Corpsmen keep Marines in the fight

AL ASAD, Iraq (April 27, 2005) -- Walking among the Marines, they stand ready to provide the urgent medical care needed in a forward operating location. They are well trained and demonstrate a high level of esprit de corps any Marine would appreciate.

To read the full article...click here.

US admits Iraq insurgency undiminished

Myers: I think we are winning, okay. (Reuters)

The Iraqi insurgency is just as strong now as it was one year ago, the most senior US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers has admitted.

Gen Myers also insists the US and coalition forces are winning the war and is confident of military victory.

"I'm going to say this: I think we are winning, okay. I think we're definitely winning. I think we've been winning for some time," Myers told reporters.

Gen Myers said the number of attacks has increased slightly recently but maintained that was a poor measure of the insurgency, noting that half the attacks are thwarted.

He acknowledged that insurgents were capable of surging to higher levels of violence as they did before the January 30 elections.

"I think their capacity stays about the same and where they are right now is where they were almost a year ago," he said.

"The essential point is that for things to work in Iraq, you've got to work against what we said, all these lines of operation, of which good governance is one," he said.

Gen Myers called on Iraq's politicians to end three months of squabbling and form a government.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld emphasised the need for progress toward political and economic stability as key to defeating the insurgency.

"The United States and the coalition forces, in my personal view, will not be the thing that will defeat the insurgency," he said.

"So therefore winning or losing is not the issue, in my view, in the traditional, conventional context of using the word 'winning' and 'losing' in a war," he said.

"The people that are going to defeat that insurgency are going to be the Iraqis. And the Iraqis will do it not through military means solely, but by progress on the political side and giving the Iraqi people a sense that they have a stake in that country," he said.

Mr Rumsfeld reiterated warnings that efforts to develop Iraqi security forces could be set back if Iraq's new leaders make changes based not on competence but political considerations.

"We can't afford slippage. We need to see that there's some stability," he said.

-AFP

Reservists to be called on active duty reduced!

News Release
On the web: http://dod.mil/releases/2004/nr20050427-2841.html
Public contact: http://www.dod.mil/faq/comment.html or +1 (703) 428-0711

	No. 402-05 Apr 27, 2005
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

---

National Guard and Reserve Mobilized as of April 27, 2005

This week, the Army, Navy and Marine Corps announced a decrease in the number of reservists on active duty in support of the partial mobilization. The Air Force and Coast Guard had no change in their numbers. The net collective result is 1,147 fewer reservists mobilized than last week.

At any given time, services may mobilize some units and individuals while demobilizing others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease. Total number currently on active duty in support of the partial mobilization for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 148,935; Naval Reserve, 3,874; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 9,290; Marine Corps Reserve, 11,983; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 580. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to 174,662, including both units and individual augmentees.

A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve personnel, who are currently mobilized, can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2005/d20050427ngr.pdf.

---

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Cartoons

Murphy's Laws of Combat

• Recoiless rifles...aren't.
• Suppressive fire.....won't.
• Friendly fire.....isn't.
• Automatic weapons....aren't.
• Incoming fire has right-of-way.
• If the enemy is in range, so are you.
• When in doubt, empty the magazine.
• A sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you it's time to slow down.
• Never draw fire, it irritates everyone around you.
• Anything you do can get you shot...including doing nothing.
• Make it tough enough for the enemy to get in and you won't be able to get out.
• Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
• Professionals are predictable, amateurs are dangerous.
• The easy way is always mined.
• Try to look unimportant, they may be low on ammo.
• No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
• If you're short of everything but the enemy, you're in a combat zone.
• If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
• No combat-ready unit ever passed inspection.
• No inspection-ready unit ever passed combat.
• Communications will always fail the moment you need air or artillery support.
• If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.
• You are not Superman. (Freshly graduated recruits from Marine boot camp and all fighter pilots, especially, take note.)
• Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
• When both sides are convinced that they are about to lose; they are both right.
• Don't look conspicuous, it draws fire (This is why aircraft carriers are called bomb magnets.
• All five-second grenade fuses will brun down in three seconds.
• If you are forward of your position, the artillery will fall short
• The enemy diversion you are ignoring is the main attack.
• The important things are always simple
• The simple things are always hard
• When you have secured an area, don't forget to tell the enemy.
• If the enemy are in range, SO ARE YOU.
• Beer math is: Two beers times 37 men equal 49 cases.
• Body count math is: Two guerrillas plus one portable plus two pigs equal 37 enemy KIA
• Things that must be together to work, usually can't be shipped together.
• Tracers work BOTH ways.
• The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
• If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will have more than your fair share of objectives to take
• Professional soldiers are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs
• Murphy was a grunt.

