WEBVTT

1
00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.160
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in

2
00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:19.079
<v Speaker 1>this edition is Mike Ergo. He is a US Marine

3
00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:22.359
<v Speaker 1>Corps veteran who served in the Iraq War, including the

4
00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:25.960
<v Speaker 1>Second Battle of Fallujah in November and December two thousand

5
00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:30.000
<v Speaker 1>and four. In today's conversation, Mike will discuss his preparation

6
00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:33.719
<v Speaker 1>for battle, offer vivid detail of house to house fighting

7
00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:37.679
<v Speaker 1>against enemy insurgents, and the difficulty of losing very close

8
00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:40.759
<v Speaker 1>friends during the course of the battle. But we begin

9
00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:43.679
<v Speaker 1>at the beginning of his story out west.

10
00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.280
<v Speaker 2>I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and raised

11
00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:48.920
<v Speaker 2>in Walnut Creek, California.

12
00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:51.119
<v Speaker 1>And had there been a history of military service in

13
00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:51.640
<v Speaker 1>your family.

14
00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:57.000
<v Speaker 2>I have a grandfather, my maternal grandfather, who's in the

15
00:00:57.039 --> 00:01:00.439
<v Speaker 2>Korean War in the Navy. I don't know him very well,

16
00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:06.000
<v Speaker 2>so in my immediate family there's no military service. It

17
00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:07.959
<v Speaker 2>was an unfamiliar territory for me.

18
00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:10.079
<v Speaker 1>Why did you decide to join the service and why

19
00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:11.319
<v Speaker 1>did you choose the Marines.

20
00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:15.680
<v Speaker 2>Growing up, my grandfather, my paternal grandfather, knew a lot

21
00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:18.239
<v Speaker 2>of World War Two Marines and would tell me stories

22
00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:21.359
<v Speaker 2>about them and the Marines and the World War two

23
00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:25.079
<v Speaker 2>and how they fought in the Pacific, and I became

24
00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:27.719
<v Speaker 2>enamored with that and just the idea of service. I

25
00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:31.879
<v Speaker 2>also grew up as an evangelical Christian, and so I

26
00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:36.480
<v Speaker 2>would go and do acts of service in spring break

27
00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.560
<v Speaker 2>and through the summer in different countries to help build houses,

28
00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:43.879
<v Speaker 2>and the idea of service really stuck with me. And

29
00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:47.400
<v Speaker 2>my senior year of high school, I realized I didn't

30
00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:49.280
<v Speaker 2>want to go to college like all of my peers.

31
00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:54.280
<v Speaker 2>I came from a pretty affluent city and everyone was

32
00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:57.920
<v Speaker 2>going to Ivy League or University of California schools or

33
00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:04.000
<v Speaker 2>top schools. Didn't have that same drive to continue my education.

34
00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:08.560
<v Speaker 2>And I realized that I could join the military. And

35
00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:11.000
<v Speaker 2>for me, it wasn't even about joining just the military,

36
00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.479
<v Speaker 2>it was specifically the Marine Corps and I did that. Initially.

37
00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:19.360
<v Speaker 2>I joined to be the Marine Corps band, and you know,

38
00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:22.639
<v Speaker 2>made quite the career change, you know, very early on,

39
00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:25.319
<v Speaker 2>but it's how I started. I auditioned with my saxophone

40
00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:29.919
<v Speaker 2>and passed, and you know, entered the Marine Corps planning

41
00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:30.840
<v Speaker 2>to be a musician.

42
00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:34.360
<v Speaker 1>Now you joined in two thousand and one, correct.

43
00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:36.919
<v Speaker 2>Correct, Yes, I joined in two thousand and one. Spring

44
00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:39.919
<v Speaker 2>of two thousand and one, I joined joined the delayed

45
00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:42.240
<v Speaker 2>entry program, and went to boot camp in October of

46
00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:42.960
<v Speaker 2>two thousand and one.

47
00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:46.479
<v Speaker 1>Here's the most important question about this. Alto or, tenor sacks.

48
00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:49.120
<v Speaker 2>Tenor sacks, Okay, yeah, tenor and baritone?

49
00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:50.800
<v Speaker 1>Nice, you got the big ones.

50
00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:51.520
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

51
00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:54.919
<v Speaker 1>And so you mentioned that you enlisted in the spring

52
00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:57.680
<v Speaker 1>of two thousand and one. Obviously it's just a few

53
00:02:57.719 --> 00:02:59.919
<v Speaker 1>months after that that the nine to eleven attacks happened.

54
00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:04.039
<v Speaker 1>Just about everything changes. At what point did you decide

55
00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:06.319
<v Speaker 1>that you needed to shift to infantry.

56
00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:09.639
<v Speaker 2>I had inklings early on in boot camp that I

57
00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:12.039
<v Speaker 2>wanted to change right after nine to eleven. I was

58
00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:16.919
<v Speaker 2>wanted to do anything other than being the band. I

59
00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:21.919
<v Speaker 2>just remembered wanting to fight for the country, and I

60
00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.360
<v Speaker 2>just had this ping all along that I needed to

61
00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:28.080
<v Speaker 2>do something different, that I didn't feel comfortable myself. I

62
00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:32.520
<v Speaker 2>didn't feel comfortable playing the saxophone stateside while Marines were

63
00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:36.479
<v Speaker 2>going to be deployed overseas, and eventually, while I was

64
00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:39.919
<v Speaker 2>in the school of Music in Little Creek, Virginia at

65
00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:43.919
<v Speaker 2>the base there, I asked if I could be disenrolled

66
00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:46.759
<v Speaker 2>from the school and transferred to the Infantry, and they

67
00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.599
<v Speaker 2>were happy to meet my needs there.

68
00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.960
<v Speaker 1>Do you feel like going through those weeks of basic

69
00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.240
<v Speaker 1>training maybe changed your mindset a little bit?

70
00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:58.360
<v Speaker 2>I think it did. I really enjoyed the time in

71
00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:02.080
<v Speaker 2>the field. I really enjoyed learning infantry skills, even the

72
00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:06.439
<v Speaker 2>little mounts that we learned to boot camp and being outdoors,

73
00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:10.039
<v Speaker 2>being with the guys doing what I felt was real

74
00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:14.639
<v Speaker 2>Marine Corps stuff, And I realized that that wouldn't be

75
00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:17.120
<v Speaker 2>part of my life. It would be heavily garrison life

76
00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:22.600
<v Speaker 2>and wearing a dress and service uniforms instead of camouflage.

77
00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:26.319
<v Speaker 1>So once you shifted to the infantry, where were you assigned?

78
00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:31.160
<v Speaker 2>Once I got switched over the infantry, I got sent

79
00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:34.519
<v Speaker 2>to Camp Geiger, North Carolina. And it was interesting because

80
00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:38.560
<v Speaker 2>I'd done bringing combat training the non infantry school version

81
00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.279
<v Speaker 2>in San Diego and Camp Pendleton, and so now I

82
00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:44.079
<v Speaker 2>got to do the full infantry school, but in North

83
00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:47.480
<v Speaker 2>Carolina this time. And so I spent the summer there

84
00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:53.759
<v Speaker 2>learning more infantry tactics and being outdoors, getting bit by

85
00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:55.639
<v Speaker 2>mosquitoes and ticks and everything else.

