TO OUR HONOURED DEAD

 

MAJ K, Thunder6 and I are all well. We had a costly week. We lost a brother, and the sorrow that has consumed us has left me in darkened spirits. There was no period of denial, only the realization that a soldier, a man, a husband, father and a brother is no more. Today was his memorial, and the emptiness and grief I feel hs again consumed me. There is no lonelier sound I can comprehend then the sound of dog tags clanking in the wind. This past week has shattered any pretense of “reduced” activity in our Area of Southern Baghdad. Monday morning I awoke to the sound of war. The sound of thunder ripped me from my slumber, not one, not two but three enormous explosions shattered the still morning air. Before I knew it I was running at full speed to the Operations Center, and as expected it was alive with activity.

     In combat the first reports are usually wrong, but we knew that the arhabi had come out to play. We actioned our response and collected as much information as we could. That day ended, thankfully with no killed or wounded. Tuesday saw more activity as well, but nothing we weren’t' capable of dealing with. Wednesday I went into work a little early as the constant warning of enemy activity were now more readily accepted, and taken a little more seriously. The events leading up to why are not important, what is relevant here is that a single shot rang out and it found its mark. I knew nearly at once that it was bad, no one could say where the shot had come from and no one heard it. My single greatest fear here is not IEDs, VBIEDs, or mortars. My worst fear is a sniper. Not the typical misuse of the word; namely any would be Tom, Dick, or Mohammed with a rifle here that shoots at us from far away, but from a trained sniper. One who selects his targets, with patience, discipline and skill from a concealed “hide”.

     The “shooter” was all of that and displayed characteristics of a trained and seasoned “professional”. In the Op Center I was literally screaming for them to get the hell off of that objective, there was a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, I knew that beyond hope that our men were in his kill box, and they had to get out as fast as they could as far away as they could. The feeling in the pit of my stomach was that of hopelessness. Our man never had a chance, there is no consolation in that he didn't suffer, there is only the realization that we paid a heavy price to learn a lesson I have been trying to convey for some time now. Snipers are a real threat here. This shooter brazenly took a second shot, to add further insult to our loss, amazingly the second soldier (who took a bullet in his neck) is here with us. He returned to duty less than 24 hours later. His only thought was to get his men back; he even ordered them to stay back. True to the character of our military his men ignored that order and did not leave him behind, the rushed out and recovered him. Today at the memorial I shook the hand of some of the most courageous men I have met in years.

 

     Today at the memorial men wept openly, men spoke of their friend, and gave fond remembrances of him. He was another soldier who volunteered to come with us. Today was filled with memories of lost friends, of my wife, of home, and forever burned into my mind is the sound of “Taps” being played by a lone horn, burned into my memory is the bitter sound of silence at “roll-call”. There is so much that has gone wrong here, we have lost three soldiers here, and that is three to many. All I can think of is the sniper out there who lies in wait for us to come. June 22^nd belongs to him. Tomorrow the day will be ours, and when this murdering scum falls (and he will fall), I will mark that date on my calendar and celebrate his death for the rest of my life.

I have been watching with must disgust our politicians blathering on about how this war is too costly and the human toll is too high, and that we should set a date for withdrawal. To coin a phrase from the 101^st at Bastogne “NUTS!” We quit they win, not on my watch ladies and gentleman who have never served and haven't the slightest clue what it means to risk your life daily for something larger than your own career. We leave before this job is done and the lives lost, and the lives that will be lost are in vain. Sorry ladies and gents, I know this an election year (I am well aware of that!), but you using the sacrifices of our military as s spring board to further divide the American people is reprehensible. As you all know I will seek office when I return, and I do plan to come back to Iraq if elected (and if not then I'll probably be back here anyway). Should I come back as a Congressman, I will leave the confines of the Green Zone, and walk the streets with the grunts. A politician doesn't see Iraq, he sees the US Embassy, and the relative cleanliness of the safety behind the walls. That isn't a glimpse into the war. That is literally a facade of progress. The real progress can't be measured in Power Point, it can't be fluffed with spreadsheets. The real progress is in the faces of the average Iraqi. The real progress lies in not the road behind us but in the fact that there is a road ahead of us. Sorry if it is an uphill climb that many of you have grown to complacent and lazy to travel; so don't worry about it we (the military) will do it. Comparing this to “the Nam” is ridiculous. Especially if you never served, let alone in Vietnam. We have the mightiest nation on Earth. Our military is the mightiest the world has ever seen. Let us do our job. “Iraq has become a training ground for Al Queada.” A US Senator Said that. Well good, then we can drop them before they get good at this insurgent thing. It is better that we are fighting this game with our away jerseys.