Recommended by: Jim Cook

Afghan Boy Leads Coalition Forces to Weapons, Drug Cache

Afghan Boy Leads Coalition Forces to Weapons, Drug Cache

American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, April 22, 2005 – An Afghan boy whose father received treatment from a visiting U.S. military medical team last week turned a cache of ammunition and drugs over to coalition forces April 21.

The boy led Afghan National Army and coalition forces to a house in a village 10 kilometers away from Ghazni. The ANA approached the house's owner, who claimed he had no weapons inside. Afghan and coalition forces searched the dwelling and discovered a cache of 13 rocket-propelled grenades, a Russian-manufactured machine gun, a mortar round, several improvised-explosive-device components, plastic explosives, numerous rounds of ammunition and two bags of opium.

In addition to the munitions and drugs, a number of documents pertaining to Taliban operations were recovered.

"The fact that these insurgents would store these dangerous munitions and drugs so close to an area where children live and play only highlights that fact that they don't care who is hurt, or worse, killed, in their struggle against the people of Afghanistan," said Brig. Gen. James G. Champion, Combined Joint Task Force 76 deputy commanding general for operations.

Afghans account for more than 50 percent of all munitions turned into coalition forces and for more than 90 percent of all improvised explosive devices discovered, officials said.

"This is an excellent example of ordinary Afghan people standing up for themselves and their families to tell the insurgents, 'We're tired of living with terror and we're going to do something about it,'" Champion said.

"Events like this are happening more often across the country of Afghanistan as the Taliban loyalists and foreign fighters find they have less and less support from everyday Afghan citizens," he continued. "The fact that a child was able to come forward with this information only reinforces the message that what little support the insurgents once enjoyed in Afghanistan is slipping away more and more every day."

Medical assistance visits are conducted throughout many of the smaller villages of Afghanistan and typically treat a wide variety of illnesses and injuries ranging from amputation-related pain to follow-on burn treatment to cold and flu symptoms.

The explosive portions of the cache were taken to a nearby forward operating base for destruction. Afghan and coalition forces destroyed the drugs.

(From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan press release.)

An amazing but sad story of what our troops go through...

Horror Glimpsed From the Inside of A Humvee in Iraq
By Ann Scott Tyson: Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 21, 2005; Page A01

LATIFIYAH, Iraq -- Sgt. Joshua Haycox steered our Humvee forward at a slow march, carefully keeping his distance from the vehicle ahead and scanning the road for bombs as the Army convoy pushed deeper into the chaotic region known to soldiers as the Triangle of Death.

The largely ungoverned swath of farmland and villages south of Baghdad is cluttered with old munitions factories and compounds of elite Iraqi army units that formed Saddam Hussein's military-industrial base. Today, these backlands are also called the "throat of Baghdad" by the military, because a paucity of U.S. and Iraqi forces here has allowed insurgents to take root and stage attacks on the capital.

"Hey, see that town on your left? That's a real bad place," said Col. H.R. McMaster of Philadelphia, commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. "Keep a sharp lookout," he told his men as the convoy approached the dusty, seemingly deserted outpost of Mullafayad.

Within seconds, a powerful blast ripped into the Humvee a few yards ahead of us, shooting a cloud of debris high into the air.

McMaster swore loudly, then yelled, "Stop!" We braced for additional blasts. When they didn't come, McMaster ordered Haycox to pull forward away from the area where the bomb went off and get into position in case of more attacks. The bombed Humvee swerved off the shoulder into a ditch and jolted to a halt. Two soldiers staggered out, one covered with blood. Seeing the men's shocked faces, I instantly realized theirs was the vehicle I had been riding in 10 minutes earlier. The Humvee's right rear door was ripped off, the surrounding metal burned black, and the gunner was sprawled face down on the side of the road.

