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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in

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<v Speaker 1>this edition is Sergeant Robert Day. He's a US Marine

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<v Speaker 1>Corps veteran of the Iraq War. He served two deployments

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<v Speaker 1>in Iraq and fought in the vicious house to house

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<v Speaker 1>second Battle of Fallujah in November and December of two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand and four. He was a machine gunner with the

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<v Speaker 1>first Battalion, eighth Marines. Sergeant Day was born in Mobile, Alabama.

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<v Speaker 1>Both of his grandfathers served in the Army, including one

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<v Speaker 1>who served during World War II. Day explains why he

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<v Speaker 1>chose to serve as well, and despite that Army heritage,

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<v Speaker 1>why he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

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<v Speaker 2>I joined in January two thousand and two. That's when

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<v Speaker 2>my active service started. I joined because I wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>do something greater than myself nine to eleven, and I

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<v Speaker 2>obviously already happened four months prior. I was in college

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<v Speaker 2>at the time, and I wasn't doing too well academically,

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<v Speaker 2>and I was twenty one year old, pretty angry at

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<v Speaker 2>the way things were going with the country and what

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<v Speaker 2>had happened. And I always wanted to be a Marine

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<v Speaker 2>grunt anyway. I had read books growing up on World

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<v Speaker 2>War Two and Vietnam service, and was just enamored with

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<v Speaker 2>the stories of battles from Waye City, Vietnam, Battle of

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<v Speaker 2>the Bulge, the Pacific Island Campaign that the Marines took

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<v Speaker 2>part in, and that's something that I wanted to continue

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<v Speaker 2>the tradition of and so that's why I joined. I

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<v Speaker 2>joined because I wanted to shoot a belt fed machine

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<v Speaker 2>gun in the company of other great men.

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<v Speaker 1>You joined with your eyes wide open?

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<v Speaker 2>Correct?

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<v Speaker 1>And did you do your basic at Paras Island? I

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<v Speaker 1>did tell me about that. Boy.

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<v Speaker 2>We started in January of two. It was cold there

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<v Speaker 2>on the East coast. Had three drill instructors that we

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<v Speaker 2>met first day and they were heavy on us. Gosh,

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<v Speaker 2>we had probably eighty in our barracks. We were up

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<v Speaker 2>at three thirty am every morning for revily. Somebody, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>drill instructor came in with a baseball bat or a

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<v Speaker 2>cane and he was rattling it in a metal trash

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<v Speaker 2>can to get us up. We started the day heavy

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<v Speaker 2>with physical physical activity, exertion, drilling, digging our heels into

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<v Speaker 2>a concrete deck, and learning anything and everything about how

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<v Speaker 2>to be a recruiting in the Marines, it was moment

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<v Speaker 2>to moment. There wasn't a single second during the day

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<v Speaker 2>that you had to yourself. You were always being taught

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<v Speaker 2>book knowledge and learning about side to be a marine recruit,

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<v Speaker 2>and and there was more physical physical exertion and push

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<v Speaker 2>you up and pull up and mountain climbers and you

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<v Speaker 2>name it. So we were we were constantly on the go,

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<v Speaker 2>constantly being force fed information, physical activity, and food.

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<v Speaker 1>It's said that the Marines and basic training break you

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<v Speaker 1>down and then build you back up into the marine

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<v Speaker 1>that they want you to be. Do you remember that

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<v Speaker 1>particular point where either they broke you or you figured out,

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<v Speaker 1>this is why I'm going through all.

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<v Speaker 2>This I did? I mean that that was a daily

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<v Speaker 2>that was a daily reassurance and thought that went through

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<v Speaker 2>my mind. There was always the idea of why why

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<v Speaker 2>am I here? What am I doing this for? I

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<v Speaker 2>know I joined for a reason, and there's no turning back,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's time to succumb to everything that's that I'm

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<v Speaker 2>learning and that I'm doing. And uh, there was always

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<v Speaker 2>the feeling of being stripped to your core, both physically

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<v Speaker 2>and mentally. I mean, it really is a ninety plus

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<v Speaker 2>percent mental game that you need to overcome. And there's

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<v Speaker 2>certain things in your mind that you can remember from

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<v Speaker 2>your past civilian life that comfort you. Whether it be

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<v Speaker 2>a song that you liked, or a family activity or

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<v Speaker 2>just being with friends, or something that you enjoyed doing

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<v Speaker 2>that you can remember and play in your mind during

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<v Speaker 2>those times that you're being stripped in the in boot

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<v Speaker 2>camp and you're doing those those monotonous activities that you

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<v Speaker 2>know you constantly learn and you know, you know in

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<v Speaker 2>the short days ahead.

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<v Speaker 1>After Basic, where did they send you?

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<v Speaker 2>I went straight to School of Infantry at Camp Geiger,

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<v Speaker 2>North Carolina, which is adjacent to Campbu's Union, North Carolina.

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<v Speaker 2>And so that's the East Coast Infantry Training School, and

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<v Speaker 2>that was that was Camp Geiger.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that where they got you on your out fed

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<v Speaker 1>machine gun?

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<v Speaker 2>That's where that's where I started training for it. Yes, Sir,

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<v Speaker 2>started in Bravo Company UH in this rather odd looking

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<v Speaker 2>building we referred to as the mushroom. It had it

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<v Speaker 2>had a stem to it with with stairs and then

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<v Speaker 2>you went up and then it it bellowed out like

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<v Speaker 2>a mushroom and then there was an office up there.

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<v Speaker 2>But but outside of that was the deck where we

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<v Speaker 2>where we trained and formed up every day. And then

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<v Speaker 2>we of course had barracks right next to that, so uh,

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<v Speaker 2>it's it's a rather famous location for you know that

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<v Speaker 2>that scores of men and women have trained at over

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<v Speaker 2>the over the decades.

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<v Speaker 1>And then did you have specific training for Iraq such

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<v Speaker 1>as urban combat situations? Maybe not at that school, but

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<v Speaker 1>at some point before you deployed.

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<v Speaker 2>We did, we did, we we got I mean, the

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<v Speaker 2>School of Infantry was pretty basic in terms of learning

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<v Speaker 2>weapons systems and gaining your and learning your mo os

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<v Speaker 2>and get time. For me was on the M two

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<v Speaker 2>forty machine gun and the Mark nineteen machine gun and

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<v Speaker 2>the fifty cal machine gun. But eventually when I got

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<v Speaker 2>to my unit in August of two was when was

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<v Speaker 2>when we started to do more urban training like mount

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<v Speaker 2>training and eventually some SASSO training out in California just

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<v Speaker 2>before you know, our much later deployment.

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<v Speaker 1>What was it about those weapons that you felt drawn

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<v Speaker 1>to them, that that's what you wanted to be using

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<v Speaker 1>in war.

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<v Speaker 2>I grew up watching a lot of World War Two

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<v Speaker 2>movies at my grandparents' house and listening to my dad

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<v Speaker 2>tell stories that he had read in books about World

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<v Speaker 2>War two, and I learned a lot about John basilone

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<v Speaker 2>and his great courage on the battlefield and as the

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<v Speaker 2>leader of a machine gun section. And I watched old

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<v Speaker 2>videos of Vietnam shooting them sixty belt fed guns, and

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<v Speaker 2>I was just captivated by the rate of fire, the

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<v Speaker 2>bursts that they put out, how tight you can get

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<v Speaker 2>your groups if you're really good, both conventionally and unconventionally,

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<v Speaker 2>and just the amount of damage in the annihilation they

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<v Speaker 2>do on the enemy is incredible. And I particularly was

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<v Speaker 2>drawn to the medium machine gun, which is what we

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<v Speaker 2>were referred to it as. That's the seven point six

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<v Speaker 2>y two by five to one millimeter gun, and it

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<v Speaker 2>was the successor to the sixty that I believe was

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<v Speaker 2>used up until about the early nineties and still some today.

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<v Speaker 1>At what point did you get assigned to Alpha Company

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<v Speaker 1>of the one eight.

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<v Speaker 2>I arrived at Alpha Company one eight in August of two.

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<v Speaker 1>When did you deploy to Iraq?

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<v Speaker 2>We deployed shortly after that in March of three was

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<v Speaker 2>when we left. We took some we took some transportation

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<v Speaker 2>up to Little Creek, Virginia, which is where the USS

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<v Speaker 2>Carter Hall was waiting, and we loaded up on that

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<v Speaker 2>boat and along with the USS Nashville and the USSC Regima,

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<v Speaker 2>we we parted out of there. At some point, I

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<v Speaker 2>want to say early March, the war kicked off.

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<v Speaker 1>And tell us about that first deployment in Iraq.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was. It was a Sea Service deployment. We

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<v Speaker 2>we crossed the across the Atlantic, entered the Mediterranean. We

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<v Speaker 2>hit some ports in Europe such as Toronto, Italy. We

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<v Speaker 2>went to Greece. We went to the island of Crete

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<v Speaker 2>and there we had some liberty in the town and

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<v Speaker 2>we got to get on our feet, walk around, get

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<v Speaker 2>some food, and then we ended up at a hangar

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<v Speaker 2>in Crete where my company posted up lived for I

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<v Speaker 2>want to say a few days, maybe it was a

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<v Speaker 2>week or two, and then we flew out to Mosuil,

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<v Speaker 2>Iraq for the following two weeks in April of three.

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<v Speaker 1>What were your duties in Mosul?

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<v Speaker 2>We pulled security at the airfield there. We did a

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<v Speaker 2>few patrols out on the city. We pulled some security

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<v Speaker 2>on the rooftops and that was about the extent of it.

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<v Speaker 1>It was.

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<v Speaker 2>Rather, there was maybe one small skirmish that one of

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<v Speaker 2>our snipers had gotten into, but it was not significant.

