106th Aviation. Temps are exceeding 110 degrees with high winds. Its just like sitting in front of a hair dryer.


Dave
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Helping 1960's Morgan Park High School Reconnect.