Troops

We continue to support our U.S. troops currently deployed here in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

Navy SEAL
Jim Edwards
Afghanistan

written by Lou M. Faralan

Photo courtesy of:
Lou M. Faralan (kneeling in the center )
STG1       USN

USN-NASWI Martial Arts Competition Team
Active duty service members stationed in Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA.
Team memebers compete regularly in open tournaments, and Mixed Martial Arts/Kickboxing
events held in the Pacific Northwest.

Lou M. Faralan
STG1       USN

photos courtesy of Norris Domangue

Our 1st scud attack DESERT STORM at Sheik Isa 1991and the tent “street” I lived on.

The last photo is at Al-Udeid, 2004 in front of my tent.

photos courtesy of Norris Domangue

written by Ron Robles

These photos include a gripping story of Marines who carried a wooden cross to the top of a hill at Camp Pendleton. Ray Mendoza (3rd from left, hugging the cross) was memorialized on the front page of the “B” section of the “Los Angeles Times” about six months ago as the soldier least expected to be killed in action. He was a comissioned officer (Captain at the time, and later promoted to Major, posthumously) who was extremely courageous and loved by his troops. Also included in the photo is LCPL Robert P. Zurheide, Jr. who is the 1st person on the right side of the cross, peering from under the arm of another marine who was also killed in action. Following is the story from Chaplain Scott Radetski (in front of the cross in the middle of the photo).

Chaplain Radetski

Before we left for Iraq, we muscles a fourteen-foot wooden telephone cross to the top of San Onorfre Mountain. One single individual could not have carried this weight to the top, but together, seven of us accomplished the difficult task. This marker eventually became a permanent marker of remembrance. Countless Marines and sailors braved the journey to the top, carrying with them a stone of remembrance. A permanent 1st Marine Regiment Diamond with southern Cross was laid to rest at the foot of the cross.

LCPL Robert P. Zurheide, Jr., one of the original seven men who carried the cross to the top, was killed in Iraq. The night he died, I carried his lifeless body off the truck and laid him to rest, as the corpsmen worked to save the wounded Marines. Several days later, on the very spot where three marines died, including Zurheide, four Marines were baptised. Robert had a son born four days after he died. We braved the journey he made a year ago, to the top of San Onorfre Mountain, to dedicate his son to the Lord. His son, Robert P. Zurheide, III, will touch the same cross his father carried up the hill.

The burdens of war are far-reaching, dulled by the passage of time. Alone, they are overwhelming, but together they can be moved. For this young lad, whose dad gave his all for the freedom of many, our prayers are that as Robert Zurheide III grows, he will know that his Father in heaven, God, draws near to those who have no earthly fathers.

written by C.P. Bergman

They came back wounded,
but not defeated.
They came back to families waiting.
They came back bruised, dented, changed,
but stronger.
They came back to friends
who rejoiced and embraced them.
They endured.
They conquered.
They overcame
so the rest of us could sleep
without bombs bursting through the night
or fear of tyranny
or insane regimes
that destroy character and dreams.
They were the buffets,
the specialists,
the strength and the song;
a unique precious group
who understands that freedom
means respect,
dignity,
self-control.
For those who did not have to leave home
to fight and survive on strange and harsh turf:
if you can’t understand what freedom truly is,
think of what is must be like
to stand alone
with no one to help
for that’s how it would be
if not for them.
Welcome them back.
Welcome them home.
Celebrate their service.
Well done.

Sgt. Karl S. Carlysle
Infantry-Scout LRS
Ft. Knox KY
August 2005

IIMAIA Instructor Lee Peacock’s son is currently serving our country.

We Love You Eric!

SPC 4 Eric Lee Peacock
23 years old, Enlisted in the US Army 2005, 1 year of training, 1 year in South Korea, and currently stationed at FOB Falcon, Iraq.
He is with the 3rd Infantry Division and was the 50 cal. gunner on an M Wrap when he first got to Iraq, He is now the driver of an M Wrap for his company platoon leader.

He is married (wife Maribel) with one daughter (Autumn).