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<v Speaker 2>In our eyes at least, although we were a presence

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<v Speaker 2>there generally.

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<v Speaker 1>So when you came home before the second deployment, what

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<v Speaker 1>were you focusing on in training?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, when we came home. Let's see, we arrived back

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<v Speaker 2>at Campbell's Union in October of three, and we started

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<v Speaker 2>immediately building up to our second deployment. I mean, we

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<v Speaker 2>hit the ground running when we got back after our

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<v Speaker 2>ten day block leave. We did all kinds of stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>We did some sea service training such as asak AX

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<v Speaker 2>and RGAX is what we call them, where we would

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<v Speaker 2>take the boats, the ships that we were deployed on.

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<v Speaker 2>We would go out and we would get on the

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<v Speaker 2>amtraks and we would float into the beaches and land

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<v Speaker 2>and do some land training. We went to the ranges

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<v Speaker 2>a lot and shot the M two forties and the

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<v Speaker 2>fifties and the Mark nineteens, and of course went to

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<v Speaker 2>the rifle range with all the other Marines in our

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<v Speaker 2>and our platoons and companies and spent plenty of time there. Uh.

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<v Speaker 2>Starting in two thousand and four in the spring was

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<v Speaker 2>when we started doing what General mattis Uh and his

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<v Speaker 2>and his colleagues would call sasso training. UH, and that

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<v Speaker 2>was Uh. It was definitely some urban training, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>house clearing, UH, some limited close quarters combat training within

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<v Speaker 2>enclosed structures and UH and what they called winning hearts

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<v Speaker 2>and minds of the locals in Iraq. And so it

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<v Speaker 2>was a hybrid. It was a combination of both of

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<v Speaker 2>those things. We used some simulation rounds in our mount

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<v Speaker 2>training back at Camp La June, which was some paintball rounds,

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<v Speaker 2>and everything else was really ground fighting. We did quite

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<v Speaker 2>a bit of that. They ramped up the Marine Mixed

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<v Speaker 2>Martial Arts program. We learned all kinds of tactics within

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<v Speaker 2>our belt systems, the Tan Belt, the Great Belt, the

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<v Speaker 2>Green Belt, Brown Belt, you know, arm bard takedowns, all

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<v Speaker 2>kinds of tactics like guillotines, and that was some of

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<v Speaker 2>the most memorable and helpful hand to hand combat training

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<v Speaker 2>that we did that.

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<v Speaker 1>Sergeant Robert Day, he's a US Marine Corps veteran of

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<v Speaker 1>the Iraq War who served in the Second Battle of

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<v Speaker 1>Fallujah in late two thousand and four. Still Ahead, Sergeant

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<v Speaker 1>Day takes us through the Battle of Fallujah in vivid detail.

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<v Speaker 1>But when we come back, it's back to Iraq for

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<v Speaker 1>the second deployment and getting ready for the difficult fight

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<v Speaker 1>in Fallujah. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles.

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<v Speaker 2>Sixty seconds of Service.

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<v Speaker 3>This sixty seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile.

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<v Speaker 3>T Mobile offers exclusive discounts for a veteran and military

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<v Speaker 3>families and are proud supporters of the National Defense Network.

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<v Speaker 3>Visit T mobile dot com slash military to learn more

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<v Speaker 3>about how they support our military community. From Kuratuck, North Carolina,

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<v Speaker 3>more help is now available for veterans in northeast North Carolina.

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<v Speaker 3>Donald Austin is a Navy veteran. He said he's had

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<v Speaker 3>a problem with his left knee for years. He said,

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<v Speaker 3>can't get it taken care of. The Navy doesn't want

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<v Speaker 3>to touch it, said Austin. That could change, though, thanks

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<v Speaker 3>to Robert Kane. Cain is a Coast Guard veteran and

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<v Speaker 3>now the Veteran Services Officer for Camden and Kuratuk County.

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<v Speaker 3>He said, no better way to continue my second career

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<v Speaker 3>after military retirement to serve the community and help vets

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<v Speaker 3>deal with the VA. Today's sixty seconds of Service is

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<v Speaker 3>brought to you by Prevagen. Prevagen is the number one

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<v Speaker 1>This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in

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<v Speaker 1>this edition is Sergeant Robert Day. He's a US Marine

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<v Speaker 1>Corps veteran of the Iraq War, serving as a machine

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<v Speaker 1>gunner with the first Battalion, eighth Marines. After one largely

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<v Speaker 1>quiet deployment to Iraq in two thousand and three, Day

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<v Speaker 1>and the other Marines in his unit returned to the

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<v Speaker 1>US and were soon engaged in much more intense training

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<v Speaker 1>for their next tour. By the summer of two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>and four, they were on their way back.

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<v Speaker 2>We headed back in June of four after our ten

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<v Speaker 2>day leave, and we jumped on a commercial plane and

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<v Speaker 2>it flew over.

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<v Speaker 1>So knowing that this deployment is going to be a

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<v Speaker 1>lot different than the first one. What's going through your

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<v Speaker 1>mind here? Obviously, you joined the Marines in order to

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<v Speaker 1>fight for your country, and you're ready for it. But

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<v Speaker 1>at the same time, this is really going to happen.

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<v Speaker 1>Did did you think much about that on the way over?

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<v Speaker 2>I did? I did? I had I had studied up

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<v Speaker 2>on oh I f two uh, just looking at magazine

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<v Speaker 2>articles that were that were just coming out, specifically in

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<v Speaker 2>April of four prior to our leave on that second deployment,

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<v Speaker 2>because while we were doing SASSO training out in California

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<v Speaker 2>four O I F two UH, the first battle of

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<v Speaker 2>Felujah had kicked off in April. I remember over hearing

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<v Speaker 2>some Marines while we were training saying, yeah, Marines are

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<v Speaker 2>tearing up Fallujah right now. And so I read an

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<v Speaker 2>Atlantic Monthly article on it and showed some pictures of

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<v Speaker 2>some grunts with their weapons in Fellujah on the outskirts,

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<v Speaker 2>and they didn't they didn't go inside the city, but

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<v Speaker 2>they had scraped the outside and taken some casualties and

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<v Speaker 2>certainly certainly eliminated a lot of the enemy. I felt good,

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<v Speaker 2>I felt motivated, I felt excited and just downright excited

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<v Speaker 2>to be with, you know, all my comrades for that deployment.

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<v Speaker 2>I knew it was going to be big.

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<v Speaker 1>When did you find out that it's happening, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>happening soon.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we got there in June. We spent a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of the summer of four patrolling around Haditha Dam and

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<v Speaker 2>doing patrols in the desert around little towns like hit

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<v Speaker 2>and Rahwa and Habania, and it was it was extremely hot,

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<v Speaker 2>and we didn't encounter any enemy. We didn't have any

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<v Speaker 2>resistance other than some IED's and so I remember my

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<v Speaker 2>vehicle was hit with an IED as I was in

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<v Speaker 2>the gun turret one day in the lead vehicle and

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<v Speaker 2>the convoy, and and it shook me up. It really

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<v Speaker 2>rang my bell. Although none of us were hurt. We

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<v Speaker 2>we just felt the fog of war immediately right there

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<v Speaker 2>and thought, well, this is real, something's coming because everybody's talking.

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<v Speaker 2>Lieutenant Malcolm, Lieutenant Barnes, they were, they were rolling down

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<v Speaker 2>some talk that the heat was coming in the nearby

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<v Speaker 2>city somewhere.

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<v Speaker 3>Uh.

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<v Speaker 2>And we we knew quite well that it was going

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<v Speaker 2>to be Fallujah as we were close to that where

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<v Speaker 2>we were stationed at all Sade.

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<v Speaker 1>What kind of instructions were you given just prior to

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<v Speaker 1>the battle about what your company, what you're put in

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to be assigned to do. As the battle began.

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<v Speaker 2>We knew we were going to be involved in it

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<v Speaker 2>because General Mattis told us that. Well, he got us

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<v Speaker 2>into a facility on base at all Sade, and he

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<v Speaker 2>gave us a speech that was significant. It was it

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<v Speaker 2>was historic and it was. It was motivation. It was

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<v Speaker 2>this is what's going to be happening in the combat

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<v Speaker 2>theater in Iraq and Fallujah particularly, and his presence was

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<v Speaker 2>was when we knew it was it was coming, was

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<v Speaker 2>when a battle was going to happen. And I believe

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<v Speaker 2>he told us that it was going to be as

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<v Speaker 2>significant as the Battle of Waste City in Vietnam in

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen sixty eight. And I remember, I remember him telling

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<v Speaker 2>us that the first time he had killed somebody was

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<v Speaker 2>in Vietnam, and I was just proud to be listening

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<v Speaker 2>to him because we knew we were going to be

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<v Speaker 2>going up against a terrible enemy that needed to be eliminated.

