The true story that most don't hear written by LCPL Schmidt USMC

This is just one most don't hear:


A young Marine and his cover man cautiously enter a
room just recently filled with insurgents armed with
Ak-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another
wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying,
"Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is
badly wounded, lying in a pool of his own blood. The
Marine and his cover man slowly walk toward the
injured man, scanning to make sure no enemies come
from behind. In a split second, the pressure in the
room greatly exceeds that of the outside, and the
concussion seems to be felt before the blast is heard.
Marines outside rush to the room, and look in horror
as the dust gradually settles. The result is a room
filled with the barely recognizable remains of the
deceased, caused by an insurgent setting off several
pounds of explosives.

The Marines' remains are gathered by teary eyed
comrades, brothers in arms, and shipped home in a box.
The families can only mourn over a casket and a picture
of their loved one, a life cut short by someone who hid
behind a white flag. But no one hears these stories,
except those who have lived to carry remains of a friend,
and the families who loved the dead. No one hears this,
so no one cares.

This is the story everyone hears:


A young Marine and his fire team cautiously enter a room
just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47's
and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain.
The insugent can be heard saying, "Mister,mister!
Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is badly wounded.
Suddenly, he pulls from under his bloody clothes a
grenade, without the pin. The explosion rocks the room,
killing one Marine, wounding the others. The young
Marine catches shrapnel in the face.

The next day, same Marine, same type of situation, a
different story. The young Marine and his cover man
enter a room with two wounded insurgents. One lies on
the floor in puddle of blood, another against the wall.
A reporter and his camera survey the wreckage inside,
and in the background can be heard the voice of a
Marine, "He's moving, he's moving!" The pop of a rifle
is heard, and the insurgent against the wall is now
dead.

Minutes, hours later, the scene is aired on national
television, and the Marine is being held for commiting
a war crime. Unlawful killing.

And now, another Marine has the possibility of being
burned at the stake for protecting the life of his
brethren. His family now wrings their hands in grief,
tears streaming down their face. Brother, should I
have been in your boots, i too would have done the
same.

For those of you who don't know, we are Marines, Band
of Brothers, Jarheads, Leathernecks, etc., do not fight
because we think it is right, or think it is wrong. We
are here for the man to our left, and the man to our
right. We choose to give our lives so that the man or
woman next to us can go home and see their husbands,
wives, children, friends and families.

For those of you who sit on your couches in front of
your television, and choose to condemn this man's
actions, I have but one thing to say to you. Get out
of you recliner, lace up my boots, pick up a rifle,
leave your family behind and join me. See what I've
seen, walk where I have walked. To those of you who
support us, my sincerest gratitude. You keep us alive.

I am a Marine currently doing his second tour in Iraq.
These are my opinions and mine alone. They do not
represent those of the Marine Corps or of the US
military, or any other.

Sincerely,
LCPL Schmidt
USMC

globalspecops.com...

true... true.

In a situation such as that, knowing these guys are nuts, I would turn into machine mode. Anything goes. How do you think people survived in 'Nam with similar fanatic enemies.

www.politicalsoundoff.com...

"We actually left all of the humanitarian MRE's [Meals Ready to Eat] in Kuwait," he recalled. "We were supposed to give these out for relief, and we left them in Kuwait. They were just for show when the film crews came into the camps. We also had this big show with the medical supplies that we were prepping for Iraqi casualties. We were supposed to get in there and take care of them.

"But I'll give you an example of what we actually did. After we shot up this car with civilians, I called in the corpsmen to bring in stretchers. They came in and put two men on stretchers. Five minutes later, they brought them back and dumped their bodies on the side of the road. They were still alive. They were riddled with bullets--one guy was just rolling in agony on the side of the road."

I know what you are saying. It is a terrible shame we have to search to find these stories, as tragic as they are. I really don't think people realize how biased the media really is. We have freedom of speech, and 99% of the reporters, our eyes into the war, can only give us the bad. What a terrible terrible sahme.

Thank you for sharing, more people need to hear that!

Yes thank you for sharing and I too can not blame the man, but we now know that the reporter had other motives as well....I wonder if Al Jee Lie A will presnt this side of the story? Nah, I didnt think so.

For those of you who sit on your couches in front of
your television, and choose to condemn this man's
actions, I have but one thing to say to you. Get out
of you recliner, lace up my boots, pick up a rifle,
leave your family behind and join me. See what I've
seen, walk where I have walked.



Quit yer crying...Nobody twisted your arm to join...bet you won't have a problem spending all that "free" college money will ya. BTW, I'm x-military as well (served in Gulf I...M1A2 tank gunner)...but I don't have a problem calling a spade, a spade. The Marine was WRONG...point blank...let an enemy soldier cap one of our "boys" that way, and we'd be ready to nuke the joint....please, what a double standard we have.