"Look for the triggerman! Where's the triggerman?" shouted McMaster's gunner, Cpl. Thomas Dillard, 26, of Beeville, Tex.

Bursts of rifle fire rang out. The injured soldiers opened up with M-4 rifles; Dillard fired in the direction of the shooting with his .50-caliber machine gun.

Haycox jumped out, fired back to keep the insurgents down and sprinted to the disabled Humvee. Back a few minutes later, he brought bad news. "Roger, we got casualties, sir. Sergeant major's hit and the gunner's hurt real bad."

Talisman for the Road

Before the attack Sunday morning, we had all gathered round and bowed our heads while the chaplain, Maj. David Causey, of Fort Carson, Colo., prayed to God to keep us safe. "Lord, we're not so naïve as to believe we'll go through war unscathed, but we pray again for a safe mission."

Then he reached into a cardboard box and pulled out plastic bags filled with lollypops, chocolate bars and sheets of paper bearing inspirational stories. To those who reached out their hands, he offered another bag, this one holding a small metal and wood crucifix.

I gave the bag of candy to a soldier who didn't get any, and kept the one with the cross.

We climbed into four armored Humvees and rolled down a dusty gravel road, pausing at the gate to the men's camp while they loaded their weapons with a sharp click-clack. We then headed onto the main highway leading south from Baghdad.

"Fasten your seat belt so you won't get thrown if we roll," Sgt. 1st Class Donald Sparks, 38, told me. The amiable native of Houston advised against using the combat lock on the door, a metal rod that keeps the door shut during fighting. "I want to be sure that if I have to, I can get out real fast," he said.

Soldiers here have refined the deadly calculus of traveling Iraqi roads. They know the rear seat on the driver's side is the safest in a Humvee. They know the lead vehicle in a convoy is often the least likely to get hit. They have memorized the worst stretches of highway, and the twists in the road that leave them vulnerable by forcing them to slow down. They also understand that no matter how hard they try, any mission could be their last.

"Stay down real low" in the turret, Command Sgt. Maj. John Caldwell, of Elba, Ala., called to the gunner, Pvt. Joseph Knott. "Just stick your head out high enough so you can see."

"Roger, sir," Knott said. A gung-ho private fresh out of training, Knott, 21, had fought for the gunner's job. Eager to prove himself, he often asked the more experienced gunner, Dillard, to watch him on missions and point out what he did wrong. Known among his peers as a gentleman, the native of Yuma, Ariz., aspired to join the Special Forces.

Caldwell, 43, an imposing former linebacker from Alabama State who nevertheless has a soft touch, seemed almost fatherly toward his young charge.

"Watch out here. This is the mixing bowl right here. This is a big, dangerous area," he called to Knott as we moved farther south to a tangle of highways. Soon, we entered the town of Mahmudiyah, in the so-called Triangle of Death. The town lies in a stretch of northern Babil province bordered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The area courses with a loosely allied web of insurgents as complex as the network of canals that make this terrain so hard to navigate for U.S. forces. Ten-foot-tall reeds grow in the waterways, offering hiding places for triggermen. Yet relatively few American troops have been dispatched to the region, one of several critical gaps between major U.S. commands in Iraq.

"Already there were a large number" of insurgents in this region, McMaster said. "Then over time, as the insurgency coalesced, it moved its base to areas where there were not significant coalition forces. So I think that's one of the reasons why this area is a problem."

On Sunday, Caldwell and McMaster were on a mission to prepare plans to strike back against insurgents, who have stepped up their attacks in the triangle in recent days, wounding or killing about a dozen U.S. soldiers in complex ambushes and roadside bombings. So far, attempts at counterstrikes have been hampered by a shortage of U.S. forces -- as well as a lack of local Iraqi police and functioning governments. McMaster said the regiment is now conducting aggressive offensive operations across the region that have netted more than a dozen insurgents.