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<v Speaker 2>And so that was also the part of the fog

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<v Speaker 2>of war that was real.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, So tell me about Well, first of all,

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<v Speaker 1>tell me about the bombardment before you guys went flying

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<v Speaker 1>in there, the Shakanaw aspect of.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, we lived at Camp Fallujah for about I want

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<v Speaker 2>to say, a week to ten days before we went

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<v Speaker 2>into the city. There were some mortar rounds that landed

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<v Speaker 2>in and around the base, and it was very close

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<v Speaker 2>to the city. I mean we're literally talking about a

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<v Speaker 2>quarter mile maybe half a mile or less. On the

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<v Speaker 2>night of November ninth, we posted up outside outside of

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<v Speaker 2>Fallujah on the north side at night, and our entire

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<v Speaker 2>battalion was told that we were going to be going

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<v Speaker 2>right through the center of the city north to south

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<v Speaker 2>on foot meckt up with support from tanks and artillery

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<v Speaker 2>in the rear and air assets and everything else that

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<v Speaker 2>accompanies marines on foot. So we spent the night prior

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<v Speaker 2>to November tenth outside of that city literally watching over

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<v Speaker 2>the buildings and the high rises about of what our

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<v Speaker 2>artillery was doing. They were dropping rounds that exploded midair

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<v Speaker 2>that had white phosphorus in them, and they would literally

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<v Speaker 2>rain down molten chemicals to soften up the enemy and

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<v Speaker 2>kill them. We also watched line charges being detonated. A

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<v Speaker 2>line charges is basically a long charge charge of explosives

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<v Speaker 2>that is intended to make other IEDs improvise explosive devices

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<v Speaker 2>blow up, you know, before we encounter them and they

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<v Speaker 2>take us out. So, I mean, we just we watched

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<v Speaker 2>incredibly large fireballs explode and that was meant to help

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<v Speaker 2>us out before we went in. And then we saw

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<v Speaker 2>the BBC crews right in front of us outside of

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<v Speaker 2>the city getting ready to accompany us, and all was

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<v Speaker 2>quiet before we before D Day on November tenth.

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<v Speaker 1>That Sergeant Robert Day, a US Marine Corps veteran of

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<v Speaker 1>the Iraq War and the Second Battle of Fallujah. When

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<v Speaker 1>we come back, it's time to fight in Fallujah, and

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<v Speaker 1>Sergeant Day shares his gripping account of the battle, from

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<v Speaker 1>the first moments through the intense house to house fighting.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Greg Corumbus, and this is Veterans Chronicles. This is

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<v Speaker 1>Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition

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<v Speaker 1>is Sergeant Robert Day. He's a US Marine Corps veteran

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<v Speaker 1>of the Iraq War serving as a machine gunner with

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<v Speaker 1>the first Battalion, eighth Marines. After all the preparation that

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<v Speaker 1>Day and his fellow Marines did for the fight in Fallujah,

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<v Speaker 1>it was finally time to do it. Day and the

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<v Speaker 1>other Marines in his company were among those tasked with

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<v Speaker 1>advancing two and securing the Mayor's Complex as the fight began.

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<v Speaker 1>Day now takes us moment by moment through the fighting

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<v Speaker 1>and the mindset needed for a battle so relentlessly intense.

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<v Speaker 2>Right we were in the we were in the amtraks,

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<v Speaker 2>floaded up with guns and ammunition and frags and everything

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<v Speaker 2>else we carried and packed in there pretty tight. And

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<v Speaker 2>we were rolling in and you could just hear. All

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<v Speaker 2>you could hear were the tracks, uh, the sound of

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<v Speaker 2>the tracks going, and and that that that usual whine

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<v Speaker 2>of the diesel machine, you know, that pushes that track.

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<v Speaker 2>And nobody was talking inside, and you know, everybody just

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<v Speaker 2>put some dip in their mouth, and and we waited

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<v Speaker 2>and waited, and time went by. We would stop and

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<v Speaker 2>then go again until everybody pushed forward. And we finally

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<v Speaker 2>got to where we got to that Mayor's complex and

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<v Speaker 2>it was dark still. It was zero four when they

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<v Speaker 2>dropped the ramps or so. And I remember I was

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<v Speaker 2>with I was in the same track as Bradley Faircloth

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<v Speaker 2>and my team leader and a few others and probably

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<v Speaker 2>ten or fifteen others in that track, and they dropped

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<v Speaker 2>the ramp, and some guys that were in faircloths fireteam

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<v Speaker 2>Smith and Meadows and and Matthews, they were all together.

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<v Speaker 2>They dropped the ramp and Faircloth had been talking about

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<v Speaker 2>how he wanted to wanted to get an ak as

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<v Speaker 2>a souvenir. He wanted an ak forty seven you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the enemy's rifle and uh. And as the ramp dropped,

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<v Speaker 2>they all were about, they were all running out of

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<v Speaker 2>the back of the track and they all toppled over

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<v Speaker 2>each other and fell on the ground, fell on the deck,

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<v Speaker 2>and they stumbled out of there, and uh, and the

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<v Speaker 2>sun came up, and you know, they were they were

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<v Speaker 2>dead bodies strewn about from there that you know, the

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<v Speaker 2>the bombs that had dropped, you know, from our air assets.

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<v Speaker 2>And uh, the sun came up a little bit and

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<v Speaker 2>fair Claus found a found a dead body with an

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<v Speaker 2>ak and he grabbed it and he goes, oh shit,

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<v Speaker 2>it's bent up. The barrels bent. And then after that

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<v Speaker 2>we we were right there at the Mayor's complex and

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<v Speaker 2>we you know, we got on the rooftop and posted

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<v Speaker 2>up and the sun came up and and it was

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<v Speaker 2>on from there.

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<v Speaker 1>Talk about that. How are you set up? You mentioned

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<v Speaker 1>the roof but the enemies awake now and there they're

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<v Speaker 1>coming at you. So set the scene for us and

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<v Speaker 1>explain what what you're doing.

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<v Speaker 2>At this point, we went in through the back of

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<v Speaker 2>the complex. It was it was basically a square block

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<v Speaker 2>that had a large opening of just ground dirt in

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<v Speaker 2>the middle, and then surrounding it were buildings in the perimeter,

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<v Speaker 2>and so in the rear of the complex was where

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<v Speaker 2>we posted of I believe that was on the north side.

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<v Speaker 2>And we just got up on one of the rooftops

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<v Speaker 2>of one of the buildings and it was the first

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<v Speaker 2>building we picked. It wasn't any rhyme or reason for

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<v Speaker 2>why we picked it, and it turned out to be

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<v Speaker 2>a rather exposed position. It was just flat. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>there was a lip on the outer edge of that

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<v Speaker 2>complex rooftop we were on, but there was no cover.

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<v Speaker 2>There was some cinder blocks you could have used to

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<v Speaker 2>move around. I put I put my two forty belt

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<v Speaker 2>fed gun on the edge and just kicked up the

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00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:57.599
<v Speaker 2>bipods on it, and rounds started flying in. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>they were coming from other higher that were directly ahead

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<v Speaker 2>of us, that were probably five hundred yards away, I

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<v Speaker 2>want to say, about five hundred meters, and then there

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<v Speaker 2>were some minarets behind that that were more or less

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<v Speaker 2>like mosque towers. There were some snipers in there, and

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<v Speaker 2>there were bullets that were being I mean we could

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<v Speaker 2>hear snaps and crackles and pops, like just whizzing right

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<v Speaker 2>past our heads. The whole city was just rubbled, especially

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<v Speaker 2>where we are, you know, from bombs that were being

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<v Speaker 2>dropped from us. And there was rebar sticking out of

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<v Speaker 2>the roof. I remember, you know, maybe it went up

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<v Speaker 2>about ten or fifteen twenty feet high and it was

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<v Speaker 2>just bear and I remember bullets pinging off of it,

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<v Speaker 2>like just bullets whizzing and pinging off of it. It

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<v Speaker 2>sounded like a bell, you know. And that happened throughout

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<v Speaker 2>the day on November tenth, on that D Day, and

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<v Speaker 2>I have myself and my teamly Healy with me, and

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<v Speaker 2>UH I would send around. I would send bursts of fire,

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<v Speaker 2>UH support support by fire over across into a high

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<v Speaker 2>rise into windows where we saw muscle flashes coming out

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<v Speaker 2>of and UH the enemy was was hiding mainly, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>they were taking covering concealment and shooting at us. I

424
00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:27.400
<v Speaker 2>remember mortars falling and exploding all around the Mayor's Complex

425
00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:32.200
<v Speaker 2>roof we were on about mid morning. I remember second Platoon,

426
00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:36.640
<v Speaker 2>Alpha Company, positioning themselves on a rooftop just forward of

427
00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:39.720
<v Speaker 2>our position. So they were on a rooftop in the

428
00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:42.440
<v Speaker 2>Mayor's Complex also, but they were closer to the enemy

429
00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:45.440
<v Speaker 2>and they were taking fire, and they were they were

430
00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:48.279
<v Speaker 2>firing eighty four rocket launchers into windows because they were

431
00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:50.480
<v Speaker 2>closer and they were hitting. They were hitting the enemy

432
00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:53.400
<v Speaker 2>and blowing and you know, making explosions and killing them.

433
00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:57.319
<v Speaker 2>And so I would provide support by fire over their heads,

434
00:25:57.720 --> 00:26:00.519
<v Speaker 2>and they were pretty frightened about that. I think. I

435
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:03.960
<v Speaker 2>want to say, my my bursts of fire were probably

436
00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:07.319
<v Speaker 2>I don't know, twenty thirty feet above their head, just

437
00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:09.839
<v Speaker 2>to give you a picture of what the scene was like.