In Gulf I, when my platoon would knock-out an Iraqi tank, and if the tank didn't brew-up right away, and if some of the crew were actually able to bail out.....we'd let them run away. Why, cause THEY WERE NO LONGER A THREAT! We didn't gun 'em down just for sh-ts & giggles....we identified them as HUMAN BEINGS, and took pitty on them....just like our fathers and thier fathers did in their wars........

toona -

I'm glad your not in the service anymore.

But probably not for the reason you think I am.....

toona you are delusional. I seriously question your military background. Saw them as human beings...are you serious? They were, if they ever existed, the ENEMY! Nothing more tnothing less. To be killed!


You allowed them to run away to fight another day...did ya now! That is treasonous! There is a name for soldiers like you...it is called a coward!

No fellow soldier would ever denegrate the willingnous of another soldier to defend himself in whatever means necessary.

[edit on 19-11-2004 by CHANGELING]

"I'm glad your not in the service anymore"



Me too...as I'm no good at killing non-combatants...

CHANGELING, it's funny...but I (or the other gunners in our platoon as well) never felt the need to "defend" myself from a guy who was over 2,000 meters away running for his life armed with nothing more than his bare hands. Sure (let's play the what-if game), he could have found an RPG and by some stroke of luck managed to get a rear shot on one of us....or maybe he found another T-72 a few klicks to the rear that he could hop back into....but maybe, just maybe...he was just a simple father or husband who was just as scared sh-tless as I was, and didn't want to be there in the first place....maybe, just maybe that guy was able to live, and one day will share with his grandchildren how he should have been gunned down, but that his life was spared, and he would always be thankfull....yeah, I guess I would have made a lousy Nazi also....

Toona the injured terrorist two meters away from you is a lot more threatening then a fleeing tanker 2000 meters away.

Also toona were you even listening? Many terrorists have "hid behind the white flag!" Then they blow themsleves up!

Does that mean we should kill all terrorists just to make sure they don't blwo themelves up?...............YES it's you or them! You decide Toona.

Originally posted by toona
In Gulf I, when my platoon would knock-out an Iraqi tank, and if the tank didn't brew-up right away, and if some of the crew were actually able to bail out.....we'd let them run away. Why, cause THEY WERE NO LONGER A THREAT! We didn't gun 'em down just for sh-ts & giggles....we identified them as HUMAN BEINGS, and took pitty on them....just like our fathers and thier fathers did in their wars........

I wonder how many of those Iraqis you let run away killed US servicemen this time around. If a combatant fails to surrender and is seeking to escape he remains a threat. I'm glad your now a civilian, too.

Many terrorists have "hid behind the white flag!" Then they blow themsleves up!


They also did it in Gulf I. The battle of Khafji: The Iraqi tanks rolled in with thier turrets pointed to the rear (main gun over the back deck)...which is the international sign for surrender. It was nothing more than a ruse....a trick...then they opened up.

That sort of thing isn't new, it's always been done...but that dosen't mean it's open season on any unarmed enemy. America gets the sh-tty end of the stick sometimes because we show compassion to non-combatants, that's the price we pay for being proud, and free Americans...that's what seperates us from the people we're fighting. When your looking through your sight at the unarmed guy...and you know that you have the awesome power to take his life with one twitch of your trigger finger...you look at him not as some evil monster, but as a poor S.O.B. just like you are...and you say to yourself "God, that could be me...", and you think twice....

Yes, being over 2,000 meters away wrapped in a steel box is a bit more safe than being 2 meters away....but if the man is clearly an unarmed non-combatant, it's murder...

Is it just me or has the world not changed since the first gulf war. I know war is war. But have some of the tactics not changed? Seems like the enemy just keeps getting dirtier & dirtier. And if our armed forces do not use all means necessary to defend themselves so they may complete the task given to them, then what is the point. That was the enemy. Plain & simple. Our Hero Marine just took away that insurgent/terrorist, whater the case may be, opportunity to be a martyr.

Wow. Now this is a rough conversation, which I should probably stay out of, but damn. I must side with toona on this one. It is murder to shoot an unarmed or wounded man, when he is no longer a threat. Although I agree he should be captured in that situation or if he won't surrender, then shoot him in the leg or something to stop him. Then capture him. Besides, is this not against international rules of war and law to kill an unarmed man or wounded man?

Part of what used to make america great, was having all this strength, and not using it for total anihilation. I am completely aware of the truth of the proverb "those who fight and run away, may live to fight another day". But again, only nazis and similar regimes commit genocide. We're supposed to be the liberators, the good guys. There shouldn't be anyone fighting against us (that's sarcasm). Isn't Saddam in prison anyway? You'd think it's time to give them their country back, after helping return at least to the standard of living they had before we liberated them. Instead we have acrimonious exchanges about whether or not the inhabitants of that country have any right or reason to defend themselves against foreign invaders.

Put yourselves in their shoes. If some Muslim head of state decided that americans were being oppressed by Bush, that we had WMD's and a hostile attitude towards Muslim countries, and that we had resources that might come in handy someday, and mounted an invasion of america, would you welcome them as liberators??? Or would you organize and fight?