A Fateful Decision

On the southern edge of the triangle, Capt. Ryan Seagreaves, of Allentown, Pa., told McMaster that he needed engineers to reinforce and expand his austere base so that there would be room for more Iraqi forces. He said he also needed dirt to fill protective barriers. Iraqi contractors are so terrified to work in the area that a convoy of 10 earth-filled dump trucks recently refused to travel south to McMaster's base. One driver fainted when told the destination, he said.

The local government council has been in disarray since its leader was assassinated this month, and there are no Iraqi police officers in the town, Seagreaves said. His snipers and tank patrols are growing exhausted from spending days at a time on the streets and in observation posts watching for insurgents -- the only way soldiers can keep them at bay.

"These guys have done a good job sucking it up, but they can't suck it up forever," Seagreaves said. McMaster promised to ask for reinforcements.

Our convoy stopped at a spartan U.S. sniper outpost overlooking a bridge spanning the meandering, jade-green Euphrates. Both American forces and insurgents seek to gain advantage by blocking or destroying bridges and roads. Currently, U.S. troops have barred all traffic on three nearby bridges including this one, which is laced with barbed wire. Soldiers recently shot an Iraqi man who ignored warnings and attempted to cross.

As we prepared to leave, I switched to McMaster's Humvee, trading places with a lanky, gray-bearded interpreter from Michigan nicknamed "Uncle," who declined to be identified further.

Life Fades Away

Ten minutes later, we were hit. McMaster radioed the regiment: "Rifle X-ray, this is Rifle Six," he said. "We have contact IED [explosives] and small-arms fire. Request aviation immediately. I need medevac and air support," he said, his tone measured but urgent.

He looked up at his gunner: "Focus on security, Dillard!"

Two Bradley Fighting Vehicles carrying reinforcements came roaring down the road toward us and dropped their rear hatches. The infantrymen rushed out and crouched alongside a wall to direct their fire at a farmhouse adjacent to the bomb crater. One Bradley fired a few rounds, and the infantry squad swept into the house and detained five men.

Within 15 minutes, two Apache attack helicopters were swooping low overhead, their crew looking for fleeing insurgents.

Uncle, his face and uniform heavily splotched with blood, sat down and looked at me.

"You were lucky," he said, his first words to me after the ambush.

"I am so sorry," I said, offering to clean his wounds and feeling an intense wave of what soldiers call "survivor's guilt." I thanked God that Uncle had suffered only cuts and a broken hand. As it turned out, it was Uncle's second bombing in Iraq. The first was in 2003 when the native of Mosul worked with U.S. Army Rangers. Even after this close scrape, he said he planned to stay.

"You're very courageous," I told him.

"I'm an old man," he replied.

Back at the mangled Humvee, an urgent effort was underway to save Caldwell. Trapped and slumped over in a pool of blood in the front seat, he was floating in and out of consciousness. The driver, Spec. Kanai Thiim, 28, of Honolulu, his face and neck peppered with shrapnel, was desperately trying to open Caldwell's door, punched inward by the explosion. Haycox, 22, of Choctaw, Okla., ran over with an ax and began swinging it hard at the lock. When that and then later a hammer failed, the men tried to pull off the roof, but it was too heavy. Finally, they used a metal rope and winch attached to another Humvee to rip the damaged door open.

All the time, Sparks was calling to Caldwell by his nickname, urging him to hang on. "Come on, Battle. Talk to me, Battle," he said. "Stay strong, Battle." At a loss at one point, Sparks started singing one of the favorite tunes of his beloved sergeant major, an aficionado of classic jazz. For a moment, Caldwell weakly tried to sing along. Sparks was ecstatic.

But a few yards away, life was draining out of Knott. Blasted from the Humvee along with the gun turret, he had suffered severe head trauma. His jugular vein cut by shrapnel, he was loosing copious amounts of blood. Soon, a medic at the scene said Knott was gone.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Hodges, Knott's platoon sergeant, took out a wooden cross with rosary beads and laid it on the fallen soldier's chest. As Sparks rubbed the back of Knott's head, the soldiers bowed their heads. Huddled together in the dirt, they said the Lord's Prayer. "Our Father, who art in Heaven," Hodges began.