438
00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:13.319
<v Speaker 2>At one point, I want to say, one of our

439
00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:16.559
<v Speaker 2>one of our aircraft was intending to drop a five

440
00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:20.400
<v Speaker 2>hundred pound bomb on the enemy, and it actually landed

441
00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:23.880
<v Speaker 2>pretty close to us, and it missed the enemy and

442
00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:26.319
<v Speaker 2>it exploded. I mean, it landed on the street right

443
00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:29.599
<v Speaker 2>by the building we were on. It was it was

444
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:32.400
<v Speaker 2>it was really bizarre the bar. I mean you could

445
00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:34.960
<v Speaker 2>see the bomb hit the ground and then it sunk

446
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:37.640
<v Speaker 2>into the concrete of the street. It landed on the street,

447
00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:41.440
<v Speaker 2>and then there was this delay of maybe five seconds,

448
00:26:41.720 --> 00:26:44.200
<v Speaker 2>and then it was like slow motion. I looked over

449
00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:47.400
<v Speaker 2>after I squeezed off a burst of fire, and the

450
00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:52.279
<v Speaker 2>massive portions of street and concrete would would go up

451
00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:55.480
<v Speaker 2>into the air and some guys in second Platoon were

452
00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:57.880
<v Speaker 2>wounded from that, and uh so it was just it

453
00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:01.440
<v Speaker 2>was just part of the heart, the horrific you know,

454
00:27:01.480 --> 00:27:05.599
<v Speaker 2>the horrific outcomes of combat and things that happened. It

455
00:27:05.640 --> 00:27:08.279
<v Speaker 2>was hell. I could feel it coming on. Some of

456
00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:11.440
<v Speaker 2>our guys in third Platoon had had killed some of

457
00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.799
<v Speaker 2>the enemy in the street right around the complex. I

458
00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:17.920
<v Speaker 2>mean some of the enemy were would be seen walking

459
00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:21.759
<v Speaker 2>around with aks, sneaking around the side of buildings and

460
00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:24.160
<v Speaker 2>they would just slight them up and kill them right there.

461
00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:27.200
<v Speaker 2>And so it was a long day. It was the

462
00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:30.240
<v Speaker 2>beginning of our finest hour, and it was on.

463
00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:33.640
<v Speaker 1>How did you push out of the complex and keep

464
00:27:33.720 --> 00:27:36.559
<v Speaker 1>moving south with that kind of enemy intensity.

465
00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:41.359
<v Speaker 2>November tenth went on and we got we displaced off

466
00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:46.240
<v Speaker 2>that rooftop. We had lost our lieutenant, Lieutenant Malcolm, and

467
00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:49.519
<v Speaker 2>we ran over to another building, a small office building

468
00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:51.759
<v Speaker 2>which was one story, and we sat on the ground

469
00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:55.559
<v Speaker 2>floor and just waited in that building. I remember, yeah,

470
00:27:55.680 --> 00:28:00.599
<v Speaker 2>our squad our platoon, third platoon was there and we

471
00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:02.640
<v Speaker 2>were about to push. I could feel it coming. We

472
00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:05.960
<v Speaker 2>were minutes away, and I pulled out a can of

473
00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:09.119
<v Speaker 2>dip out of my pocket and I told my I

474
00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:11.039
<v Speaker 2>told one of my superiors, I said, hey, I'm gonna

475
00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:12.920
<v Speaker 2>go I'm gonna go into this office room next door

476
00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:14.680
<v Speaker 2>and just have a dip and get about five minutes

477
00:28:14.680 --> 00:28:17.680
<v Speaker 2>to myself. So I went in there and just said

478
00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:22.960
<v Speaker 2>some prayers and had some had had a moment alone,

479
00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:25.400
<v Speaker 2>and then I rejoined the rest of the rest of

480
00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:27.880
<v Speaker 2>the Marines I was with. And I want to say

481
00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:31.799
<v Speaker 2>it was about four or five o'clock by then, and

482
00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:35.440
<v Speaker 2>it was winter days, so the days were shorter. Night

483
00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:37.839
<v Speaker 2>was coming, but we still had still had probably two

484
00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:41.960
<v Speaker 2>hours of daylight. And then at that point we pushed

485
00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:46.519
<v Speaker 2>across Route fran We bounded, you know, one man after

486
00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:49.839
<v Speaker 2>the other, and I mean bullets were flying everywhere. It

487
00:28:49.880 --> 00:28:54.240
<v Speaker 2>was loud machine gun fire, enemy machine gun fire, pkms

488
00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:58.240
<v Speaker 2>ak's mortars were landing, a lot of yelling, a lot

489
00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:02.079
<v Speaker 2>of screaming, a lot of orders being or being dealt,

490
00:29:02.279 --> 00:29:06.720
<v Speaker 2>and and men were moving fast and and that's when

491
00:29:06.720 --> 00:29:07.400
<v Speaker 2>it kicked off.

492
00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:09.759
<v Speaker 1>Now, when it comes to the house to house fighting

493
00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:12.720
<v Speaker 1>due to your weaponry, from what I understand, you were

494
00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:15.519
<v Speaker 1>outside most of the time or maybe on top of

495
00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:20.119
<v Speaker 1>depending on what the situation was. How was your role

496
00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:24.119
<v Speaker 1>to find logistically as they as everybody's clearing the houses.

497
00:29:24.359 --> 00:29:26.799
<v Speaker 2>That's right. Yeah, I carried my I carried my two

498
00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:29.920
<v Speaker 2>forty in an unconventional sense. I mean it just used

499
00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:32.960
<v Speaker 2>bipods and we didn't. I didn't bring in a tripod

500
00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:36.799
<v Speaker 2>or traversing, an elevating mechanism which is used for more

501
00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:41.160
<v Speaker 2>long distance and precision support by fire. I had it

502
00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:43.880
<v Speaker 2>on a sling and uh and I carried it with

503
00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:47.400
<v Speaker 2>a I had a hundred round belt to start in it.

504
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:50.160
<v Speaker 2>And you know, I carried two more hundred round belts

505
00:29:50.200 --> 00:29:52.799
<v Speaker 2>with me on my person and had a few of

506
00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:56.000
<v Speaker 2>my few of my few of my comrades carry other

507
00:29:56.119 --> 00:29:58.759
<v Speaker 2>hundred round belts. So I was I was well supported.

508
00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:01.960
<v Speaker 2>But I stayed. I stayed on the rooftops and in

509
00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:05.279
<v Speaker 2>the alleys, and I kept watch around the houses where

510
00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:10.240
<v Speaker 2>where our three eleven riflemen were going in and clearing

511
00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:14.680
<v Speaker 2>rooms and hallways. And uh, there was there was resistance

512
00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:17.759
<v Speaker 2>outside of the house as they were clearing rooms. I

513
00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:20.519
<v Speaker 2>mean I got I got my first taste of what

514
00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:22.839
<v Speaker 2>it was like to kill and kill an enemy combatant

515
00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:27.359
<v Speaker 2>uh on. On the very first rooftop after the Mayor's

516
00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:31.440
<v Speaker 2>Complex that I got on top of after we crossed

517
00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:35.799
<v Speaker 2>that main route on D Day that afternoon. Really I

518
00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:42.000
<v Speaker 2>provided more security after that, but that first rooftop was significant. Uh.

519
00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:45.400
<v Speaker 2>We referred to it as Hadgi Alley and Hajji Alley

520
00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:48.720
<v Speaker 2>was where a lot of our resistance was met right

521
00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:50.599
<v Speaker 2>in the very beginning of the battle.

522
00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:55.039
<v Speaker 1>So in addition to protecting the guys that are going

523
00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:57.599
<v Speaker 1>into the houses, you're also kind of the eyes of

524
00:30:57.640 --> 00:30:59.839
<v Speaker 1>the whole neighborhood, or at least as much as you

525
00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:03.240
<v Speaker 1>can see from your vantage point right right right.

526
00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:08.039
<v Speaker 2>I had obviously a fully automatic weapon to suppress and

527
00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:14.079
<v Speaker 2>destroy the enemy. You know, snipers had bolt action rifles

528
00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:17.920
<v Speaker 2>for more precision, long range shooting, so I complimented them well,

529
00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:21.720
<v Speaker 2>and we took out enemy combatants in the streets in

530
00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:24.279
<v Speaker 2>the alleys as we pushed south.

531
00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:27.160
<v Speaker 1>What was your communication like, so if you know, the

532
00:31:27.160 --> 00:31:29.160
<v Speaker 1>guys are in the house, and hey, we need a

533
00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:31.839
<v Speaker 1>little more firepower over here.

534
00:31:31.880 --> 00:31:34.200
<v Speaker 2>Right right. I usually I stayed in the rear of

535
00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:38.000
<v Speaker 2>a stacks as marines went into the houses, and before

536
00:31:38.359 --> 00:31:40.720
<v Speaker 2>they went in, I would go around and come to

537
00:31:40.759 --> 00:31:43.839
<v Speaker 2>the front of the house and waste fire it into

538
00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:46.920
<v Speaker 2>the house and usually do a six to eight round,

539
00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:48.680
<v Speaker 2>burst to the right, to the left, to the right

540
00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:53.640
<v Speaker 2>again and suppress to neutralize the house, provide some psychological

541
00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:56.839
<v Speaker 2>terror on the enemy, if not kill them or wound them.

542
00:31:57.440 --> 00:31:59.720
<v Speaker 2>So it was it was an efforts to shake them

543
00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.759
<v Speaker 2>up before they went in immediately and and have some

544
00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:05.400
<v Speaker 2>type of advantage. I mean it was. It was a

545
00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:08.480
<v Speaker 2>gorilla tactic for use on our behalf too, just as

546
00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:11.440
<v Speaker 2>they used on us. So it was. It was an

547
00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:15.880
<v Speaker 2>unconventional battle in that sense. And my communication with my

548
00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:20.200
<v Speaker 2>with my fire teams was was good, although you know,

549
00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:21.440
<v Speaker 2>we had a lot of we made a lot of

550
00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:23.160
<v Speaker 2>mistakes too that cost us.

551
00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:25.400
<v Speaker 1>What kind of damage does the two forty round do?

552
00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:29.319
<v Speaker 2>Right? That seven six two round? Uh? It? It penetrates

553
00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:32.839
<v Speaker 2>the walls. I mean the walls weren't weren't fortified, you know,

554
00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:35.920
<v Speaker 2>they were they were glorified mud huts. They were brick,

555
00:32:36.599 --> 00:32:40.920
<v Speaker 2>and they'd penetrate those structures pretty well, and they would

556
00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:42.920
<v Speaker 2>they would go through walls really well.

