« Bitch | Main | This isn't a terrorist attack »
August 30, 2006
Hottie Hero in Haditha
The pieces are not fitting together the way Fat Back Murtha and the Democrats/Media are hoping they would. Sgt. Frank Wuterich (the hottie), who is currently suing Fat Back Murtha for defamation, was actually recommended for a medal only weeks after the Haditha attack. This seems to support the Marines account of events and not what the leftist Democrats and the media wanted it to be:
The platoon commander for the squad of Marines who killed as many as two dozen Iraqi civilians during an attack in Haditha last year recommended later that the sergeant who led the attack receive a medal for his heroism that day, according to military documents.
Lt. William T. Kallop wrote in a praise-filled memo that the incident on Nov. 19, 2005, was part of a complex insurgent ambush that included a powerful roadside bomb followed by a high volume of automatic-weapons fire from several houses in the neighborhood. He lauded Sgt. Frank Wuterich for his leadership in the "counterattack" on three houses while the unit received sporadic enemy fire.
The proposed citation indicates that Kallop -- the only Marine officer at the scene as the incident unfolded -- believed the unit was under a coordinated insurgent attack when Marines stormed civilian homes and opened fire, killing women and children. Whether Marines felt threatened and believed the homes to be hostile is a central element of their defense against potential criminal charges.
It goes on...
Neal A. Puckett, an attorney for Wuterich, provided the documents and the Marine's regular fitness report dated Jan. 19 to The Washington Post, saying they support his client's version of events, and show that officers in the unit believe Wuterich and the other Marines did the right thing in the Haditha attack. Wuterich has since been promoted to staff sergeant. The award was approved by the Kilo Company commander and was sent to battalion and, later, regimental headquarters before being put on hold at the division level, Puckett said.
Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas, a Marine Corps spokesman, said Marine officials found no record of the award. Fazekas also declined to discuss the Haditha incident.
While residents in the Iraqi neighborhood have said the Marines went from house to house in a rage, killing civilians in cold blood, Kallop complimented Wuterich on his calm demeanor and suggested that the incident led the Marines to valuable intelligence. Kallop arrived on the scene after the initial explosion.
"Sgt. Wuterich ensured that he had 360 degree security and led a counterattack on the buildings to his south where his Marines were still receiving sporadic fire from," Kallop wrote in support of a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a combat distinguishing device for Wuterich. "That counterattack turned the tide of the ambush and killed a number of insurgents still attempting to fight or attempting to flee the area."
Posted by Aaron at August 30, 2006 12:00 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.lifelikepundits.com/cgi-bin/mt3/mt-tb.cgi/2744
Comments
God bless Sgt. Wuterich and his fellow Marine heroes. We are so indebted to them!
Posted by: Gayle Miller at August 30, 2006 09:40 AM
I'm sure the families of Marines killed in revenge attacks for the Haditha massacre agree with you both.
Posted by: paul at August 30, 2006 04:00 PM