     Diane from CA, I have this for your offering. Firstly, thank you for reading and posting. However our military is a representative cross section of our nation. At the micro level, and at the micro level we are also held to a higher standard of accountability. So, if you think that the military is at the root of the evil at Gitmo, think again. It speaks about all Americans, and when you look at those awful pictures of the horrible abuses at Gitmo, allow me to send you a video of about 70 beheadings done by men like these poor detained individuals whose rights are being violated. I have no sympathy for the people at Abu G, or Gitmo. The only reason I care to understand their motives is not to extend the hand of freedom to them (they'd just cut it off, or say I was being condescending. My desire to understand them lies in my desire to end as many of them as we can so we can leave Iraq AFTER we are done here. If you support us then do so... Quietly. We get enough “support” from the press. We don't need any more of that kind of support. I thank you for your words, and respect your opinion, that isn't just me being PC. I promised Father Bob to clean up my language so I won't respond to anything you have said with the colourful explicatives I used to use. I think I am a little more disturbed not with the treatment of people who have been sent to a maximum security military detention facility. I am more disturbed with the murdering scum that run rampant in Baghdad. You mentioned your friend that is so upset with our attempts to bring Iraq out of the darkness. I meet with Iraqis daily and if you ask a group of them how long Saddam was in power, it is like a synchronized event they all reply in unison, “35 years.” I appreciate what you and those like you are attempting to do. If you got me out of here tomorrow, I'd buy you a drink!

     Nevertheless, Ma'am, if you think the pics of Abu G and Gitmo are bad, I sat through about 30 beheading videos, and a video of insurgents sniping our sons and daughters, all screaming God is great. I don't want to sound cold hearted but war tends to do that, I sat at a memorial of a soldier today who had a thousand reasons to live, yet he came here voluntarily to serve with his brothers. I won't let, no I won't sit by idly while our detractors claim the moral high ground over us. We have problems here, SERIOUS problems, and treating detainees poorly is one of them, and there is no excuse for it, and I hope those guilty are punished to the maximum extent of our laws. Will that satisfy the leftist sharks circling? I doubt it. I am not going to waste my time trying to change your mind, frankly I don't really care. Yet I will say this, if you believe in what you are doing trying to end this, then follow your heart. Just be careful what you wish for. Some of these dirka dirka's get let loose, then they become my problem again because they will be in Iraq as soon as they can beg borrow or steal enough to get here. Again, follow what your heart tells you. Here I don't have that luxury.

     My heart is still filled with grief, my resolve to make a real difference is rising from the ashes of my sorrow, born again anew is my conviction to move ahead I am reminded once again of the reason we left home all those months ago. That this land and her people have a chance to breath as a free nation.

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Von Goethe

     My invitation still stands to any politician, and celebrity who has ever spoken out against us here in Iraq, and our mission here. Please feel free to come out with us and gain a real life first hand account of why the hell we are here. Not in the green zone, but in real honest to god, I could get killed here Iraq. To date, of course I have no one taking me up on this offer. Don't worry though we'll be here for a while so whenever you want to come out. I'll arrange the tour.

RDC

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Das]

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to you and your fellows; I can't express my gratitude to you all enough. You are a fine writer and you have the gift of making daily life vivid to your readers; god be with you-
Das

[Lisa Gilliam]

Lt.I extend my condolences to you and Major K and all the rest of the fellas.May God keep you in perfect peace while you are there.And Diane start watching the history Channel for a change if you want to know what real torture is.They had a program on tonight that discusses it.And Rusten you are correct when you say that most of these idiots try to compare what you are doing over what happened in Vietnam.My dad served in Vietnam and the only similarity he sees is Teddy Kennedy and others like him making it hard on you guys like they did him and many of the soldiers,sailors,airmen,and marines of that era.This tub of lard even after 9/11 tried to compare only after a month in Afghanistan tried to compare it to Nam.Giving that he didn't set his butt over there back then,what authority does he have to call it that?I also learned that he has yet to go visit you guys in Iraq or Aghganistan.

[jtb-in-texas]

God Bless you and your comrades, and may He provide you with the grace to finish your tasks in Iraq and come home safely.

Let me know the next time you're in Dallas.

[Michael]

I wish to express my condolences to you and
your troops for the loss of one of your
own. I also wish you God's Speed in finding
the sniper and pray that His angels will
assist you in flushing out the enemy. Keep
up the good work you are doing, I believe
there are more of us here who realize that
you are needed there than the MSM will let
on. God Bless you all!