86
00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:57.120
<v Speaker 1>And then what did they do with you?

87
00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:00.600
<v Speaker 2>I get a signed to the Camp Lejoun. The funny

88
00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:03.240
<v Speaker 2>part of that was they told us, all right, gents,

89
00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:05.839
<v Speaker 2>listen up, you're going to be assigned either to somewhere

90
00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:09.800
<v Speaker 2>in Hawaii or Camp Pendleton. So I said, great, and

91
00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:12.279
<v Speaker 2>you know it's a win win situation there. And then

92
00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:14.639
<v Speaker 2>next thing I know, I'm taking a bus around the

93
00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:19.040
<v Speaker 2>corner to Camp La June. So it was very fitting

94
00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:21.399
<v Speaker 2>and it got me used to how things change in

95
00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:22.000
<v Speaker 2>the military.

96
00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.160
<v Speaker 1>What additional training did you do at Lea June before

97
00:05:24.279 --> 00:05:25.680
<v Speaker 1>deploying at Lajune?

98
00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:28.839
<v Speaker 2>But before deploying the first time in two thousand and three,

99
00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:32.279
<v Speaker 2>we did a lot of urban combat training. We did

100
00:05:32.279 --> 00:05:35.040
<v Speaker 2>a lot of patrolling, We did a lot of direct

101
00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:39.879
<v Speaker 2>action and ambush. We did a lot of training on

102
00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:45.199
<v Speaker 2>amtraks and amphibious vehicles. And I remember one thing in

103
00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:49.000
<v Speaker 2>particular we did. We did the nuclear, biological and chemical training.

104
00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:52.000
<v Speaker 2>And I was the newest guy to the unit of

105
00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:55.560
<v Speaker 2>my patoon, and so when they found that out, they said, okay,

106
00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:59.439
<v Speaker 2>you're the designated guy. And I asked what that meant,

107
00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:02.480
<v Speaker 2>and they said, well, if we get a gas attack

108
00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:07.000
<v Speaker 2>and we're not sure if it's all clear, then you

109
00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:08.759
<v Speaker 2>know you're going to hand off your rifle and we're

110
00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:13.040
<v Speaker 2>gonna take your gas mask off and just observe you. Okay,

111
00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:16.000
<v Speaker 2>so you're gonna watch me to make sure you know

112
00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.120
<v Speaker 2>if I if I die or not. And they're like, yeah,

113
00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:19.879
<v Speaker 2>you're not important to the mission. You're the newest guy.

114
00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:25.600
<v Speaker 2>And I just I said okay, and then it's it's

115
00:06:25.639 --> 00:06:28.000
<v Speaker 2>sunk in. And that night I went out in town.

116
00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:30.720
<v Speaker 2>I got a tattoo that says expendable across my back.

117
00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.920
<v Speaker 2>Just I had to laugh about it because you know,

118
00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:37.560
<v Speaker 2>it was either laugh or cry, and I chose to laugh.

119
00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:39.279
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I was either that or we'll look around for

120
00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:40.959
<v Speaker 1>your saxophone again exactly.

121
00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:42.279
<v Speaker 2>So what do you get myself into?

122
00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:45.720
<v Speaker 1>So when did you deploy to Iraq?

123
00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:49.240
<v Speaker 2>Employed deployed to Iraq the first time. It was March fourth,

124
00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:54.439
<v Speaker 2>two thousand and three. We left on ship and we

125
00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:57.519
<v Speaker 2>took the We're on the USS Carter Hall LSD fifty

126
00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:04.959
<v Speaker 2>and we we flew into Moses, Iraq that spring after

127
00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:08.920
<v Speaker 2>the initial invasion had already happened. And you know, we

128
00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:13.240
<v Speaker 2>guarded the airport for a few weeks and nothing remarkable happened.

129
00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:15.519
<v Speaker 2>And in fact, I didn't fire a single shot that

130
00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:19.399
<v Speaker 2>first deployment. And I remember when we came back just

131
00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:22.360
<v Speaker 2>talking to friends and you know who were in my

132
00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:26.319
<v Speaker 2>platoon and saying, man, we missed Iraq, we missed Afghanistan.

133
00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:29.639
<v Speaker 2>Both these wars are over now, and how do we

134
00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.120
<v Speaker 2>miss out on two wars? And we obviously didn't know

135
00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:32.879
<v Speaker 2>what was to come?

136
00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:35.920
<v Speaker 1>What kind of training did you focus on before the

137
00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:36.759
<v Speaker 1>second deployment?

138
00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:40.120
<v Speaker 2>Before the second deployment, we focused on what they called

139
00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:44.519
<v Speaker 2>stability and Support Operations or SASSO, and we were really

140
00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:49.519
<v Speaker 2>just planning to be more like diplomats and go around

141
00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:53.079
<v Speaker 2>make sure while the rebuilding effort in Iraq was taking place,

142
00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:57.160
<v Speaker 2>that we could interface with the population and talk to

143
00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:59.279
<v Speaker 2>the Iraqis and make sure their needs were getting met

144
00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:03.639
<v Speaker 2>while we provide security for the workers to rebuild the infrastructure.

145
00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:06.839
<v Speaker 1>Was there any sort of urban combat training?

146
00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:10.240
<v Speaker 2>We did urban combat training too, and that was my

147
00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:13.439
<v Speaker 2>favorite part. I was hoping we'd get to use it

148
00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:16.160
<v Speaker 2>as a you know, young naive. What was I a

149
00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:19.079
<v Speaker 2>twenty one year old at that time? And so we

150
00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:22.319
<v Speaker 2>did we did. We did our infantry training and combat

151
00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:25.360
<v Speaker 2>training still and that was the norm for us. So

152
00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:28.560
<v Speaker 2>it wasn't like I guess we focused a little bit

153
00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.360
<v Speaker 2>more on urban combat. But I think in the back

154
00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.279
<v Speaker 2>of our minds, we are being told we probably wouldn't

155
00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:37.639
<v Speaker 2>use it, and so we were planning on just going

156
00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:41.080
<v Speaker 2>to Iraq and you know, shaking hands at people and.

157
00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:45.720
<v Speaker 1>So thinking about heading over for the first deployment and

158
00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:48.240
<v Speaker 1>then the second one. Certainly the second time, it sounds

159
00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:50.399
<v Speaker 1>like you thought it was going to be a fairly simple,

160
00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:54.639
<v Speaker 1>uh deployment. But even on the first one, were there

161
00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:58.240
<v Speaker 1>any particular thoughts that that you remember about I'm heading

162
00:08:58.279 --> 00:08:59.600
<v Speaker 1>into a war zone here.