557
00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:46.759
<v Speaker 1>I have heard though, that you did do clearing on occasion, correct, yep.

558
00:32:46.839 --> 00:32:50.279
<v Speaker 2>After after more, when we got to the south part

559
00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:52.720
<v Speaker 2>of the city and in the middle of the city,

560
00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:57.000
<v Speaker 2>I cleared a few houses used my nine mil my

561
00:32:57.079 --> 00:32:59.480
<v Speaker 2>side arm, and we lost our rules of engagement.

562
00:32:59.720 --> 00:32:59.839
<v Speaker 1>Uh.

563
00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:02.559
<v Speaker 2>Towards the southern part of the city, we weren't allowed

564
00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:07.480
<v Speaker 2>to use automatic fire fully automatic fire anymore because all

565
00:33:07.559 --> 00:33:11.799
<v Speaker 2>our friendlies were in such close proximity that we had

566
00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:13.240
<v Speaker 2>to use point target weapons.

567
00:33:14.039 --> 00:33:18.359
<v Speaker 1>So, yes, what's it like entering a house when you

568
00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:22.279
<v Speaker 1>know there's enemies there and you're not completely quite obviously

569
00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:24.599
<v Speaker 1>on the layout. If it's the first time you've been there,

570
00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:27.039
<v Speaker 1>they've got a little bit of an advantage, and maybe

571
00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:29.599
<v Speaker 1>even more of an advantage. How do you get that

572
00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:30.640
<v Speaker 1>advantage back?

573
00:33:30.880 --> 00:33:35.480
<v Speaker 2>Well, the enemy was cowardly. They used their own gorilla

574
00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:38.880
<v Speaker 2>tactics against us. They would board up, they would put

575
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:42.160
<v Speaker 2>curtains over the windows, and they would hide from us

576
00:33:42.200 --> 00:33:46.440
<v Speaker 2>and keep the sunlight out. So when we entered the houses,

577
00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:49.680
<v Speaker 2>it was completely blacked out and dark, and they'd be

578
00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:53.960
<v Speaker 2>hiding in the corner with PKM belt fed gun just

579
00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:59.079
<v Speaker 2>pointed right at the door, and that's usually when that's

580
00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:02.839
<v Speaker 2>when people would get it killed and hurt. So we

581
00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:07.759
<v Speaker 2>learned quick that that all of our conventional tactics didn't

582
00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:11.800
<v Speaker 2>really work. You know, we could throw frags in the windows,

583
00:34:11.800 --> 00:34:17.800
<v Speaker 2>we threw frags through the doorways, down chimneys. We called

584
00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:22.760
<v Speaker 2>in tanks. We sent some tank crowns in that would

585
00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:27.639
<v Speaker 2>basically just obliterate the house and cause a shock to

586
00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:32.159
<v Speaker 2>all the bodies inside. We'd fire Mark nineteen fully automatic

587
00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:36.119
<v Speaker 2>grenade launchers at them at the houses through the windows.

588
00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:39.400
<v Speaker 2>We'd run D nine bulldozers right over the house at

589
00:34:39.400 --> 00:34:44.119
<v Speaker 2>one point and just crush everybody inside. I mean, at

590
00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:46.480
<v Speaker 2>one point we were we were yelling at him from

591
00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:49.599
<v Speaker 2>outside of the house and they would respond a lotac

592
00:34:49.679 --> 00:34:53.880
<v Speaker 2>bar and you know, we knew they were inside, and

593
00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:55.880
<v Speaker 2>it was a trap, you know they had They had

594
00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:59.840
<v Speaker 2>all kinds of booby traps inside that we weren't about

595
00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:03.039
<v Speaker 2>to waste human assets on. So when we knew they

596
00:35:03.039 --> 00:35:05.679
<v Speaker 2>were inside, I mean a lot of times we would

597
00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:11.320
<v Speaker 2>kill them with point target weapons and grenades, and other

598
00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:15.320
<v Speaker 2>times we would just send a tank round in or

599
00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:16.360
<v Speaker 2>a javelin missile.

600
00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:20.320
<v Speaker 1>That's Robert Day, a US Marine Corps veteran of the

601
00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:23.960
<v Speaker 1>Iraq War and the Second Battle of Fallujia Still to Come.

602
00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:27.599
<v Speaker 1>Day explains how the Marines and their enemies adjusted their

603
00:35:27.639 --> 00:35:32.079
<v Speaker 1>tactics as the battle continued, and he describes losing one

604
00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:36.679
<v Speaker 1>of the most beloved Marines in his platoon. I'm Greg Corumbus,

605
00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:42.159
<v Speaker 1>and this is Veterans Chronicles. This is Veterans' Chronicles. I'm

606
00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:46.199
<v Speaker 1>Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this addition is Sergeant Robert Day.

607
00:35:46.679 --> 00:35:49.320
<v Speaker 1>He's a US Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War

608
00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:53.440
<v Speaker 1>and the Second Battle of Fallujah. In just a moment,

609
00:35:53.800 --> 00:35:56.920
<v Speaker 1>Day articulates the pain of losing a beloved member of

610
00:35:56.920 --> 00:36:00.920
<v Speaker 1>his platoon and the bomb that still exists inside that

611
00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:05.559
<v Speaker 1>platoon twenty years later. But first, Sergeant Day explains how

612
00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:09.320
<v Speaker 1>the Marines and their enemies adjusted their tactics as the

613
00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:11.119
<v Speaker 1>battle for Fallujah unfolded.

614
00:36:11.400 --> 00:36:14.280
<v Speaker 2>They had spider holes that they dug in between each

615
00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:17.639
<v Speaker 2>house that they would disappear into and go into a

616
00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:20.039
<v Speaker 2>house that we had already cleared, or move forward to

617
00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:23.960
<v Speaker 2>another house that we hadn't cleared. It was a constant

618
00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:25.960
<v Speaker 2>game of whack them all. We didn't know where they were,

619
00:36:26.679 --> 00:36:30.320
<v Speaker 2>and unless we saw them during the day peeking out

620
00:36:30.360 --> 00:36:34.880
<v Speaker 2>of an alley or a courtyard, and somebody would shoot

621
00:36:34.920 --> 00:36:38.079
<v Speaker 2>him right in the head or in the chest. And

622
00:36:40.280 --> 00:36:44.559
<v Speaker 2>they were tricky. They'd come out at night. Sometimes we

623
00:36:44.599 --> 00:36:47.079
<v Speaker 2>didn't recount a lot of resistance at all at night time,

624
00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:51.559
<v Speaker 2>but we killed them when we saw him.

625
00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:54.880
<v Speaker 1>Did you come under fire much from your position normally

626
00:36:54.920 --> 00:36:55.679
<v Speaker 1>on the rooftops?

627
00:36:55.840 --> 00:37:00.800
<v Speaker 2>I did, I did, yeah that first day. That first day,

628
00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:03.239
<v Speaker 2>we got up on that first rooftop in Hajji Alley

629
00:37:03.280 --> 00:37:08.119
<v Speaker 2>and uh I ran. I ran through the door, the

630
00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:11.400
<v Speaker 2>main door of the house, along with a lot of

631
00:37:11.480 --> 00:37:14.079
<v Speaker 2>a lot of guys, probably about probably nine or ten

632
00:37:14.159 --> 00:37:17.320
<v Speaker 2>marines went through that hatch in the first in the

633
00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:20.760
<v Speaker 2>first house in Hajji Alley. We I remember, I remember

634
00:37:20.840 --> 00:37:23.840
<v Speaker 2>running through that first house and looking in the side

635
00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:26.599
<v Speaker 2>of the little entryway to the door, and there were

636
00:37:26.599 --> 00:37:30.239
<v Speaker 2>some RPG warheads at the enemy used in a backpack

637
00:37:30.280 --> 00:37:34.519
<v Speaker 2>that was that was leaning up against the wall, So

638
00:37:34.719 --> 00:37:37.400
<v Speaker 2>we knew there were some people inside, but there actually weren't.

639
00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:40.400
<v Speaker 2>I mean, we cleared it. We immediately ran upstairs to

640
00:37:40.440 --> 00:37:45.079
<v Speaker 2>the elevated rooftop, and on this particular rooftop there was

641
00:37:45.920 --> 00:37:48.840
<v Speaker 2>there was a wall maybe like four or five feet high,

642
00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:52.079
<v Speaker 2>probably about three or about four four feet high that

643
00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:55.360
<v Speaker 2>everybody propped their weapons up on. I propped my two

644
00:37:55.440 --> 00:37:59.519
<v Speaker 2>forty up on it, and and we had a lot

645
00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:02.599
<v Speaker 2>of snipe up there too. Some guys from Stay were

646
00:38:02.679 --> 00:38:05.800
<v Speaker 2>up there with us. Ergo was up there with us,

647
00:38:06.360 --> 00:38:09.760
<v Speaker 2>and my team leader, Healey, and I mean, we immediately

648
00:38:09.800 --> 00:38:14.800
<v Speaker 2>just started taking fire right we could. I could see

649
00:38:14.840 --> 00:38:17.800
<v Speaker 2>straight down a street. We were directly above a street

650
00:38:17.800 --> 00:38:21.000
<v Speaker 2>that I could see straight down, and there were guys

651
00:38:21.039 --> 00:38:23.079
<v Speaker 2>shooting at us from that street, out in the middle

652
00:38:23.079 --> 00:38:26.280
<v Speaker 2>of the street, just shooting at us with aks. There

653
00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:28.639
<v Speaker 2>was another street that was perpendicular to the street that

654
00:38:28.679 --> 00:38:31.440
<v Speaker 2>I was looking down that we were looking down, and

655
00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:35.800
<v Speaker 2>I remember seeing I remember seeing this large, this really

656
00:38:35.800 --> 00:38:38.320
<v Speaker 2>big fat guy running down the street. He was an

657
00:38:38.440 --> 00:38:41.679
<v Speaker 2>enemy combatant and he had RPG warheads in his backpack

658
00:38:42.280 --> 00:38:44.440
<v Speaker 2>and he was running from something. He was running from

659
00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:47.880
<v Speaker 2>an Army Bradley tank that was firing a Bushmaster machine

660
00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:51.760
<v Speaker 2>gun at him, a big twenty five millimeter fully automatic

661
00:38:51.800 --> 00:38:56.239
<v Speaker 2>gun that slow rate of fire. And he was running.