[susan]

I am so grateful for the forethought and vision in the statement given by President Bush in his State of the Union address "we cannot wait until Saddam becomes an imminent threat".

Again, the original statement made by Bush was "we cannot wait until Saddam becomes an imminent threat". Which, by the way, is completely opposite to the revised words made by certain journalists.

I am perplexed as to why certain journalists revised the President's original statement to mean something quite the opposite "Saddam is an imminent threat" and why this particular journalism myth has somehow become truth?

Why are American journalist revising, manipulating, and distorting orginal quotes? For what purpose are We the People being subjected to such obvious treachery?

Calling someone a liar, particularly when those proclaiming liar manipulated the words of the accused to mean something entirely different makes absolutely no sense in the real world.

[e1]

first, i'd like to extend my condolenceses to you, Lt Currie. and to say that you and MajK, and T6 are in my thoughts. my heart goes out to you and your men. i live in an Army town, and every night on the news dread hearing of another soldier lost.

i have trusted the three of you for many months for a more accurate perspective on what is really going on in Iraq. i have appreciated the chance to hear about what MSM does not cover. and in your response to Diane from CAs comments i found one of the most eloquent rationales for why, now that you're in Iraq, you have to be allowed to finish what you've started. i'm not sure how you all would classify me, im a bleeding heart liberal who fully agrees with the action in Afghanistan, who assumed about 9:30AM on 9/11 we were at war, and wanted to know who it was with.

but i never understood why we needed to invade Iraq, never believed what the President said about the original reasons (i.e. that Saddam himself was an imminent threat). i agree that NOW, there are terrorists in Iraq who must be stopped, NOW there is a fledgling Democracy which must be supported with security. i agree that if troops were withdrawn now it would create a vacuum and a worse situation. and i know too many soldiers, (and of marines, saliors and airmen) and that they are too professional to stomach that happening.

i will do whatever the troops suggest is practical to show support, while still believing fervently that i should hold this President accountible for the bad decision to make the war in Iraq in the first place.

[Tina]

Rus, How I wish there were words to say to comfort you. I admire your strength and always your honor. We Love you and hope when the oatmail raisin cookies make it your at a moment you can enjoy one. The kids send their hugs and I am always here for you.
Love ,me

[membrain]

I am so very sorry for your loss. I can do nothing to soothe the powerful range of emotions coursing through you. But I do thank you for your courage and perserverance. Godspeed.

[devildog6771]

"Well Into the Night"

They gave their lives in defense of their country,never once faltering at their tasks. Heroes in every sense of the word, these brave souls have done as we asked.

They gathered their gear and went to the front, young men and women with fear on their faces, Soldiers with courage in their hearts, they set to their task, they began the hunt!

Through desert sand in a hot unfriendly land, they marched to the cadance of soldiers past. They fought our enemy, one by one,outgunned, outmanned, they fought to the last.

Noone can say that these brave soldiers, young men and women fron all walks of life, Didn't do their duty as they had been taught, with courage, honor, dignity, and pride, they met the challange of war, head on, they marched into the midle of the strife.

But not all our soldiers died on the battlefield as we know it, some were taken by thieves in the night. These thieves came, as cowards do, in the shadows of darkness.

They came and took our innocent friends and families, and yes, our troops, not as honorable soldiers answering the call of their God and country; but as crazed, angry men with hate in their hearts, seekers of power, position, and personal agendas.

They owe allegiance to noone, including the God they profess to follow; Though their war was begun many years ago, they escalated their campaign one morning in September.

They blend into the crowds like a second skin, suicide bombers, young and old; misguided murderers who like to pretend, they fight for freedom and Religion.

They put bombs on trains and under cars, they strap them to women and children; noone is safe from their depraved behavior, they ram our troops cars from behind, attack randomly from the shadows, all in the name of their holy Savior.

Yet through it all, with heads held high, and pride in their hearts, our soldiers continue to rally and fight; As one comrad falls, and another steps forward, they continue the fight,well into the night!

devildog6771

[Louie Marsh]

Wow - what else can I say? That was one of most powerful posts I've read from those of you fighting in the war yet - very well done!

Hey - if the celbs don't want to see the real Iraq - some of the rest of us would love to be there if by doing so we could support and encourage all of you.

If you need an old Pastor to hang with outside the green zone let me know, I'd love to come and, like you, make a real difference!

[Chevy Rose]

Sir, my eyes fill with tears and my heart is heavy for the loss of your soldier. I'm so honored to be an American...for you and all of our other soldiers. I salute our brave men and women who enter the Valley of War. How real is freedom, if there's no courage to partner with it?