163
00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:03.039
<v Speaker 2>We were getting sent over to yeah, be part of

164
00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:07.159
<v Speaker 2>the war. I just remember thinking, I've done all this training,

165
00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:10.559
<v Speaker 2>but I'm not sure I feel completely ready, because I

166
00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:13.679
<v Speaker 2>was nervous, and I was I think more than anything,

167
00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:17.360
<v Speaker 2>I was really worried about letting my guys down. That's

168
00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:20.120
<v Speaker 2>the most important thing to me. Getting hurt, getting killed, Yeah,

169
00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:22.480
<v Speaker 2>that was concerned. But I didn't want to let my

170
00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:25.919
<v Speaker 2>guys down. I didn't want to be a liability, and

171
00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:28.840
<v Speaker 2>I didn't want to have anyone else get hurt because

172
00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:31.600
<v Speaker 2>of me, And so that was the first first.

173
00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:34.399
<v Speaker 1>Thing on my mind. By the time you're deploying the

174
00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:38.039
<v Speaker 1>second time, how would you describe the bond within your platoon.

175
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.720
<v Speaker 2>By the second time we deployed, I was now one

176
00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:44.759
<v Speaker 2>of the senior Marines in our platoon. And I've been

177
00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:48.360
<v Speaker 2>through a deployment with the guys, my contemporaries, the other

178
00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:55.559
<v Speaker 2>corporals and Sarzans and really close, really close, especially with

179
00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:58.799
<v Speaker 2>a guy named Todd Godwin, and he deployed with us.

180
00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:01.519
<v Speaker 2>He was part of my platoon for the first deployment

181
00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:03.919
<v Speaker 2>and then he changed over and he's part of the

182
00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:07.279
<v Speaker 2>Scott sniper platoon afterwards. And when I showed up to

183
00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:11.200
<v Speaker 2>my unit, I was one of two guys. Everybody had

184
00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:14.080
<v Speaker 2>formed their friends, and so I was the lowest of

185
00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:17.200
<v Speaker 2>the low and I really nobody wanted to be around me.

186
00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.000
<v Speaker 2>I was. I was the guy that even the boots,

187
00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:22.480
<v Speaker 2>the young guys you know, looked to do the working

188
00:10:22.519 --> 00:10:25.720
<v Speaker 2>parties and you know, give the most flock too. So

189
00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:29.320
<v Speaker 2>I felt like I really earned the friendships I had

190
00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:33.039
<v Speaker 2>and proved myself and really enjoyed being around the guys.

191
00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:35.360
<v Speaker 2>So by the time we were ready for the second deployment,

192
00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:38.799
<v Speaker 2>I felt good about everybody around me, and I felt

193
00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:40.799
<v Speaker 2>good about the you know, the Marines that were under

194
00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:43.879
<v Speaker 2>my care too, and the guys. We spent a lot

195
00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:47.559
<v Speaker 2>of time together I remember part of our training in

196
00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:50.360
<v Speaker 2>the garrison too was you know, sometimes we'd go to

197
00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:54.200
<v Speaker 2>lunch together and that was that was we were ordered

198
00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:56.000
<v Speaker 2>to do that so we'd get to know our guys better.

199
00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:59.519
<v Speaker 2>And at the time I didn't appreciate it, but you know,

200
00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:02.440
<v Speaker 2>looking back, it helped me get a lot closer to

201
00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:07.080
<v Speaker 2>these guys. And I was never a fan of getting hazed,

202
00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:11.879
<v Speaker 2>and I was never a fan of you know, a

203
00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:15.120
<v Speaker 2>lot of the I felt like a necessary punishments and stuff.

204
00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:18.000
<v Speaker 2>So I held my guys to a strict standard. But

205
00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:20.279
<v Speaker 2>I leveled them and talk with them just you know,

206
00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:22.639
<v Speaker 2>man and man, marine and marine, and see what I

207
00:11:22.679 --> 00:11:25.519
<v Speaker 2>could do to be a good leader for them. And

208
00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:28.840
<v Speaker 2>I felt like my team was as close as any

209
00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:30.320
<v Speaker 2>that we had in platoon.

210
00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:33.960
<v Speaker 1>That's Mike Ergo, a US Marine Corps veteran of Iraq,

211
00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:37.559
<v Speaker 1>including the brutal Second Battle of Fallujah in late two

212
00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:41.279
<v Speaker 1>thousand and four Still to come. Ergo walks us through

213
00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:44.480
<v Speaker 1>his role in the battle in riveting an honest detail

214
00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:48.200
<v Speaker 1>and the toll the intense combat inflicted upon him for

215
00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:51.960
<v Speaker 1>several years after that. But up next, Ergo explains his

216
00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:54.799
<v Speaker 1>leadership role as a team leader in his platoon and

217
00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:58.440
<v Speaker 1>getting the signal to go into battle. I'm Greg Corumbus

218
00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:01.279
<v Speaker 1>and this is Veteran Chronicles.

219
00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:02.720
<v Speaker 2>Sixty seconds of Service.

220
00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:05.960
<v Speaker 3>This sixty seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile.

221
00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:09.159
<v Speaker 3>T Mobile offers exclusive discounts for a veteran and military

222
00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:12.679
<v Speaker 3>families and are proud supporters of the National Defense Network.

223
00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:15.679
<v Speaker 3>Visit t mobile dot com slash military to learn more

224
00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:19.559
<v Speaker 3>about how they support our military community. Last Saturday, the Hamilton,

225
00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:22.720
<v Speaker 3>Indiana County Veterans Corps held a breakfast that may help

226
00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:26.120
<v Speaker 3>shape the future for military veteran communities in Hamilton County

227
00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:30.240
<v Speaker 3>and beyond. Five American Legion and two VFW posts in

228
00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:33.759
<v Speaker 3>the county held an open discussion with several nonprofit military

229
00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:37.159
<v Speaker 3>service connected organizations so that they may all start working

230
00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:38.960
<v Speaker 3>together as they move into the future.

231
00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:41.360
<v Speaker 2>This event will hopefully tear.

232
00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:43.679
<v Speaker 3>Down those walls and allow each organization to be a

233
00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:47.000
<v Speaker 3>part of one voice, working together to make Hamilton County

234
00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:50.480
<v Speaker 3>the place to be for veterans. Today's sixty seconds of

235
00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.480
<v Speaker 3>Service is brought to you by Prevagen. Prevagen is the

236
00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:57.039
<v Speaker 3>number one pharmacist recommended memory support brand. You can find

237
00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:00.559
<v Speaker 3>Prevagen and the Vitamin Aisle in stores everywhere.

238
00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.919
<v Speaker 1>This says Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in

239
00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:07.039
<v Speaker 1>this edition is Mike Ergo. He's a US Marine Corps

240
00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:09.759
<v Speaker 1>veteran of the Iraq War and the Second Battle of

241
00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:13.600
<v Speaker 1>Fallujah in November and December two thousand and four. We

242
00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:16.759
<v Speaker 1>now pick up his story as Ergo explains how his

243
00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:19.720
<v Speaker 1>company prepared for the battle, how he found out the

244
00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:22.759
<v Speaker 1>battle was definitely going to happen, and what it's like

245
00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:26.440
<v Speaker 1>to get the order to go. But first he explains

246
00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:28.919
<v Speaker 1>his role as a team leader inside his platoon.