662
00:38:56.280 --> 00:38:58.199
<v Speaker 2>I could see the tracers following him, and he could

663
00:38:58.360 --> 00:39:02.000
<v Speaker 2>they weren't hitting him. And I aimed right in at

664
00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:05.400
<v Speaker 2>him and I shot him, and I crumbled him and

665
00:39:06.119 --> 00:39:08.199
<v Speaker 2>he fell. He didn't get back up. And then I

666
00:39:08.239 --> 00:39:10.480
<v Speaker 2>looked closer into the street and there was it was

667
00:39:10.559 --> 00:39:14.400
<v Speaker 2>filled with smoke down below. I mean, that guy was

668
00:39:14.440 --> 00:39:16.519
<v Speaker 2>at about one hundred and twenty five hundred and fifty

669
00:39:16.599 --> 00:39:19.599
<v Speaker 2>yards and then closer to us in the street. Right

670
00:39:19.639 --> 00:39:23.719
<v Speaker 2>after that incident was multiple enemy in the middle of

671
00:39:23.760 --> 00:39:26.360
<v Speaker 2>the street, hiding behind walls and standing in the middle

672
00:39:26.360 --> 00:39:30.840
<v Speaker 2>of the street firing at us. I could see muscle flashes. Martinez,

673
00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:33.039
<v Speaker 2>we called him Marty, he was also next to us.

674
00:39:33.920 --> 00:39:36.199
<v Speaker 2>He directed my fire into a window and then I

675
00:39:36.239 --> 00:39:40.239
<v Speaker 2>looked back down on that street and I hit somebody

676
00:39:40.320 --> 00:39:43.599
<v Speaker 2>that one of our one of our stay guys, had

677
00:39:43.679 --> 00:39:46.760
<v Speaker 2>just shot, and he looked over. That stay guy looked

678
00:39:46.760 --> 00:39:49.800
<v Speaker 2>over at me and goes, I got him, and uh,

679
00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:52.840
<v Speaker 2>and then I shot him again as he was moving

680
00:39:52.840 --> 00:39:56.280
<v Speaker 2>around on the ground. And then Lee, another guy from

681
00:39:56.280 --> 00:39:58.199
<v Speaker 2>our platoon looked at me and he goes, you got him.

682
00:39:58.559 --> 00:40:00.639
<v Speaker 2>So there was that, There was that come, There was

683
00:40:00.639 --> 00:40:04.239
<v Speaker 2>that communication and that bravado about what we were actually doing.

684
00:40:04.440 --> 00:40:07.360
<v Speaker 2>What we were actually there to do was was annihilate

685
00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:09.519
<v Speaker 2>the enemy. And that's what we did right there on

686
00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:13.440
<v Speaker 2>Hanjie Alley and I remember feeling like getting popped in

687
00:40:13.440 --> 00:40:16.480
<v Speaker 2>the face by little bitty pieces of concrete from enemy

688
00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:20.880
<v Speaker 2>bullets coming in and hitting the walls, and it felt

689
00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:23.800
<v Speaker 2>so it felt so real that we were, that we

690
00:40:23.800 --> 00:40:26.400
<v Speaker 2>were in it. I mean, I felt like I had

691
00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:28.920
<v Speaker 2>been training my whole life for that moment, and I

692
00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:31.039
<v Speaker 2>knew that any moment, I could just get zipped, I

693
00:40:31.039 --> 00:40:37.920
<v Speaker 2>could get killed. And it was frightening and surreal and exciting,

694
00:40:38.199 --> 00:40:40.639
<v Speaker 2>and I just remembered so.

695
00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:46.079
<v Speaker 1>Well as you guys progressed, how frequently are you moving positions,

696
00:40:46.280 --> 00:40:49.119
<v Speaker 1>disassembling and moving to the next rooftop?

697
00:40:49.599 --> 00:40:54.719
<v Speaker 2>You know, we moved constantly. We stayed at some specific

698
00:40:55.239 --> 00:41:00.119
<v Speaker 2>places for a day before before somebody was wounded and

699
00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:03.440
<v Speaker 2>had to be metavact, and then we would bound over

700
00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:06.360
<v Speaker 2>to a different location. I mean, we stayed at this

701
00:41:06.400 --> 00:41:10.039
<v Speaker 2>one location called the Alamo that we later called the

702
00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:12.599
<v Speaker 2>Alamo for about I want to say, most of a day,

703
00:41:13.320 --> 00:41:15.880
<v Speaker 2>and we took some fire from that house and we

704
00:41:16.599 --> 00:41:19.280
<v Speaker 2>gave it back, and we had some really close calls

705
00:41:19.360 --> 00:41:22.800
<v Speaker 2>up on that rooftop, aside from three of our marines

706
00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:30.199
<v Speaker 2>getting wounded and being sent out. So we moved, we stayed.

707
00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:33.920
<v Speaker 2>It was a mix of everything, but the push was

708
00:41:33.960 --> 00:41:35.760
<v Speaker 2>on and we didn't stop till we got to the

709
00:41:35.800 --> 00:41:39.599
<v Speaker 2>southern part, which was Queen's Queens District in Fallujah.

710
00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:42.079
<v Speaker 1>Talk a little bit about the Alamo and what happened

711
00:41:42.079 --> 00:41:45.599
<v Speaker 1>on the roof that day as the enemy was firing

712
00:41:45.599 --> 00:41:49.400
<v Speaker 1>in the RPG. Where were you positioned and how close

713
00:41:49.400 --> 00:41:52.119
<v Speaker 1>were you to the impact point?

714
00:41:52.239 --> 00:41:54.079
<v Speaker 2>I was on the roof with everybody else. I mean

715
00:41:54.119 --> 00:41:58.199
<v Speaker 2>it may have been about probably about a thirty or

716
00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:02.199
<v Speaker 2>forty feet by the same thirty or forty feet and

717
00:42:02.440 --> 00:42:05.280
<v Speaker 2>you know, in the area surface area, So it gives

718
00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:09.880
<v Speaker 2>you an idea of our platoon. We had about what

719
00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.800
<v Speaker 2>fifteen twenty five marines on that rooftop that day. And

720
00:42:16.440 --> 00:42:19.559
<v Speaker 2>I remember certain times where I was on the outskirts

721
00:42:19.639 --> 00:42:23.280
<v Speaker 2>of that rooftop propped up on a wall. Fire and

722
00:42:23.280 --> 00:42:26.480
<v Speaker 2>burst of fire into the city and where I thought

723
00:42:26.519 --> 00:42:30.079
<v Speaker 2>they were coming from, and I mean they were snipers

724
00:42:30.119 --> 00:42:35.880
<v Speaker 2>everywhere they were hidden. And I remember seeing bullets spinning

725
00:42:36.119 --> 00:42:40.039
<v Speaker 2>on the deck of that roof, enemy bullets that had landed,

726
00:42:40.039 --> 00:42:42.079
<v Speaker 2>and they were just spinning out of control right in

727
00:42:42.079 --> 00:42:44.599
<v Speaker 2>front of your face. I remember the same bits of

728
00:42:44.639 --> 00:42:47.639
<v Speaker 2>concrete hitting my face as I did in Halji Alley.

729
00:42:48.320 --> 00:42:52.480
<v Speaker 2>I remember seeing our artillery rounds in the distance on

730
00:42:52.519 --> 00:42:55.840
<v Speaker 2>the street and on the ground land and not explode,

731
00:42:55.920 --> 00:43:01.360
<v Speaker 2>and just bizarre things like that. I remember at one

732
00:43:01.360 --> 00:43:05.119
<v Speaker 2>point talking to Lieutenant Barnes, and he had his rto

733
00:43:06.159 --> 00:43:08.199
<v Speaker 2>Duran with him and I was right in front of

734
00:43:08.239 --> 00:43:11.440
<v Speaker 2>him in the middle of the rooftop, and I remember

735
00:43:11.440 --> 00:43:13.400
<v Speaker 2>picking up a bullet and enemy bullet and showing it

736
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:17.960
<v Speaker 2>to him. I said, that's a dragon off Rouncer. And

737
00:43:17.960 --> 00:43:19.960
<v Speaker 2>and then right after that, I believe it was when

738
00:43:19.960 --> 00:43:24.880
<v Speaker 2>that RPG came in and wounded three of ours, Fox,

739
00:43:24.960 --> 00:43:29.519
<v Speaker 2>Martinez and Leo. I remember going down to UH. I

740
00:43:29.559 --> 00:43:33.920
<v Speaker 2>grabbed Ergo and he and I went down to the

741
00:43:33.920 --> 00:43:37.480
<v Speaker 2>balcony below. So that was the second roof, the second roof.