Beyond them in the nearby village of Mullafayad, people began stirring. As they watched Knott's body being placed in a bag and carried away, Sparks, Thiim and others felt a growing sense of rage. They tried to wash the blood off the road with water, then shoveled dirt over the spot. "I don't want the guys who did this to have anything to celebrate or dance over," Sparks said. "Not today. Not ever."

As his platoon grappled with the loss of Knott, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's first soldier to be killed in action during this tour in Iraq, Thiim voiced a deep sadness, mixed with frustration over insurgent tactics. "It's just the worst feeling" to get hit by a road bomb, said Thiim, his neck bandaged and uniform bloodied. "You're just helpless. You can't react."

This time, I knew exactly what he meant.

One article. Many stories.

This article is about a civilian helicopter that was shot down but it refers to many storiesof things happening in Iraq...the bodies of those found at the soccer stadium in Haditha and more.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,154142,00.html

Dozens Of Bodies Found In Tigris River

April 21, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - For days, Iraq was shaken by claims that Sunni Muslim militants had abducted as many as 100 Shiites from an area at the tip of Iraq's "Triangle of Death."

Shiite leaders and government officials warned of a major sectarian conflict, only to see the reports evaporate when Iraqi security forces swept through the area and found no hostages.

But on Wednesday Iraq's interim president said he had proof of the abductions: 50 bodies recovered from the Tigris River.

And northwest of Baghdad, witnesses said 19 bullet-riddled bodies were found slumped against a bloodstained wall in a soccer stadium in Haditha.

The discoveries came as insurgents unleashed a string of attacks that killed at least nine Iraqis and wounded 21. They included four suicide car bombs - one of which targeted interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's convoy - and a roadside explosion in the capital, police said. Allawi escaped unharmed, his spokesman said.

Another blast sent smoke billowing over Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the Iraqi government and foreign embassies. It was not clear what caused that explosion.

On Thursday morning, a roadside bomb exploded on the highway leading to Baghdad's airport, heavily damaging three SUVs carrying civilians, police said.

Police Capt. Hamid Ali said two foreigners were killed and three others wounded in the burning vehicles, but officials in the U.S. military and at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which were investigating the attack, could not immediately confirm that.

The country's most feared terror group, al-Qaida in Iraq, claimed responsibility for two of the Baghdad attacks in a series of statements posted on a militant Web site. It was not possible to verify the claim.

The attacks by the Sunni Muslim-led insurgency came as Iraq's caretaker government met to choose a new Cabinet from the country's complex mix of Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis. During Saddam Hussein's rule, Sunnis, who make up 15 to 20 percent of Iraq's 26 million people, dominated.

But many of them boycotted Iraq's Jan. 30 elections or simply feared attacks at the polls. The interim government is now trying to win the support of Sunnis by including some of them in the Cabinet, which could be announced as early as Thursday.

On Wednesday, interim President Jalal Talabani did not say when or where the 50 bodies were pulled from the river, but he said all had been identified as hostages.

"Terrorists committed crimes there. It is not true to say there were no hostages. There were. They were killed, and they threw the bodies into the Tigris," Talabani told reporters. "We have the full names of those who were killed and those criminals who committed these crimes."

Shiite leaders and government officials claimed last week that Sunni militants had abducted as many as 100 Shiites from the Madain area, 14 miles southeast of Baghdad. But when Iraqi forces moved into the town of 1,000 families, they found no captives, and residents said they had seen no evidence anyone had been seized.

Madain is at the tip of a Sunni militant stronghold known as the "Triangle of Death," where there have been numerous retaliatory kidnappings. Police and health officials said victims are sometimes killed and dumped in the river.

As summer approaches and temperatures start to rise, bodies have been floating to the surface, said Dr. Falah al-Permani of the Swera district health department. He said some 50 bodies have been recovered over the past three weeks. But it was not clear whether they were the bodies referred to by Talabani.

In Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, taxi drivers Rauf Salih and Ousama Halim said they heard gunshots and rushed to the stadium. There they found 19 bloodied bodies lined up against a wall, the two men and an Iraqi reporter said. All appeared to have been gunned down.