247
00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:32.799
<v Speaker 2>So, as a team leader, I was directly under the

248
00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:38.080
<v Speaker 2>command of my squad leader, Sergeant Martinez. And as a

249
00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:41.639
<v Speaker 2>team leader, I was charged with taking care of three others.

250
00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:48.679
<v Speaker 2>So I had my appointment, my sagunner and the assistant sawgunner,

251
00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:53.799
<v Speaker 2>So three guys under me. And so, you know, especially

252
00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.159
<v Speaker 2>in urban combat, it meant that we'd have a very

253
00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.080
<v Speaker 2>unique experience because a lot of the battle was fought

254
00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:02.120
<v Speaker 2>squad at the squad level, you know, thirteen guys at

255
00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:05.639
<v Speaker 2>a time, and so it was my responsibility ability to

256
00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:09.240
<v Speaker 2>make sure that they had different fields of fire covered,

257
00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.080
<v Speaker 2>you know, you know, if they were hurt, of course,

258
00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:15.279
<v Speaker 2>you know, make sure they get care, but you know,

259
00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:18.039
<v Speaker 2>placing them where they needed to go in the stack,

260
00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:22.679
<v Speaker 2>and we're kicking open doors and sometimes clearing buildings just

261
00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.440
<v Speaker 2>with four guys, and so I had to coordinate all

262
00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:25.960
<v Speaker 2>that movement.

263
00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:28.840
<v Speaker 1>At what point after you got to Iraq on the

264
00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:33.240
<v Speaker 1>second deployment did you start to get wind of there's

265
00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:35.440
<v Speaker 1>probably going to be a second battle of Fallujah and

266
00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:36.799
<v Speaker 1>we're probably going to be part of it.

267
00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.440
<v Speaker 2>I think even going into the deployment, we had seen

268
00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:43.519
<v Speaker 2>the news coverage of the contractors who were dragged to

269
00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:47.279
<v Speaker 2>the streets of Fallujah and in April during the first

270
00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:52.840
<v Speaker 2>battle of Fallujah, and so I think it would be

271
00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:55.120
<v Speaker 2>inaccurate if I said going into it, we didn't have

272
00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:58.159
<v Speaker 2>an inkling that we might be part of something to

273
00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:03.720
<v Speaker 2>fight a battle there again. And so it felt like

274
00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:09.360
<v Speaker 2>forever that we were, you know, sitting around or not

275
00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:13.679
<v Speaker 2>sitting around, patrolling around the desert looking for these phantoms

276
00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:16.759
<v Speaker 2>that shoot mortars and disappear, and it didn't feel like

277
00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:19.879
<v Speaker 2>maybe until a couple months in that we really started

278
00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:21.360
<v Speaker 2>there was starting me in a buzz that we might

279
00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:25.480
<v Speaker 2>be going to Flujah whispers here and there, and you know,

280
00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:29.559
<v Speaker 2>we spent part of July down there, but never going

281
00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:33.600
<v Speaker 2>inside the city. So a lot of the deployment experience

282
00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:36.159
<v Speaker 2>was we think something big is going to happen, and

283
00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:38.000
<v Speaker 2>maybe we would show up to a city and patrol

284
00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:40.440
<v Speaker 2>it and nothing would happen, and so build ups and

285
00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:43.600
<v Speaker 2>let downs and boredom. And so I think it was

286
00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:46.600
<v Speaker 2>even when you heard we might be going in Fallujah,

287
00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:51.200
<v Speaker 2>the myself and others were skeptical.

288
00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:54.720
<v Speaker 1>When did it become super real obvious that you were

289
00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:55.120
<v Speaker 1>headed in.

290
00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:01.120
<v Speaker 2>It became very real in September of that year that

291
00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:06.519
<v Speaker 2>when we headed down to Camp Fallujah and we're told, look,

292
00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.879
<v Speaker 2>something's going to happen. We're going to be part of something.

293
00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:13.080
<v Speaker 2>It's important that you don't communicate this to people, and

294
00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:15.679
<v Speaker 2>it's important that we know we keep opsec and we

295
00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:19.879
<v Speaker 2>don't let people know, don't telegraph our movements here. And

296
00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:23.559
<v Speaker 2>so they're being very cautious about like what we'd say

297
00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:26.960
<v Speaker 2>back home, not censoring us, but just telling us, like, look,

298
00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:31.080
<v Speaker 2>something's going to happen. More to come, We're going to

299
00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:32.759
<v Speaker 2>do a lot of training, and so we kind of

300
00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:35.639
<v Speaker 2>read between the lines that we're probably going to assault

301
00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:37.720
<v Speaker 2>the city of Fellujah, especially in October when we were

302
00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.000
<v Speaker 2>you know, at Camp Fallojia doing drills and practicing things

303
00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:45.799
<v Speaker 2>and doing you know urban combat, you know training.

304
00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:51.799
<v Speaker 1>And so when did you get the briefing on not

305
00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:54.559
<v Speaker 1>only that we're doing this, when we're doing this, and

306
00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:57.000
<v Speaker 1>what your role is your platoon?

307
00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:03.120
<v Speaker 2>I think, as I remember, it was pretty close to

308
00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.240
<v Speaker 2>the actual start of the operation that we got briefed.

309
00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:11.839
<v Speaker 2>You know, we felt like we were training, training, training,

310
00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.200
<v Speaker 2>waiting for something to happen, just kind of like in

311
00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:17.920
<v Speaker 2>the queue, and then finally like we got the word, hey,

312
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.920
<v Speaker 2>we're going in soon. You know, make sure stuff's packed

313
00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.200
<v Speaker 2>or stuff's ready, everything's you know, squared away and good

314
00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.519
<v Speaker 2>to go. You guys are ready. So it didn't feel

315
00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:32.920
<v Speaker 2>like maybe but a week or two before, as I

316
00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:36.559
<v Speaker 2>remember it, that it really became real, like we're going now,

317
00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:39.960
<v Speaker 2>it's going to happen. But yeah, it was. It was

318
00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:41.359
<v Speaker 2>such a big build up.

319
00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:44.079
<v Speaker 1>At this point. You've been in the core for about

320
00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:47.400
<v Speaker 1>three and a half years, and as you mentioned, there

321
00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:50.400
<v Speaker 1>hadn't been much of any combat that you've seen at

322
00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:52.680
<v Speaker 1>that point. You know, going in here, it's going to

323
00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.359
<v Speaker 1>be very likely a different story. What's going through your

324
00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:58.480
<v Speaker 1>mind at that point.

325
00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:00.839
<v Speaker 2>In my mind before we went into the city of Fellujah,

326
00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:06.599
<v Speaker 2>I started to think, Okay, it's good possibility and I'm

327
00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.079
<v Speaker 2>gonna come I'm not gonna come out of this, and

328
00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:11.240
<v Speaker 2>it's good possibility. People I know were gonna get hurt

329
00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:15.039
<v Speaker 2>and killed. And I couldn't help but look around and

330
00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:17.960
<v Speaker 2>look at my friends and kind of guess like, who

331
00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.279
<v Speaker 2>could it be? Like who's who's it going to be?