It's too bad that as military folk you are at the mercy of whomever gives the orders, right or wrong. If you read about the Nuremberg Trials, you'll see that using "just following orders" as a defence against war crimes was disallowed. I guess your commander-in-chief solved that problem when he had Mr. Gonzales write him a get-out-of-Geneva-Conventions-free pass.

--Saerlaith

"That was the enemy. Plain & simple. Our Hero Marine just took away that insurgent/terrorist, whater the case may be, opportunity to be a martyr."

While we're at it, might as well kill all the women & children also....never know, they might be strapped with TNT. Can't forget the babies as well, you know they're just gonna grow up to be terrorist...might as well nip-it-in-the-bud so to speak.

besides, the terrorists are just "untermenschen" anyway...

Oh yeah, that's the Nazi term for "sub-human"....made it easier when it came time to gas the Jews or gun down surrendered soldiers when you think of them that way....sheese...

What makes our soldiers better than everyone else? It's not the uniforms, it's not the weapons....it's the morality...it's our compassion. Yes, there's a time to shoot to kill, and there's a time to show mercy and accept a surrender...

Originally posted by toona

While we're at it, might as well kill all the women & children also....never know, they might be strapped with TNT. Can't forget the babies as well, you know they're just gonna grow up to be terrorist...might as well nip-it-in-the-bud so to speak.

As a matter of fact, women are hiding bombs under their babies and then blowing up themselves when coalition forces are nearby. If he had surrendered, he would have been taken into custody like the other insurgents who have surrendered. If someone is going to fake being dead then there could be something he is hiding for that purpose. Knowing that previously wounded insurgents had faked death to cause more death to coalition forces, I know I would have made darn sure that I was protecting my life and the life of my partners. Killing for killing sake is never right, but if they (the insurgents) want the US to play by their rules, then back off the war crime calls. It's sick to think that the media has this much power to pervert the truth. The media needs to put out the whole story or shut up.

I do not blame the Marine for what he did. I was not there and niether are most of you. You have no idea what your reflexes would do. Fight or Flight.

As far as the accusations and insults people are directing towards Toona. I too was a gunner on the M1A1. (not in combat). Looking at an individual at 2000 meters through a green reticle (gun sight) is different than looking at one at 2 meters.

An M1A1 is not a P.O.W. containment vehicle. As a matter of fact my old Platoon Sgt. from Ft. Bliss had his M1 shot out from under him because some idiot policy of having his platoon round up prisoners. After his tank was hit that policy changed pretty damm quick.

If you have never been in combat then shut the hell up and stop criticising the brave men and women who have been in combat. I never was but I am sure I would have the turret blower on to remove the odor from my shorts.

Originally posted by toona


Quit yer crying...Nobody twisted your arm to join...bet you won't have a problem spending all that "free" college money will ya. BTW, I'm x-military as well (served in Gulf I...M1A2 tank gunner).....

Strange the M1A2 was not available in Gulf war 1, I dont think....



M1A1 / M1A2 ABRAMS MAIN BATTLE TANK, USA
The M1A1/2 Abrams main battle tank is manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS). The first M1 tank was produced in 1978, the M1A1 in 1985 and the M1A2 in 1986. 3,273 M1 tanks were produced for the US Army. 4,796 M1A1 tanks were built for the US Army, 221 for the US Marines and 555 co-produced with Egypt. Egypt has ordered a further 200 M1A1 tanks with production to continue to 2005.

77 M1A2 tanks have been built for the US Army

, 315 for Saudi Arabia and 218 for Kuwait. For the M1A2 Upgrade Program, over 600 M1 Abrams tanks are being upgraded to M1A2 configuration. Deliveries began in 1998.
www.army-technology.com...




So I take it you had 1 of the 77 huh?




During the Army�s current M1A2 procurement program about 1,000 older, less capable M1 series tanks will be upgraded to the M1A2 configuration and fielded to the active forces. There is currently no plan to field the M1A2 to the ARNG. The Army has procured 62 new tanks in the A2 configuration and as of early 1997 completed the conversion of 368 older M1s to M1A2s. The first three years of M1A2 Abrams upgrade tank work, between 1991-1993, delivered 267 tanks. A multi-year procurement of 600 M1A2 upgrade tanks was run at Lima [Ohio] Army tank plant from 1996 to 2001.
www.globalsecurity.org...




Gee you must have had the best tank there huh m8? Wasnt Gulf War 1 in 1991?



You have lost credibility in my eyes, not that you ever had it..

Good Job, Toona.

Don't listen to the wannabes here.

The US = good because we believe in rule of law, and law and order. We don't cut off the heads of captives or double-tap wounded prisoners.

Contrary to what these never-served bloodthirsty TV warriors think, there are safe ways to determine whether or not a wounded, surrendering enemy is boobytrapped or not. US Servicemembers do not run around like apes and cap every man, woman, and child they can find. If they do, they are prosecuted under the UCMJ.

To everyone saying this, imagine if you saw a video of an Iraqi walk up to a US servicemember groaning in pain asking for a doctor and he gets shot in the head. Before you reply, ask how you would react to such an image.