Residents said they believed the victims - all men in civilian clothes - were soldiers abducted by insurgents as they headed home for a holiday marking the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

The reporter did not see any military identification documents on the bodies, and it was not possible to verify the claim. In October, insurgents ambushed and killed about 50 unarmed Iraqi soldiers as they headed home from a U.S. military training camp northeast of Baghdad.

The U.S. military said it could not confirm killings at the stadium. The only report American forces had received from Haditha by late Wednesday was that insurgents ransacked a television and radio station in the area, the military said. The Iraqi military also had no immediate information.

On Thursday, a bomb exploded on Baghdad's airport road, destroying at least two sports utility vehicles driving in a small convoy, witnesses said.

The U.S. military said it was investigating a car bomb explosion in Baghdad, but it declined to identify the location where it had occurred.

Insurgents often use roadside bombs and suicide car bombs to attack U.S. military convoys on the road, one of the most dangerous in the capital.

<>Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

One of life's most basic lessons:

Every individual can be of service to others,
and live had meaning beyond one's own
immediate happiness.

Rough road ahead...

The heat is really on over in Iraq. Not much news to tell but it appears the Insurgency is growing and really putting it's foot to the pedal, full force. It's hard, scary and dangerous.

My prayers and well wishes go to all the troops in Iraq. Especially those in the heavy target areas. You know who you are.

Thank you for working so hard. Thank you for taking time away from your families and loved ones to fight for those who need your help. I can say, being one of those at home, that we understand, we are here heart and soul waiting for you and hope you "get 'er done and get 'er home" as soon as possible.

Carrie

I Am Your Flag

I AM YOUR FLAG

I am the flag of the United States of America.
My name is Old Glory.

I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.
I stand watch in America's halls of justice.
I fly majestically over institutions of learning.
I stand guard with power in the world.
Look up at me and see me.

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice. I stand for freedom.
I am confident. I am arrogant.
I am proud. When I am flown with my fellow banners, my head is a little higher,
my colors a little truer.

I bow to no one! I am recognized all over the world.
I am worshipped - I am saluted. I am loved. I am revered.
I am respected - and I am feared.

I have fought in every battle of every war for more then 200 years.
I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appamatox.
I was there at San Juan Hill, the trenches of France, in the Argonne
Forest, Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy, Guam. Okinawa, Korea
and KheSan, Saigon, and Vietnam.

I was there. I led my troops,
I was dirty, battleworn and tired, but my soldiers cheered me.
And I was proud. I have been burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries
I have helped set free.
It does not hurt, for I am invincible.

I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and trampled
on the streets of my country.
And when it's by those whom I've served in battle - it hurts.
But I shall overcome - for I am strong.

I have slipped the bonds of Earth and stood watch over the uncharted
frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.
I have borne silent witness to all of America's finest hours.
But my finest hours are yet to come.

When I am torn into strips and used as bandages for my
wounded comrades on the battlefield,
When I am flown at half-mast to honor my soldier,
Or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent at the grave of
their fallen son or daughter,
I am proud.

MY NAME IS OLD GLORY
LONG MAY I WAVE.
DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN
LONG MAY I WAVE

Prayer...

"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen."

Corpsman Up!

"Corpsman Up!" is the cry that echoes across the battlefield when a Marine goes down wounded. More than friends, medical Corpsmen are the lifesavers of their unit. This fictionalized account of the real experiences of a Navy Hospital Corpsman assigned to a Marine grunt unit in Vietnam is a tribute to courage, friendship and heroism.

To read the story go here: http://www.corpsman.com/frames.html
And click on the chapter boxes to read the story.

Look! Our Francie is famous!

Norton woman send husband serving in Iraq letters on back of notes he sent from Vietnam.
Same message, different wartime.

Francie Nutter of Norton looks over letters she received from her husband-to-be when he served in Vietnam in the late '60s.

Francie Nutter has been in this position before, writing letters to a serviceman overseas.

It was in the late '60s when 19-year-old Francie Nolan began corresponding with the young man who had taken her to the Buchtel High School senior prom, Marine Paul Nutter.

Then, the letters went to Vietnam.