332
00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:24.039
<v Speaker 2>Is that that gets hurt or gets killed? And you know,

333
00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:26.160
<v Speaker 2>what's what's this going to be? Like? It's it's not

334
00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:32.559
<v Speaker 2>gonna be as it is now. After and there was

335
00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:38.319
<v Speaker 2>there was some concern about dying, but like the first deployment,

336
00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:42.960
<v Speaker 2>I was more focused on, Okay, now I have, you know,

337
00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.640
<v Speaker 2>a small but significant leadership position as a team leader,

338
00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:51.319
<v Speaker 2>and I was just very concerned that I make sure

339
00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:53.720
<v Speaker 2>my guys get out safely and that I'm a good

340
00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:59.039
<v Speaker 2>leader for them. Failing them was the biggest fear. Failing

341
00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:02.000
<v Speaker 2>the guys I had my charge, the biggest fear I had,

342
00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:04.759
<v Speaker 2>more than death or getting hurt.

343
00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:06.880
<v Speaker 1>What's it like when you get that ghost signal?

344
00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:13.240
<v Speaker 2>I remember thinking, well, we're going into combat. This is

345
00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:17.000
<v Speaker 2>the real deal, you know, having the doubts am I ready?

346
00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:22.960
<v Speaker 2>Will I freeze? Will I wimp out in front of

347
00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.880
<v Speaker 2>my guys? You know, will I do something that gets

348
00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:30.200
<v Speaker 2>them hurt or killed? And I think the fear that

349
00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:32.880
<v Speaker 2>I might fail my guys really helped me to step

350
00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:38.480
<v Speaker 2>up and face those those moments as we're going in,

351
00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:44.319
<v Speaker 2>because what I knew without being communicated explicitly, is that

352
00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:48.119
<v Speaker 2>the bearing that I had and my ability to remain

353
00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:50.359
<v Speaker 2>as calm as possible with these guys would help them

354
00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:52.839
<v Speaker 2>remain calm in order for them to do their job.

355
00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.160
<v Speaker 2>And so where if it had been just me there,

356
00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.519
<v Speaker 2>you know, I might have freaked out a little bit more,

357
00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:01.480
<v Speaker 2>you know, but I had to maintain appearances so my

358
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:03.880
<v Speaker 2>guys could say as calm as possible and be ready.

359
00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:06.920
<v Speaker 1>That's Mike Ergo. He's a US Marine Corps veteran of

360
00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:09.160
<v Speaker 1>the Iraq War. He served in the Second Battle of

361
00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:13.240
<v Speaker 1>Fallujah in November and December two thousand and four. When

362
00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:15.720
<v Speaker 1>we come back, Ergo tells us about the start of

363
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:19.359
<v Speaker 1>the battle for his unit, the first sign of significant resistance,

364
00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:22.880
<v Speaker 1>and the difficult house to house fighting throughout the battle.

365
00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:28.720
<v Speaker 1>I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles. This is

366
00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:32.519
<v Speaker 1>Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition

367
00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.599
<v Speaker 1>is Mike Ergo. He's a US Marine Corps veteran of

368
00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:39.279
<v Speaker 1>the Iraq War, including the Battle of Falluja in November

369
00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:42.559
<v Speaker 1>and December two thousand and four. In a moment, you'll

370
00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:45.640
<v Speaker 1>hear Ergo describe house to house fighting to clear out

371
00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:49.319
<v Speaker 1>enemy insurgents. But we now continue with his story of

372
00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:53.240
<v Speaker 1>the Battle of Fallujah as he explains how the fight started.

373
00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:53.680
<v Speaker 1>For him.

374
00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:58.400
<v Speaker 2>We went into the city under the covered darkness, and

375
00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:04.079
<v Speaker 2>it was loud, lots of gunfire all around, seeing tracers

376
00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:08.880
<v Speaker 2>go overhead, and you were assaulting the city and amtraks,

377
00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:11.720
<v Speaker 2>you know, these amphibious vehicles that you know, we're just

378
00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:16.240
<v Speaker 2>right around the desert with and we don't know exactly

379
00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:20.920
<v Speaker 2>where we're going. In my mind, I mean, we're just

380
00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:22.720
<v Speaker 2>making turns in a city and eventually they're going to

381
00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:25.920
<v Speaker 2>let us out. The ramp drops. I'm the first one

382
00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:28.200
<v Speaker 2>to get out of our vehicle and I run down

383
00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.079
<v Speaker 2>the ramp and immediately I get a step and a

384
00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:35.960
<v Speaker 2>half and I trip and fallow my face and before

385
00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.839
<v Speaker 2>I can even be embarrassed about, you know, like this

386
00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:40.680
<v Speaker 2>is my grand entrance in a combat and I fall

387
00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:43.400
<v Speaker 2>on my face. I'm like, you know what I trip over,

388
00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:45.799
<v Speaker 2>you know, felt like a you know, a sack of

389
00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:48.200
<v Speaker 2>grain or something. I look and it's a dead insurgent.

390
00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:52.000
<v Speaker 2>I tripped over lying there with you know, one arm

391
00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:56.319
<v Speaker 2>shot off, and it's like, very very quickly a step

392
00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:58.519
<v Speaker 2>and half into combat, a Mario faced, you know, with

393
00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:02.759
<v Speaker 2>death right there right in my face. Literally, I get

394
00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:05.640
<v Speaker 2>up and you know, brush myself off, make sure my

395
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:08.519
<v Speaker 2>weapon's still there, and you know, get everyone else off.

396
00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:10.160
<v Speaker 2>It didn't really skip a beat, you know, it's like

397
00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:13.200
<v Speaker 2>you follow you get up, I mean, following a lot

398
00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:14.799
<v Speaker 2>of times and training, you got to get up and

399
00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:17.880
<v Speaker 2>continue the mission. So make sure my guys were okay,

400
00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.200
<v Speaker 2>and then we started patrolling out.

401
00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:24.519
<v Speaker 1>So let's talk about the next morning then, Lieutenant Barnes

402
00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:27.640
<v Speaker 1>describes it as all hell broke loose as you guys

403
00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:30.240
<v Speaker 1>were at the Mayor's complex. Explain what was happening and

404
00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:31.319
<v Speaker 1>how you guys responded.