[Rob Morse]

Dear Russ,
You you are having a tough time and not without reason. You have high expectations of yourself and for the rest of the organizations with which you work. I am not critical of that. On the contrary, I appreciate the effort and strength required.

I pray that you may keep your spirit strong and your attention sharp. As usual, you must attack the enemy to suceed. Please let us know how we can help. We look forward to your victorious return.

Robert Morse

[Pam in Fresno, California]

I posted this over at T6's blog and I wanted to post it here as well: We must go rejoicing in the blessings of this world, chief of which is the mystery, the magic, the majesty and the miracle that is life. At this moment many hearts are filled with grief at the loss of Sgt Duplantier and I pray for divine understanding of how to accept this loss. I pray that his loved ones and friends are filled with peace. I pray that his loved ones and friends are filled with comfort. I pray his loved ones and friends are filled with acceptance and strength. Listen closely with your heart to hear him walk along side you with courage. And as Patton once said, do not mourn this man's loss--be grateful and celebrate that such a man as he has lived! God's speed. Thank you for being of service. Get home safely, to live a long and happy life!

[Toni]

LT Currie - my sincere regrets for your loss. I really can't say enough and can't truly understand your range of emotions. But I thank you from my heart for your posting, you did a wonderful job of expressing what needs to be said to those who want us to lose this battle for freedom. If we lose the animals will just show up here and those who don't understand that are plainly living in a box of delusions.

[warthog]

You have my wholehearted support. I have instructed my reader(s) that may live in your area to vote.

[Freakchylde]

Sir, you and those that serve directly with you, and around you, have my condolences and sympathies. And thank you for doing the job that you do.

[kat-missouri]

Sir, no words can express my grief on the behalf of you and your men for this loss. It is unimaginable, yet all to often the experience of men in battle throughout history. It always seems the best are taken before their time.

In regards to why we are in Iraq, I wanted to add some thoughts on the purpose there and what you have already said.

In truth, establishing Freedom and Democracy in a state in the Middle East, in the midst of the territory which the enemy wishes to gain its foothold is more than simply giving this great gift to Iraqis who have never truly tasted it, but is in fact a direct attack on the ideas of the enemy and a direct strategy of denying them territory and resources from which to act or increase their power.

Secondly, whether it was the intended consequence or not (who knows until the history books are written and classified documents are released many years from now) it is without a doubt that we are fighting the same groups we were fighting in Afghanistan and who were and are planning to attack the US. Whether unintended or not, it has become the central point of this current conflict that we are fighting these folks on the ground we choose, as all good generals have attempted to do in all wars past, not on the ground of their choosing which would certainly be here in the US.

This is part of the war on terrorists, more specifically, extremist Islamists. it cannot be arbitrarily separated because of borders and distance from Afghanistan. Global wars do not hold these boundaries to be anyway viable in defining the war.

For those demanding withdrawal, they have decided that "fortress" America is preferable than outright war with the enemy. Anyone that has studied history or any warfare knows that defensive positions are the hardest to maintain. The problems with castles is, when they come under seige, unless a contingent of the castle goes out to meet the enemy and break the seige or some other force comes to rescue, it is a given that the fortress will fall. It is only a matter of time. And, under those circumstances, the fortress is subject to not only deprivations but constant bombardment by the forces without.

Fortresses can be starved out and, in worse case scenarios, betrayed from within.

Fortress America is not viable and those selling that idea do not understand that it is more than the case of securing borders. we live by the produce that comes in and out of this "fortress" we call America. If we abandon this outpost to the enemy, then we begin abondoning the protection of supply lines and product. In short, America the fortress can be starved out. Not just of food, because surely we could create enough of that, but all other products, energy resources, etc become under threat as we allow the enemy to take territory and harrass our supply lines.

Imagining Iraq as an insular war with no relationship to the greater war is the worst sort of danger. Imagining that this is not a fact when Islamists are attacking throughout the ME and South east asia in Malaysia, philipines, Thailand. All areas through which commerce, energy and supplies come through shipping lanes to the United States in the Pacific.

Make no mistake, we are battling on many fronts. If we don't, the battle will be at the castle doors and by then, it will be too late as we must know that we are low on allies these days as they are hoping that their own castles will not be attacked and will be very unlikely to come and lift our siege. Wishful thinking.

So, here we are, taking the battle to the enemy so that they do not make it to our doors. Fortress America is only as good as the forces which it can send out and deter the enemy BEFORE we are under siege. And we are today in a much better position than we were several years ago, behind our castle doors and surprised when the first projectile was sent into our treasury and ward room, killing our citizens trying to destroy our ability to exist and to defend.