At first, the return letters that now fill a large box in Francie Nutter's home were addressed: ``Dear Fran.''

As the months and the war dragged on, the flames of love could be seen. Those later letters started: ``Dearest Darling.''

Paul Nutter came home from Vietnam in early 1969. A few months later, on April 15, he and Francie Nolan were married.

Today, they live in Norton. They have raised two children and have two grandchildren.

And once again, Francie Nutter is writing love letters to the man she loves. This time, the letters are going to Iraq.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Nutter is a Navy Reserve hospital corpsman. He headed to Iraq with a battalion of Marine reservists that included his unit out of Brook Park and 140 Marines from the Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment out of Akron. The Marine Reserve infantry unit is the last such one to be mobilized to active duty since 9/11.

And Nutter, 56, is the oldest person serving in the battalion of about 1,200.

The letters he now receives are being written on the back of the love letters he sent from Vietnam so many years ago.

On one recent day, Francie Nutter, a 15-year breast cancer survivor, pulled a letter from the box and read the words her husband wrote on Aug. 29, 1968, from Vietnam.

``You know I love you so much, I wish I could get on top of the world and scream it out.

``All the Gold on earth couldn't match my love for you.''

`Ready to go' after 9/11

Paul Nutter spent eight years in the Marines in both active duty and the Reserve after writing those words to his future wife.

He worked as a B.F. Goodrich firefighter in Akron and as a Norton firefighter and paramedic. He joined the Navy Reserve in 1990 as a corpsman -- a medic.

Both Nutter and his wife work for Stark Summit Ambulance.

When terrorists attacked America in 2001, Paul Nutter ``was ready to go,'' said Francie, now 56.

When the call came late last year to the Marines and corpsmen attached to the Marine Reserve unit, Corpsman Nutter jumped at the chance. And he wasn't about to let quadruple-bypass heart surgery five years ago stop him.

``It's been exciting,'' he said in a phone interview this week from his base at Haditha Dam, about 250 miles southwest of Baghdad.

But there is a downside, too.

``We've been busy with casualties,'' he said. ``It just eats at me when I see it.''

Nutter has been on the scene when three Marines have died, he said.

He said when he looks at the young Marines he works with and those he treats for injuries, he sees himself as a young man. ``I was young and dumb'' in Vietnam, he said. ``I took a lot of chances then. Now, I hardly take any chances.''

The Marines he serves with, he said, ``are well-prepared.''

Still, the place where he is stationed is a tough spot. The residents hated Saddam Hussein, he said, but ``they dislike us immensely.''

Since leaving for this assignment, Nutter said, he has lost more than 50 pounds and feels healthy. He plans to retire from the Navy when he returns home. ``I promised my wife -- no more wars,'' he said.

Countdown of days

This time, the first letter home went to his 3 ½-year-old granddaughter.

Then the letters began to arrive for Francie Nutter.

As he did when he was in Vietnam, Paul Nutter keeps a running countdown on each of his letters of the number of days until his return to Ohio. She does the same.

They figure he has more than 200 days to go.

And so, Francie Nutter, looks through her box for letters.

``Who knows. I hope someday we will get married and just in case we do, here is something to get us started.''

A $20 bill fell out of the old letter a young Marine sent so many years ago.

She put the $20 bill back in the letter and put the letter back in the box. Perhaps it will be stationery for another day.

Paul Nutter recently received his first letter from his wife on Vietnam stationery.

``It brought back memories of a long war and that my love for her has grown stronger,'' he said in an e-mail from Iraq. And the letter made him realize ``that Nam was as dangerous as this Iraq war and that mail from home is still a morale booster.''

This week, Francie Nutter dropped another letter to her husband in the mail -- one written on the back of a letter from the summer of 1968.

``Dearest Darling,'' she began her 2005 letter to Paul.

``Wow, this is some romantic letter you wrote August 29, 1968. Every one I pull from the box is better than the one before.... Those were the days and will be again.''

Reading the old letters and thinking about the years that have passed fills her with emotion.

``Isn't that something?'' she said, holding one of the old letters as the sun shone into her kitchen in Norton.