405
00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:35.279
<v Speaker 2>What I remember about that first morning of daylight is

406
00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:39.559
<v Speaker 2>hearing the mosques and the call of prayer from these

407
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:43.359
<v Speaker 2>mosques around the city being echoed. And instead of just

408
00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:46.160
<v Speaker 2>the call the prayer, it was like there were these

409
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:51.799
<v Speaker 2>very intense discussions or very intense you know speech. He's

410
00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:56.480
<v Speaker 2>coming out of these mosques and asking our interpreter Sammy, like, hey,

411
00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:58.680
<v Speaker 2>what are they saying. They're like, well, the basics are

412
00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:00.920
<v Speaker 2>that this is your time to come and fight and

413
00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.319
<v Speaker 2>kill the Americans. They're here, and it's your duty, you know,

414
00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:10.359
<v Speaker 2>for jihad. And so we're hearing this coming out of

415
00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:12.799
<v Speaker 2>these mosses of very intense speeches, and you know, we're

416
00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:17.440
<v Speaker 2>getting fire from different directions. You know. I'm I'm on

417
00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:20.359
<v Speaker 2>the ground watching, you know, RPGs go over my head

418
00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:24.839
<v Speaker 2>and explode into buildings and trees. I'm seeing people blocks

419
00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:29.000
<v Speaker 2>away running across the street back and forth closer to us,

420
00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:37.519
<v Speaker 2>you know, bounding. I think the most poignant moment of

421
00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:43.079
<v Speaker 2>that early morning was a group of women and some

422
00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:46.920
<v Speaker 2>kids walking towards us, and they have these white flags

423
00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:50.960
<v Speaker 2>are waving, and I was telling them, you know, to

424
00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:54.400
<v Speaker 2>come come over here to us, you know, because our

425
00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:58.279
<v Speaker 2>protocol was civilians in the battle area, get them behind

426
00:23:58.359 --> 00:24:01.079
<v Speaker 2>us and get them to safety and get them out

427
00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:04.559
<v Speaker 2>of the crossfire. And the look on these women's faces,

428
00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:07.920
<v Speaker 2>they were terrified. So I said, good, we'll get them

429
00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:09.880
<v Speaker 2>out of the battle space right here. Get them in

430
00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:12.640
<v Speaker 2>the middle of the marriage complex. You know, there's a

431
00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:14.559
<v Speaker 2>lot of walls around. We can get them food, water,

432
00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:18.599
<v Speaker 2>everything else. Get in place to sit down. And there

433
00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:22.799
<v Speaker 2>was these men behind them, directing them almost with their hands,

434
00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:25.119
<v Speaker 2>with their hands on their backs, telling them where to go.

435
00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:28.519
<v Speaker 2>And they were using these poor women to maneuver around

436
00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:36.160
<v Speaker 2>the city. And I thought, okay, well, if you use

437
00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:39.079
<v Speaker 2>the white flag, you have to come towards us. And

438
00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:43.319
<v Speaker 2>so in my mind I thought, well, technically we can

439
00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:48.759
<v Speaker 2>start shooting. I wasn't about to start shooting women, not

440
00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:55.920
<v Speaker 2>even close. And we watched helplessly and as these people

441
00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:59.799
<v Speaker 2>were moved from one building to the next, and these

442
00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:04.079
<v Speaker 2>guys behind him with these just crazed look is the

443
00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:06.720
<v Speaker 2>best way I can describe it. To have them under

444
00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:11.720
<v Speaker 2>control and just trying to weigh the consequences, you know, Okay,

445
00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:17.039
<v Speaker 2>I didn't murder women and children. Good check. Also, what

446
00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:19.079
<v Speaker 2>are these guys going to do now they have the

447
00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:22.640
<v Speaker 2>drop on us from somewhere else. We allowed them to maneuver,

448
00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:29.720
<v Speaker 2>and so that was when the battle space became less

449
00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:33.480
<v Speaker 2>black and white and more of a gray shade of like, Okay,

450
00:25:34.359 --> 00:25:37.160
<v Speaker 2>sometimes there's not a right or wrong decision we can make.

451
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:39.960
<v Speaker 2>It feels like it's not very clear. And so that

452
00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:42.559
<v Speaker 2>was the first first step into that kind of gray

453
00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:45.200
<v Speaker 2>zone of like, well, do the best we can.

454
00:25:45.559 --> 00:25:48.359
<v Speaker 1>They think they were surveilling you and gathering intel basically

455
00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:49.119
<v Speaker 1>on your position.

456
00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:53.240
<v Speaker 2>I think that these guys knew are rules of engagement

457
00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:58.319
<v Speaker 2>and that we would likely not shoot the women and

458
00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:04.119
<v Speaker 2>know I will never be able to prove this. But

459
00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:11.000
<v Speaker 2>when we lost Lieutenant Malcolm on the roof, the fire

460
00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:13.920
<v Speaker 2>came from towards the buildings where these guys maneuvered to

461
00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:17.880
<v Speaker 2>I mean, that was the first time I felt I

462
00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:20.759
<v Speaker 2>guess what I call now is survivor's guilt. It's just

463
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:23.799
<v Speaker 2>this never ending loop in my head. As long as

464
00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:27.400
<v Speaker 2>we had a downtime of okay, Lieutenant Malcolm, who used

465
00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:32.519
<v Speaker 2>to be our platoon commander before Lieutenant Barnes, a man

466
00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:34.680
<v Speaker 2>who I knew as well as and listened, guy, I

467
00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:38.400
<v Speaker 2>could know, you know, an officer there was shot and killed.

468
00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:43.759
<v Speaker 2>And did I fail them? Right there? Did what I

469
00:26:43.799 --> 00:26:46.640
<v Speaker 2>do fail them? And not be able to find a

470
00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:51.160
<v Speaker 2>clear answer, and then also having to set that aside

471
00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:55.160
<v Speaker 2>because you're getting briefed. Hey, next morning, we're moving out,

472
00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:59.599
<v Speaker 2>we're crossing Route fran into deeper into the city, push south,

473
00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:04.119
<v Speaker 2>and so having to have it wasn't the first person

474
00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:07.119
<v Speaker 2>we lost, you know, earlier in the deployment, we'd lost

475
00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:09.599
<v Speaker 2>my best friend Todd Godwin, who killed by an ID

476
00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:13.359
<v Speaker 2>in July twentieth, two thousand and four. And so having

477
00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:18.279
<v Speaker 2>to compartmentalize grief and then walk back into you know,

478
00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:25.079
<v Speaker 2>being a leader and leading men into operations. You know,

479
00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:29.920
<v Speaker 2>being able to compart my compartmentalize my feelings and go

480
00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:34.880
<v Speaker 2>back into combat wasn't new, but it was. It was like, well,

481
00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:36.640
<v Speaker 2>I guess the whole thing about this later, and but

482
00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:38.559
<v Speaker 2>we we have to move on with there's more stuff

483
00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:38.839
<v Speaker 2>to do.

484
00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:42.759
<v Speaker 1>You mentioned the order was given to that the next

485
00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:45.279
<v Speaker 1>morning we're moving out. We're going to cross the frame,

486
00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:50.079
<v Speaker 1>the highway that divides Fallujah. What was the plan to

487
00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:50.480
<v Speaker 1>do that.