742
00:43:37.519 --> 00:43:39.760
<v Speaker 2>We were on second story, and then we went down

743
00:43:39.840 --> 00:43:43.639
<v Speaker 2>to a balcony below that and there was the same

744
00:43:43.800 --> 00:43:46.119
<v Speaker 2>you know wall, maybe two or three feet high, and

745
00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:51.000
<v Speaker 2>Ergo got down into the Indian style position and he

746
00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:53.480
<v Speaker 2>had a two oh three grenade launcher on his M sixteen,

747
00:43:53.519 --> 00:43:57.760
<v Speaker 2>and he was lobbing rounds into the nearby area a

748
00:43:57.760 --> 00:43:59.920
<v Speaker 2>couple of hundred meters away, and I was I was

749
00:44:00.039 --> 00:44:02.639
<v Speaker 2>spot and for him, and I was standing up in

750
00:44:02.679 --> 00:44:06.760
<v Speaker 2>a doorway and I remember hearing a loud snap pop,

751
00:44:07.320 --> 00:44:09.079
<v Speaker 2>and I looked right next to me, and you know,

752
00:44:09.159 --> 00:44:11.039
<v Speaker 2>there was a round that impacted right next to my

753
00:44:11.119 --> 00:44:15.280
<v Speaker 2>groin on the doorframe that I was standing in, and

754
00:44:15.360 --> 00:44:19.079
<v Speaker 2>I immediately hit the deck and it was pretty frightening.

755
00:44:19.800 --> 00:44:23.239
<v Speaker 2>And then we returned fireing after that we were exposed.

756
00:44:23.280 --> 00:44:26.159
<v Speaker 2>We were sitting ducks at the Alamo, and we stayed

757
00:44:26.159 --> 00:44:29.880
<v Speaker 2>there for most of the day and eventually moved.

758
00:44:30.119 --> 00:44:32.920
<v Speaker 1>You mentioned Bradley the Faircloth a couple of times. Now,

759
00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:36.039
<v Speaker 1>first of all his hunt for the souvenir and being

760
00:44:36.079 --> 00:44:40.960
<v Speaker 1>lost around Thanksgiving of two thousand and four. What happened

761
00:44:40.960 --> 00:44:46.079
<v Speaker 1>that day and where were you in proximity to that happening.

762
00:44:46.239 --> 00:44:49.159
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Faircloth was fearless, he really was. I mean, there's

763
00:44:49.159 --> 00:44:53.239
<v Speaker 2>always there's always one, two, three marines you know, around

764
00:44:53.360 --> 00:44:56.920
<v Speaker 2>in each platoon that that want the enemy dead a

765
00:44:57.000 --> 00:44:59.599
<v Speaker 2>little bit more than everybody. Everybody was hungry to kill

766
00:44:59.599 --> 00:45:02.760
<v Speaker 2>the enemy. We were all starving for it. And and

767
00:45:02.800 --> 00:45:06.119
<v Speaker 2>but Faircloth displayed that he was Nobody was going to

768
00:45:06.159 --> 00:45:09.480
<v Speaker 2>get ahead of him in a stack to clear a room.

769
00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:11.840
<v Speaker 2>Nobody was going to be able to kill an enemy

770
00:45:11.880 --> 00:45:14.519
<v Speaker 2>before he did. He would literally push you out of

771
00:45:14.519 --> 00:45:16.599
<v Speaker 2>the way. He would he would tackle you to get

772
00:45:16.639 --> 00:45:18.159
<v Speaker 2>get you out of the way so he could get

773
00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:22.760
<v Speaker 2>get up there. I mean, there were so many skirmishes

774
00:45:23.199 --> 00:45:28.280
<v Speaker 2>between Hadji Ali and the Alamo and South Queens that

775
00:45:28.280 --> 00:45:32.920
<v Speaker 2>that I can recount fighting the enemy alongside faircloth and

776
00:45:32.920 --> 00:45:34.440
<v Speaker 2>in him displaying his courage.

777
00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:35.400
<v Speaker 1>Uh.

778
00:45:35.679 --> 00:45:37.599
<v Speaker 2>But I was right there with him with his fire

779
00:45:37.639 --> 00:45:41.440
<v Speaker 2>team when he when the day he was killed, we

780
00:45:41.440 --> 00:45:45.840
<v Speaker 2>were clearing houses. I want to say. It was towards

781
00:45:45.840 --> 00:45:50.159
<v Speaker 2>the end of the city between the Alamo and South Queens,

782
00:45:50.199 --> 00:45:54.800
<v Speaker 2>and Uh, I was outside of the house pulling security,

783
00:45:54.840 --> 00:45:57.559
<v Speaker 2>looking down the alleys and streets, making sure nobody crossed

784
00:45:57.559 --> 00:46:02.880
<v Speaker 2>over or expose himself. And we had a more three

785
00:46:02.920 --> 00:46:07.159
<v Speaker 2>eleven riflemen up on rooftops nearby, also doing overwatch from

786
00:46:07.199 --> 00:46:12.800
<v Speaker 2>elevated positions. And they entered the house and immediately he

787
00:46:12.880 --> 00:46:15.280
<v Speaker 2>was he was the front man in the stack, and

788
00:46:15.280 --> 00:46:18.639
<v Speaker 2>and he kicked down a door and he immediately all

789
00:46:18.679 --> 00:46:23.360
<v Speaker 2>I heard was a long burst of machine gun enemy

790
00:46:23.360 --> 00:46:27.000
<v Speaker 2>machine gun fire. And uh, that's when I knew something

791
00:46:27.079 --> 00:46:31.760
<v Speaker 2>was bad was going on. And they stayed in the

792
00:46:31.800 --> 00:46:35.639
<v Speaker 2>house and fought the enemy for a short period. And

793
00:46:35.719 --> 00:46:37.760
<v Speaker 2>I later came to find out that the two or

794
00:46:37.760 --> 00:46:40.800
<v Speaker 2>three two or three enemy combats had jumped out the

795
00:46:40.800 --> 00:46:44.079
<v Speaker 2>window in the back of the house and fled and

796
00:46:44.119 --> 00:46:47.960
<v Speaker 2>they were cut down and killed by some of our

797
00:46:47.960 --> 00:46:50.840
<v Speaker 2>marines from our platoon up on that rooftop, and then

798
00:46:52.719 --> 00:46:56.880
<v Speaker 2>doctor Ponti and Meadows and Matthews and Smith. They drug

799
00:46:56.960 --> 00:47:01.719
<v Speaker 2>him out, drug faircloth out of that house, one arm

800
00:47:01.719 --> 00:47:04.400
<v Speaker 2>at a time. One was on one arm, one was

801
00:47:04.440 --> 00:47:08.280
<v Speaker 2>on the other, dragging him out. And I immediately got

802
00:47:08.360 --> 00:47:12.760
<v Speaker 2>up and ran around to the front of that courtyard

803
00:47:12.920 --> 00:47:15.639
<v Speaker 2>entrance and saw him come out, and his whole face

804
00:47:15.760 --> 00:47:19.760
<v Speaker 2>was just was bleach white and lifeless. In his head

805
00:47:19.840 --> 00:47:22.920
<v Speaker 2>was bobbing, and it was just I knew he was dead.

806
00:47:23.320 --> 00:47:25.039
<v Speaker 2>There was no blood though, I mean, he had his

807
00:47:25.079 --> 00:47:28.320
<v Speaker 2>flat jacket on, and I think that enemy machine gun

808
00:47:28.400 --> 00:47:31.679
<v Speaker 2>was pointed right at his chest, and that flat jacket

809
00:47:31.679 --> 00:47:36.159
<v Speaker 2>had held in, you know, it more or less plugged

810
00:47:36.199 --> 00:47:38.960
<v Speaker 2>up blood flow. And it was just it was bizarre

811
00:47:39.440 --> 00:47:41.760
<v Speaker 2>the way I saw him, because he had been so

812
00:47:41.880 --> 00:47:44.599
<v Speaker 2>full of life and so full of courage in the

813
00:47:44.679 --> 00:47:50.480
<v Speaker 2>days before, and vigor and tenacity to slaughter the enemy,

814
00:47:50.840 --> 00:47:56.840
<v Speaker 2>and he wasn't anymore. And that hurt real bad because

815
00:47:56.840 --> 00:48:00.679
<v Speaker 2>he was from my hometown. You know, I saw future there,

816
00:48:00.719 --> 00:48:04.639
<v Speaker 2>but that was it. He zipped him up in a

817
00:48:04.639 --> 00:48:07.880
<v Speaker 2>body bag and took him off and we pressed on.

818
00:48:08.239 --> 00:48:10.159
<v Speaker 1>How do you press on? After that?

819
00:48:10.440 --> 00:48:12.039
<v Speaker 2>You know, a lot of things were going through my mind.

820
00:48:12.039 --> 00:48:15.760
<v Speaker 2>I mean I grew up probably about seven blocks from

821
00:48:16.159 --> 00:48:21.360
<v Speaker 2>Bradley in downtown Mobile, Alabama, And I mean he played

822
00:48:21.360 --> 00:48:24.360
<v Speaker 2>in my neighborhood as we were growing up. I never

823
00:48:24.480 --> 00:48:27.000
<v Speaker 2>actually knew him, but I knew the kid that lived

824
00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:29.519
<v Speaker 2>across the street from me that he would stay with

825
00:48:29.599 --> 00:48:34.400
<v Speaker 2>and play backyard football with and all that, And I

826
00:48:34.519 --> 00:48:36.519
<v Speaker 2>just I wanted to be friends with him even after

827
00:48:36.559 --> 00:48:39.280
<v Speaker 2>the core and you know, have a beer with him

828
00:48:39.280 --> 00:48:42.559
<v Speaker 2>in a bar and talk about talk about hilarious times

829
00:48:42.599 --> 00:48:48.559
<v Speaker 2>and hard times and combat and how do I press on?

830
00:48:48.679 --> 00:48:54.480
<v Speaker 2>I mean I befriended his mom, Kathleen, after that deployment.

