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Pastimes : The United States Marine Corps -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (4183)	1/22/2005 11:24:11 AM
From: Oral Roberts	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6227

Do you have a link to the fund or did I just miss it? TIA.

To: LindyBill who wrote (4183)	1/29/2005 11:12:37 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 6227

Marine survives 9 bombs He's coming a cult figure in his unit ASKAN, Iraq (AP) -- The first time Lance Cpl. Tony Stevens was bombed in Iraq, a car packed with 155 mm shells exploded next to his Humvee just as a device containing five more shells detonated beneath it. By bomb No. 9, the former baseball minor league shortstop had become a good luck-bad luck icon and the awe of his 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment patrolling the so-called "triangle of death" south of Baghdad. With a couple of weeks remaining in his second tour of duty in Iraq, the 26-year-old might be counting the days a little more closely than most and has become a seasoned, battle-hardened veteran of the laws of physics. "When you hear the explosion, that's actually good," Stevens said, pointing out that because sound travels relatively slowly, hearing the blast means you have survived it. "It means you're still in the game." Stevens' deployment landed him in an area known for insurgents' use of what the U.S. military calls improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Some of those are vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, or VBIEDs -- military-speak for car bombs. It is not unusual for Marine patrols on the two-lane roads through towns and gray-and-brown fields to encounter three or four bombs a day. Sometimes, there are more -- many more. The bombs contribute to an injury rate of one-in-five Marines during their 6-month-old deployment here. The bombs also kill U.S.-allied Iraqi police and Iraqi National Guardsmen patrolling in unarmored pickups and cars. Many Marines here have been bombed two or three times, and a couple seven or eight. Stevens, at nine, appears to hold the record that no one wants to break. His streak started August 8. His unit was going to check on a mortar attack when it rolled next to the one bomb and on top of the second. Marines tended the wounded in what they later realized was a field of undetonated bombs. "We were pretty much walking on top of them," Stevens says. Bomb No. 2 was August 9 -- the next morning. That bomb was a freezer filled with five 155mm shells and set off by a detonating cord left on the road. It cost a fellow Marine some fingers. Bomb No. 3 exploded on a security patrol. It injured a Marine riding in the turret of Stevens' vehicle. That was October. "October to Thanksgiving we were pretty much hitting one every time we went out," Stevens says. Bomb No. 4 hit his vehicle. No wounded. Bomb No. 5 hit his vehicle, and sheared off a live power line overhead, sending it sparking on top of the neck collar of Stevens' flak jacket. He shows the ripped, burned material. "Two-in-one on that one," he says. Bomb No. 6 through 9 hit his convoys. In factory-armored Humvees -- the vehicles of choice for patrols -- Marines know they can survive all but the biggest bombs and the unluckiest hits. None has been killed in any of the bombings Stevens has survived. "It's not that we laugh about it, but we joke a lot, once we know it's all right," he says. What saves his life, Stevens doesn't know. He doesn't do anything special. "Just pray. That's all you can do in this place." What saves his spirits are the Internet and phones, put in not long ago at the Marines' forward operating base. "That way you can call the wife, say it's been an easy day, even though you've just got hit with an IED." Home is Jacksonville, Florida., and he played for the New Britain, Connecticut, Rock Cats, before joining the military. He was also the Florida high school basketball player of year in 1997, said Rock Cats President William Dowling. Despite all the bombings, Stevens says he would sign up again. He speaks against a backdrop of explosions as his company sets off cratering blasts, destroying a dirt road to keep it from being used by insurgents for election-day attacks. "We came here and accomplished our mission," Stevens says. The triangle of death has seen attacks drop sharply. Local security forces have more confidence. Crowds are friendlier. "Ow!" the Marine standing next to Stevens shouts. The man grabs a wrist slapped numb by a stinging chunk of dirt from the cratering blast a quarter-mile-plus away. "I told you not to be around me," Stevens says, going after the hunched-over Marine. "How many days we got left?" Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Find this article at: cnn.com

To: LindyBill who wrote (4183)	2/18/2005 11:56:00 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6227

Marine Corporal Tim Tardif - Someone You Should Know By Blackfive on Someone You Should Know "Somehow, Corporal Tardif convinced the doctors that he need to be checked out of the hospital. The doctor checked him out, and Corporal Tardif got ahold of a corpsman and borrowed a utility uniform. Then he went to the Air Force base and talked his way onto an aircraft to go back to Iraq." - Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael W. Hagee Chris M. sends these two links to Victor Davis Hanson's Private Papers site. Craig Bernthal talks to his nephew, Marine Corporal Tim Tardif, about Iraq. If you read one thing today, this two part column should be it. No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy Part 1 (The "No Worse Enemy" part) No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy Part 2 (The "No Better Friend" part) Below in the Extended Section is more information about Corporal Tardif: Here's an article from the San Diego Union-Tribune: Navy honors four Marines' valor in combat By Rick Rogers UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER May 4, 2004 20040504awards CHARLIE NEUMAN / Union-Tribune Navy Secretary Gordon England pinned the Silver Star on Marine Cpl. Timothy C. Tardif at Camp Pendleton yesterday. Staff Sgt. Adam R. Sikes (center) also received the Silver Star; Sgt. Marco A. Martinez (at far left) received the Navy Cross. <...> ..."Cpl. Tardif charged across a road under intense small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire inspiring his Marines to follow his example," according to his citation. "Engaged in intense close quarters battle, he received significant shrapnel wounds." Tardif later collapsed from his injuries. He said a blood transfusion on a medical evacuation helicopter saved his life. No Marines were killed at Tarmiya, though a handful were wounded.... And here's one from the DOD: U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Timothy C. Tardif Huntington Beach Marine Receives Silver Star By U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Luis R. Agostini Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., May 4, 2004 — Marine Cpl. Timothy C. Tardif received the Silver Star from the Secretary of the Navy, Honorable Gordon R. England, during a ceremony here May 3. "These brave Marines did good things without notice," said England, "and without the acclaim of crowds. But they got the acclaim of their fellow Marines." Tardif, 22, a Huntington Beach, Calif., resident, received the military's third-highest award for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as the 2nd squad leader, 1st Platoon, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on April 12, 2003. During a battle in Tarmiyah, located 30 kilometers north of Baghdad, Tardif and his squad reinforced his platoon, which was pinned down in a violent enemy crossfire ambush. Immediately assessing the situation, he directed Marines to return fire into enemy positions in a town. He identified the location of the enemy, and determined the precise point in which to assault the enemy. Tardif then charged across a road under intense small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade fire, inspiring his Marines to follow his example. Engaged in an intense close-quarters battle, he received shrapnel wounds from an enemy grenade. Tardif refused medical attention and continued leading his squad in an assault on an enemy-held compound. After securing the compound, Tardif egressed on order and led his reinforced squad in a fighting withdrawal. Tardif collapsed after traveling 150 meters from wounds suffered during fighting. "This award means a lot to me, personally," said Tardif. "But it's not just about me. It's about my platoon and everyone else out there." Established in 1918, the Silver Star is awarded to a person who is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. The required gallantry, while of a lesser degree than that required for award of the Distinguished Service Cross, must nevertheless have been performed with marked distinction.http://www.blackfive.net/main/