488
00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:54.720
<v Speaker 2>I don't remember the exact plan, other than we were

489
00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:58.039
<v Speaker 2>going to We're going to have a lot of artillery

490
00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:01.599
<v Speaker 2>and support of fire, basically fire a big barrage at

491
00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:04.640
<v Speaker 2>some of the bigger buildings across the street, and under

492
00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:10.920
<v Speaker 2>that cover we'd maneuver across the highway and into an

493
00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:14.119
<v Speaker 2>alley way or a street going north to south, and

494
00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:18.119
<v Speaker 2>so we'd use that cover of heavy fire to move

495
00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:23.279
<v Speaker 2>and then just start kicking indoors one by one all

496
00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:25.599
<v Speaker 2>the way down the rest of the city there. So

497
00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:29.440
<v Speaker 2>we knew, okay, yeah, we had our initial entry into

498
00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:32.240
<v Speaker 2>the Maris complex and you know we did that. But

499
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:36.000
<v Speaker 2>this is where the real urban combat of like clearing

500
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:39.960
<v Speaker 2>houses starts, and this is where you know, the casualties

501
00:28:40.039 --> 00:28:42.559
<v Speaker 2>might start piling up because you know we're gonna have

502
00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:44.920
<v Speaker 2>to kick open doors where people are waiting for us.

503
00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:48.160
<v Speaker 1>Is that the location known as Haji Alley.

504
00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:51.079
<v Speaker 2>This is yeah, what we called Hajji Alley. It was

505
00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:52.559
<v Speaker 2>uh yeah, pretty intense.

506
00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:56.799
<v Speaker 1>Explain how you went about clearing the houses.

507
00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:00.000
<v Speaker 2>So to clearhouse first, we had to clear the courtyard

508
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.400
<v Speaker 2>card of the house. So a lot of these houses

509
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:07.440
<v Speaker 2>had gates and you know gated yards, and so we'd

510
00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:11.000
<v Speaker 2>open the gate, either kick it open or use the latch.

511
00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:14.720
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes you can just open the door. So we'd open that.

512
00:29:16.319 --> 00:29:19.079
<v Speaker 2>You scan the courtyard, you know, both the corners, make

513
00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:21.160
<v Speaker 2>sure nobody was trying to get the drop on us. There.

514
00:29:21.880 --> 00:29:25.359
<v Speaker 2>We'd stack up on the door and as quickly as possible,

515
00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:29.640
<v Speaker 2>I would take turns with my point man of going

516
00:29:29.640 --> 00:29:34.119
<v Speaker 2>in first, and I just I didn't feel right about

517
00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:37.200
<v Speaker 2>always having my point man going first, and I wanted

518
00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:39.960
<v Speaker 2>to show my guys I was invested in this too.

519
00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:42.559
<v Speaker 2>And so by the by a squad or by team,

520
00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:45.319
<v Speaker 2>we'd stack up on a door, you know, on one

521
00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:47.799
<v Speaker 2>of the sides of it, someone from the rear would

522
00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:50.200
<v Speaker 2>kind of we'd call it bumping, you know, you bump

523
00:29:50.279 --> 00:29:52.240
<v Speaker 2>the person in front of us, and then they know

524
00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:55.599
<v Speaker 2>to kick the door open. And then we'd enter the

525
00:29:55.680 --> 00:30:00.839
<v Speaker 2>room in the space inside the house, trying to scan

526
00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:04.519
<v Speaker 2>all the different corners up and down, left to right

527
00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:08.000
<v Speaker 2>to make sure that people weren't hiding waiting to shoot us.

528
00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:11.759
<v Speaker 2>And so we'd trained on this day in, day out,

529
00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:14.920
<v Speaker 2>so we didn't have to figure out more than what

530
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:17.599
<v Speaker 2>the variables of how big the room was, you know,

531
00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:20.480
<v Speaker 2>in terms of everyone knew where they were going based

532
00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:22.559
<v Speaker 2>on where they were on that stack. Especially at the

533
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.200
<v Speaker 2>team level of just the four of us.

534
00:30:24.359 --> 00:30:25.640
<v Speaker 1>It was a well oiled machine.

535
00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:29.279
<v Speaker 2>Felt like a pretty well oiled machine. And yeah, we'd

536
00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:32.000
<v Speaker 2>kick open the door, look around if there's someone in there,

537
00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:36.160
<v Speaker 2>and start shooting. First day, we didn't encounter anybody in

538
00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:39.799
<v Speaker 2>the houses, I cleared anybody alive and so we weren't

539
00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:42.440
<v Speaker 2>shooting people. So we'd clear from the bottom up to

540
00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:45.359
<v Speaker 2>the top and sometimes hold firm or a whole position

541
00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:49.039
<v Speaker 2>on a rooftop and wait to maneuver from there.

542
00:30:49.400 --> 00:30:51.759
<v Speaker 1>For the insurgency you did face, how would you describe

543
00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:53.920
<v Speaker 1>them as fighters?

544
00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:57.920
<v Speaker 2>A lot of the insurgents we faced, some of them

545
00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:01.839
<v Speaker 2>were pretty brazen. I remember about that first day is

546
00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:06.920
<v Speaker 2>there were these guys, you know, with bandoliers and Ammo

547
00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:13.440
<v Speaker 2>and either pkam machine guns or RPKs or AK forty

548
00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:17.079
<v Speaker 2>seven's or RPGs shooting at us. But some of the

549
00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:19.119
<v Speaker 2>guys would jump in the middle of the street, fire

550
00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:21.480
<v Speaker 2>a big barrage of fire, and then jump back in

551
00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:26.839
<v Speaker 2>the cover. And what was really eerie is I would

552
00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:30.079
<v Speaker 2>see some of these guys, you know, take fire themselves

553
00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:32.480
<v Speaker 2>as we were shooting back at them, and they get

554
00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:35.000
<v Speaker 2>hit a few times, and some would continue to run

555
00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:37.359
<v Speaker 2>like almost they were like they were hopped up in

556
00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:39.640
<v Speaker 2>some kind of drug where they could withstand that and

557
00:31:40.359 --> 00:31:44.119
<v Speaker 2>keep going. And so it spooked us out a little

558
00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:46.480
<v Speaker 2>because we're like, we're hitting them and they're not falling,

559
00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:49.799
<v Speaker 2>And that started getting our heads a little bit. But

560
00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:54.880
<v Speaker 2>I remember feeling a mix of emotions towards these men

561
00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:58.599
<v Speaker 2>we were fighting against. One is, I was fundamentally against

562
00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:03.839
<v Speaker 2>what they stood for, and I was still angry one that,

563
00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:07.880
<v Speaker 2>you know, people on their side had killed my best friend,

564
00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:11.400
<v Speaker 2>Todd Godwin. They'd taken Lieutenant Malcolm away from us, and

565
00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:15.079
<v Speaker 2>you know, and what they stood for was against my

566
00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:18.720
<v Speaker 2>belief system, and so I was. I was angry about that.

567
00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:22.640
<v Speaker 2>But at the same time, you know, I had to

568
00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:26.240
<v Speaker 2>admit that I had some respects for their willingness to fight.