``I will tell you, I think I am falling in love again from reading these letters.''

---

Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com

Comm. from RJ

I heard from RJ recently. A phone call in the middle of the night (3am Sunday morning) and a very quick email today.

Last we spoke before this communication I didn't get a chance to ask him anything other than "how are you?". Time went too quickly. This time when he called my list of questions was quite lengthy and despite being half asleep a handful of them crept into my head. I was in Columbus at the time in a hotel with my Mom and one of my sisters for an Art Show opening and had to creep outside barefoot and in my PJ's to the truck to stay out of the biting wind and so I could have a few quiet moments with my guy.

When I asked how he was doing his response was, "I'm alive". My guess is he was very tired and perhaps had a very trying day. But otherwise in the conversation he sounded like big ole smilin' RJ. Very good to hear. When I asked him if he needed anything he said, "It's getting pretty warm here. If you can find some socks to keep cool. Battery-powered or anything!" I was like, "Yeah...battery-powered air-conditioning socks...I'll keep my eyes open, honey". Poor guy. So I did go on a search for socks that would help him stay cooler than he is now. The wick-dry socks made by a million and one companies these days seem like the best bet. He said the color didn't really matter either as long as they weren't pink. So white, green, beige (pref. not black) socks are good.

In the 2 line email I just received today (and practially jumped out of my chair when I saw his name pop-up in my Inbox) he said, "We just arrived today from being all around the territory. The days seem long and the nights even longer."

With it getting warmer over I have taken to trying to find ways to cool our boys down in the heat. I've heard about the cooling bandanas (http://www.brandsonsale.com/coba.html, this is one of many sites that sells them), but he said they have something there that they can buy for cheaper than I can make or buy it here once you take into account shipping.

I also found a website where you can sign up your troop(s) to receive an air conditioner (http://www.operationac.com/). I talked to him about the converter issue and he said if they receive and AC unit, they will find a way to get the proper converter to make it work. Sign up your guys! Let's increase the chance of them getting one!

There is also a thing called a Chillow. (http://www.chillowstore.com/). I don't know if that's something that would be helpful or not. It looks like it would be but I have a feeling that might be up to the personal preference of the guy himself. I've asked RJ about it in emails but haven't gotten a response to that inquiry, yet.

Another item that I think could be good to cool them down is a personal cooling mist-er. I found some on this page (http://www.mistymate.com/personal-cooling.html). I think that it comes down to budget and if the guys want to actually carry it around with them or have it back at the base. There are others too, like the little spray bottle with the fan attached (http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39152952&memberId=12500226, or any of these http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=200301616&storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226).

And last but not least, of the immediate cooling ideas is the Frogg Togg (http://www.goflow.net/catpage.html?n=361). It's like a chamois that you use to keep cool. I don't know if it's the same material as a chamois or not and I haven't seen on up close, only online. So I can't give any feedback. But heck, if it's good for the guys and works, it sounds good to me. I wonder if the lack of humidity over there will make it dry out so quickly that they end up spending more time getting it wet than enjoying the cool?!

If any of the guys are reading this and you want us to get them for you, let us know! Otherwise we are just guessing at what would work best for you. Or you can buy them yourself at those sites. Some deliver to FPO addresses.

I know that where RJ is there is no microwave. I understand that Wal-Mart will ship to an FPO address. If your Marine or Corpman wants one, can't get it on his own at the PX when it comes around, then you can get one there. It won't be cheap, but the bonus is that they'll ship to the FPO address. Cool, huh?! I don't know, at the moment, if there is a site that helps get items such as microwaves to the troops or any other store that ships to FPO addresses. But I'm sure there are other places to find them.

That's it for now. I've spoken to many other Mom's, wives and girlfriends of those with the 3/25. All concerned and very proud. We all have our issues with the family being gone beit lack of communication, lack of affection, or a million other things. But one thing stands true in that we are all backing our guys and gals overseas and that we love them dearly and want them home as soon as humanly possible.

Stay strong everyone. Trina, Liana and Betty, you're welcome to share your comments or stories from your loves ones here too. All news is welcome.

Take care everyone. Semper Fi.

Carrie Ann