We have sent our men and women outside the castle walls where it is noticable more dangerous than inside it's protection. they aren't abstract warriors, but citizens, brothers, sisters, mothers, wives, husbans, fathers, sons and daughters. They are us and it must pain us to send out our own in order to defend this castle, to defend those that do not or cannot.

When we close the doors behind them and they march out, we don't know their fate and won't feel they are safe unitl they are back within our walls. Yet, we are not safe until the enemy is defeated and the possibility of siege is eliminated.

This was the reason for WW I, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam and the cold war. And when we are successful we spread freedom, we spread the walls of our defenses, create allies and outposts of that same defensive wall that holds the enemy back even further from our core keep.

That is the purpose of this war. That is the importance of winning it. When we leave iraq, we will eave it a whole castle with a garrison of defenders and a cause to which they can rally forever: freedom and democracy, part of the defensive wall against tyranny and darkness.

Fortress America is only as safe as we can make our furthest outposts and our allies. It is only as safe as the outlying areas which we oversee and protect so that the war cannot make it to the fortress direct.

For those who wonder why, remember that lest you wake one day to find that you must fear the suicide car bombers and snipers in your back yard.

[Beth]

LT, keep the faith. I don't know what to say other than that I'm sending you a long-distance hug for strength. And I'm praying for all of you--that you have mental clarity, courage and skill for the tasks at hand, and peace for your aching hearts. God bless you, dear soldier; trust me, you are held in the arms of millions who love and appreciate you beyond description.

[Brad Johnson]

I wish I could pick up a rifle and help. But at 42 I'm afraid my military days are past and all I can do now is watch and pray for those of you who bravely serve now.

[SSG K]

Outstanding sir. I believe that in the next 10 - 20 years there will be a huge shift in politics when those of us who have served our country decide to continue serving. It is time for men and women of action rather than words to take up the reigns of leadership in this great country. Traditionally those of us who serve tend to try to be apolitical, unfortunately when we are attacked we also need to respond. In the case of what has been going on recently it is time to move the battlefield from the sand and streets to the halls of politics in order to respond to those who are waging a disinformation war upon us.

Good luck sir and I hope to see you on a ballot in the future.

[Cheryl]

I read your blog faithfully and admire you for your dedication to our country - both as a soldier and a soon to be representative of our great state. I wish I were in your district as you would have my vote.

Please do not despair. Your fight is an honorable one, and one that is necessary. I am amazed that people have lost sight of the fact that war was declared on us on 9/11.

I am so very sorry that Sgt. Duplantier lost his life in service to our great country. I have read he had a beautiful smile and a wonderful sense of humor. Another angel is with God.

I pray you are able to overcome the sadness and disenchantment you are experiencing. The great state of California needs you.

[Curt]

Thank you for putting such fine words to such a comnplex series of events and feelings.

Thank you for staying the course. Thank you for being a professional. Thank you for having open eyes to see a world of reality, and to see through it clearly.

[AFSister]

First... I'm sorry you had to endure yet another memorial service. War is hell, and the cost is heavy. I see it all around the blogsphere- serious injuries to deaths to PTSD- all real, all enormous costs.

I wish I had the words to comfort you, but I do not. I wish we could end the war now, but we cannot- a fact you readily acknowledge. War knows no timeline, and I'm tired of politicians calling for one. I hope you know how much we love and appreciate what you are doing for us and for Iraq.

As for your response to Diane.... well, you said it all already. We do want you home, but we want Iraq to be able to stand on its own too, and until that happens... people like you will face danger daily for people you don't even know. All in the name of FREEDOM. Not in the name of the United States- but in the name of FREEDOM. We aren't in Iraq for ourselves- we're not there to make it a colony or another state. We're there for THEIR freedom... so they can have a chance to live in a democratic society and feel safe and secure- like we do here in the United States.

Thanks is never enough... but Thanks.

[susan]

My deepest condolences to the family of Sgt. Arnold Duplantier II, I pray God ease the pain of their loss in remembrance that he represents all that is good and decent in this world. His soul will forever remain in the America's heart and in the dreams of hopeful Iraq children.

May his brothers and sisters who served along side Sgt. Duplantier II carry forth his heroic soul with honor and pride. I am truly humbled to have been born to a nation which bore to us inspiration and courage shown by an extraordinary man like Sgt. Duplantier II. America is the light shinning brightly on the hill.

[Agnieszka O.]

I'm so sorry for your loss...