831
00:48:54.519 --> 00:48:57.559
<v Speaker 2>We met her at the service at the memorial service

832
00:48:57.599 --> 00:49:03.440
<v Speaker 2>on Campbell June and about February five, And I mean,

833
00:49:03.480 --> 00:49:06.360
<v Speaker 2>from then on, it's been a it's been a wonderful relationship.

834
00:49:07.320 --> 00:49:09.960
<v Speaker 2>My mom and her and her have been good friends

835
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.960
<v Speaker 2>in town in Alabama, and we have annual dinners together

836
00:49:15.079 --> 00:49:19.480
<v Speaker 2>during the holidays, and she's just a wonderful person and

837
00:49:19.519 --> 00:49:20.039
<v Speaker 2>we love her.

838
00:49:20.599 --> 00:49:24.760
<v Speaker 1>Where were you when you heard that the battle had

839
00:49:24.800 --> 00:49:27.119
<v Speaker 1>been declared over? And what was your reaction.

840
00:49:27.760 --> 00:49:32.000
<v Speaker 2>Uh. We We were in the south part of the

841
00:49:32.000 --> 00:49:35.480
<v Speaker 2>Flujah in Queens District, and we were at a fob

842
00:49:35.559 --> 00:49:37.119
<v Speaker 2>that we had stayed in I want to say, for

843
00:49:37.119 --> 00:49:41.719
<v Speaker 2>about a week and right around Thanksgiving, well Thanksgiving Day

844
00:49:41.960 --> 00:49:47.360
<v Speaker 2>was the day before Faircloth died. He died on the

845
00:49:47.400 --> 00:49:52.519
<v Speaker 2>twenty sixth, I believe. And then after that, come early December,

846
00:49:52.920 --> 00:49:55.719
<v Speaker 2>we pulled out of that fob and we went back

847
00:49:55.719 --> 00:49:59.039
<v Speaker 2>to Camp Falloosia for a short stint, and it wasn't

848
00:49:59.079 --> 00:50:01.079
<v Speaker 2>long after that till we went back to Ala Sade,

849
00:50:01.119 --> 00:50:05.000
<v Speaker 2>which is the bigger base, stayed there, and then we

850
00:50:05.039 --> 00:50:08.320
<v Speaker 2>flew out to Cherry Point, North Carolina on that commercial

851
00:50:08.320 --> 00:50:10.599
<v Speaker 2>flight and that was it. I'll tell you one thing,

852
00:50:10.880 --> 00:50:13.519
<v Speaker 2>the flight back wasn't nearly as fun as the flight over.

853
00:50:14.119 --> 00:50:17.559
<v Speaker 2>The commercial flight to Kuwait City for that deployment, it

854
00:50:17.599 --> 00:50:22.079
<v Speaker 2>was just exciting, and the one back was pretty somber

855
00:50:22.760 --> 00:50:25.000
<v Speaker 2>and as as not as exciting.

856
00:50:25.639 --> 00:50:28.639
<v Speaker 1>Talk about the bond that still exists. You mentioned the

857
00:50:28.719 --> 00:50:33.480
<v Speaker 1>relationship you have with Kathleen Faircloth and even she and

858
00:50:33.519 --> 00:50:37.559
<v Speaker 1>your mom are good friends. Now now twenty years after

859
00:50:37.599 --> 00:50:40.159
<v Speaker 1>the battle, how would you describe the bond that still

860
00:50:40.199 --> 00:50:42.599
<v Speaker 1>exists between you and the other guys and as pretend.

861
00:50:42.719 --> 00:50:46.760
<v Speaker 2>Oh, it's incredible, It's great. I mean, especially this year

862
00:50:46.800 --> 00:50:50.320
<v Speaker 2>at our twentieth anniversary year, I've really reconnected with a

863
00:50:50.320 --> 00:50:53.719
<v Speaker 2>lot a lot of men that I served with in

864
00:50:53.760 --> 00:50:58.079
<v Speaker 2>our platoon particularly, and I mean I met up with

865
00:50:59.519 --> 00:51:02.639
<v Speaker 2>Paul Smith from Fair cous Fire Team just this past

866
00:51:02.719 --> 00:51:05.599
<v Speaker 2>April back in Alabama where I live, where I'm from,

867
00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:07.840
<v Speaker 2>and we went we had some we had a week

868
00:51:07.880 --> 00:51:10.280
<v Speaker 2>at the beach with his family as well as Kathleen,

869
00:51:11.159 --> 00:51:14.599
<v Speaker 2>And I mean, I've reconnected with so many people over

870
00:51:14.639 --> 00:51:18.760
<v Speaker 2>the phone via text, and I've kept up with with

871
00:51:18.880 --> 00:51:21.960
<v Speaker 2>a lot of them, you know, in the early years,

872
00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:24.559
<v Speaker 2>like Mike Rgo. You know, I've done some done some

873
00:51:24.599 --> 00:51:28.480
<v Speaker 2>backpacking trips with him out west in California, and we've

874
00:51:28.519 --> 00:51:32.159
<v Speaker 2>just done some adventurous things that you know, we're sort

875
00:51:32.159 --> 00:51:34.920
<v Speaker 2>of a spin off of all our physical training in

876
00:51:34.960 --> 00:51:38.000
<v Speaker 2>the Marine Corps together and uh, just more adventurous, fun

877
00:51:38.079 --> 00:51:42.400
<v Speaker 2>type stuff that that that are challenging. And so I

878
00:51:42.440 --> 00:51:46.079
<v Speaker 2>mean that's there's been camaraderie with that. I've had some

879
00:51:46.159 --> 00:51:50.000
<v Speaker 2>marines out to Colorado where I currently live, to climb mountains,

880
00:51:50.719 --> 00:51:54.320
<v Speaker 2>and so it's just it's been it's been exciting, and

881
00:51:54.639 --> 00:51:55.880
<v Speaker 2>we've carried on that tradition.

882
00:51:56.280 --> 00:51:59.360
<v Speaker 1>Last question for you, Robert, what are you most proud

883
00:51:59.400 --> 00:52:01.199
<v Speaker 1>of from your time in the Corps.

884
00:52:01.480 --> 00:52:03.639
<v Speaker 2>I'm most I'm most proud of what I put in.

885
00:52:04.239 --> 00:52:09.360
<v Speaker 2>I think that one thing I learned from my time

886
00:52:09.400 --> 00:52:11.119
<v Speaker 2>in the Corps was that you get out what you

887
00:52:11.199 --> 00:52:15.039
<v Speaker 2>put in. And it's largely a mental game, but then

888
00:52:15.079 --> 00:52:19.440
<v Speaker 2>it's also largely a physical game. And I didn't I

889
00:52:19.440 --> 00:52:23.360
<v Speaker 2>didn't reap any any injuries while I was in, and

890
00:52:23.480 --> 00:52:26.800
<v Speaker 2>it was just it felt good to physically push myself

891
00:52:26.880 --> 00:52:29.440
<v Speaker 2>past what I thought I could do in my mind.

892
00:52:30.079 --> 00:52:32.280
<v Speaker 2>You know, I wasn't perfect. I didn't I wasn't the

893
00:52:32.280 --> 00:52:37.039
<v Speaker 2>best leader. I wanted to be a gunner, particularly, and

894
00:52:37.599 --> 00:52:40.920
<v Speaker 2>that billet was pretty much where I stopped right before

895
00:52:41.079 --> 00:52:43.480
<v Speaker 2>the Battle of Flujah and of course in the months

896
00:52:43.480 --> 00:52:47.039
<v Speaker 2>and year after it until I got out. So I

897
00:52:47.079 --> 00:52:51.000
<v Speaker 2>was happy with that. And I'm just proud that I

898
00:52:51.039 --> 00:52:53.559
<v Speaker 2>became a machine gunner and was really proficient at it,

899
00:52:53.639 --> 00:52:56.199
<v Speaker 2>and I was a good shooter, and I was a

900
00:52:56.239 --> 00:53:00.719
<v Speaker 2>good marine two other Marines, and I got out what

901
00:53:00.800 --> 00:53:01.280
<v Speaker 2>I put in.

902
00:53:01.800 --> 00:53:04.559
<v Speaker 1>Robert Day is a US Marine Corps veteran who served

903
00:53:04.559 --> 00:53:08.320
<v Speaker 1>in the Iraq War, including the Second Battle of Fallujah

904
00:53:08.760 --> 00:53:13.360
<v Speaker 1>in November and December two thousand and four. I'm Greg Corumbus.

905
00:53:13.840 --> 00:53:27.599
<v Speaker 1>Thank you for listening to Veterans Chronicles. Hi. This is

906
00:53:27.639 --> 00:53:31.079
<v Speaker 1>Greg Corumbus, and thanks for listening to Veterans Chronicles, a

907
00:53:31.159 --> 00:53:35.559
<v Speaker 1>presentation of the American Veterans Center. For more information, please

908
00:53:35.639 --> 00:53:40.079
<v Speaker 1>visit American Veteranscenter dot org. You can also follow the

909
00:53:40.119 --> 00:53:43.840
<v Speaker 1>American Veterans Center on Facebook and on Twitter We're at

910
00:53:44.039 --> 00:53:48.719
<v Speaker 1>AVC update. Subscribe to the American Veterans Center YouTube channel

911
00:53:48.880 --> 00:53:52.760
<v Speaker 1>for full oral histories and special features, and of course

912
00:53:52.920 --> 00:53:56.599
<v Speaker 1>please subscribe to the Veterans Chronicles podcast wherever you get

913
00:53:56.599 --> 00:54:00.280
<v Speaker 1>your podcasts. Thanks again for listening and please join us

914
00:54:00.280 --> 00:54:03.639
<v Speaker 1>next time. Four Veterans Chronicles