569
00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:30.400
<v Speaker 2>You know, just like a you know, maybe a boxer

570
00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:33.400
<v Speaker 2>or UFC would kind of respect their opponents and touch

571
00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:36.599
<v Speaker 2>gloves at the beginning. It's like, Okay, we're fighting. We're

572
00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:39.039
<v Speaker 2>we're both fighting here. These are our roles, and so

573
00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:42.359
<v Speaker 2>I respect the level of commitment they had in that way.

574
00:32:43.559 --> 00:32:46.119
<v Speaker 2>It's I couldn't describe that at the time as a

575
00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:49.440
<v Speaker 2>young twenty one year old. You know, this only reflections

576
00:32:49.440 --> 00:32:51.519
<v Speaker 2>of a guy who's had twenty years to think about it.

577
00:32:51.799 --> 00:32:54.279
<v Speaker 1>Tell us a little bit about the Alamo, what that

578
00:32:54.599 --> 00:32:57.359
<v Speaker 1>was and the type of combat that was happening there.

579
00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:00.880
<v Speaker 2>Uh, the Alamo was a three or four story building.

580
00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:05.240
<v Speaker 2>I think three story building in the middle of a

581
00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:12.400
<v Speaker 2>large field, and I remember assaulting this towards the objective

582
00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:15.279
<v Speaker 2>there to take this house, and there's nobody inside it.

583
00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:19.640
<v Speaker 2>We went firm. We held our position there for a

584
00:33:19.759 --> 00:33:26.720
<v Speaker 2>day and calm at first. And then my squad and

585
00:33:26.759 --> 00:33:31.039
<v Speaker 2>I were on the roof of this building and we

586
00:33:31.240 --> 00:33:34.039
<v Speaker 2>took fire from a couple of different directions, you know,

587
00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:38.279
<v Speaker 2>from I believe the west, across the route Henry, and

588
00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:43.279
<v Speaker 2>from the south. From from it felt like we're taking

589
00:33:43.319 --> 00:33:45.960
<v Speaker 2>fire from everywhere, you know. I think what was happening

590
00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:48.640
<v Speaker 2>was we were, you know, trying to figure out where

591
00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:51.000
<v Speaker 2>we were and how to best hit us, and you know,

592
00:33:51.160 --> 00:33:55.359
<v Speaker 2>all hell breaks loose eventually. What I remember two big

593
00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:59.039
<v Speaker 2>moments for me. There were scanning across the street looking

594
00:33:59.079 --> 00:34:03.799
<v Speaker 2>to my west, and a brick exploding under my hand.

595
00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:06.960
<v Speaker 2>I thought for sure, you know, I supporting my rifle

596
00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:09.480
<v Speaker 2>in my left hand, and I thought for sure I

597
00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:12.440
<v Speaker 2>lost a finger or something. But miraculously nothing was there.

598
00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:14.320
<v Speaker 2>Just this brick was no longer there, and I had

599
00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:16.519
<v Speaker 2>no bullet in me, And I said, you know what,

600
00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:21.280
<v Speaker 2>that was a single shot, well aimed, just missed me.

601
00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:23.119
<v Speaker 2>I'm going to take a break so I sat down.

602
00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:27.440
<v Speaker 2>I had a cigarette and kind of had to, you know,

603
00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:31.440
<v Speaker 2>breathe out that, you know, adrenaline rush of almost getting

604
00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:38.239
<v Speaker 2>shot right there. So I have one one cigarette and

605
00:34:38.280 --> 00:34:42.280
<v Speaker 2>then I get back up my friend Nate Fox, who's

606
00:34:42.280 --> 00:34:45.039
<v Speaker 2>sitting right beside me there, Hey, you want another cigarette?

607
00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:47.559
<v Speaker 2>And for whatever reason, I mean, I was a chainsmoker

608
00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:51.840
<v Speaker 2>back then, I said no, thank you. You know, I'm good.

609
00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:54.320
<v Speaker 2>I got back up on the wall. Next thing I know,

610
00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:59.199
<v Speaker 2>there's a woosh, bricks explode and I'm and then it

611
00:34:59.239 --> 00:35:05.000
<v Speaker 2>all goes black and putting the pieces together later, I mean,

612
00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:07.039
<v Speaker 2>we'd just been hit by an RPG and I was

613
00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:12.599
<v Speaker 2>knocked and conscious by it. And the best way I

614
00:35:12.599 --> 00:35:15.840
<v Speaker 2>can describe it, it was very similar to the beach

615
00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:21.159
<v Speaker 2>scene and Saving Private Ryan, where Tom Hanks's character, you know,

616
00:35:21.199 --> 00:35:23.079
<v Speaker 2>there's a blast and he can't hear anything, and then

617
00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:25.559
<v Speaker 2>slowly it starts to come in and you can hear

618
00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:27.199
<v Speaker 2>them saying we got to get out of here, you know,

619
00:35:27.239 --> 00:35:30.239
<v Speaker 2>we got to move. And you know, I couldn't make

620
00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:33.079
<v Speaker 2>up or down or left or right, and I just

621
00:35:33.159 --> 00:35:36.079
<v Speaker 2>knew I was looking up and I had no idea

622
00:35:36.119 --> 00:35:39.280
<v Speaker 2>what had happened. And then all of a sudden, you know,

623
00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:42.039
<v Speaker 2>my vision starts to expand. It's no longer tunnel vision.

624
00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:43.920
<v Speaker 2>I started to be able to hear sounds, and all

625
00:35:43.960 --> 00:35:46.639
<v Speaker 2>of a sudden, it's a full fledged gunfight, and I'm

626
00:35:46.679 --> 00:35:51.559
<v Speaker 2>hearing Sergeant Leo, Sergeant Billy Leo yelling he just got hit.

627
00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:54.079
<v Speaker 2>I don't know how bad, but he's grabbing his leg.

628
00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:57.360
<v Speaker 2>Nate Fox is right there grabbing his shoulder. And I

629
00:35:57.400 --> 00:36:00.960
<v Speaker 2>was looking around, so I see Leo. Yeah, I drag

630
00:36:01.079 --> 00:36:03.440
<v Speaker 2>him off the roof, get him so we can get

631
00:36:03.440 --> 00:36:06.719
<v Speaker 2>a meta backed. And I was doing that before I

632
00:36:06.760 --> 00:36:08.280
<v Speaker 2>really knew what I was doing. It was almost like

633
00:36:08.320 --> 00:36:11.800
<v Speaker 2>I was watching my body move and drag him off

634
00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:13.679
<v Speaker 2>the roof. And you know, it was just the training

635
00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:17.360
<v Speaker 2>set in, and so it was very confusing, to say

636
00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:20.039
<v Speaker 2>the least way to wake back up. You know, my

637
00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:23.519
<v Speaker 2>belt was wrung, I was concussed. It was very confusing,

638
00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:26.519
<v Speaker 2>you know. I remember bits and pieces of it. This

639
00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:29.360
<v Speaker 2>building we started we called the Alamo that day because

640
00:36:29.440 --> 00:36:31.880
<v Speaker 2>it felt like we're making, you know, our last stand,

641
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:35.599
<v Speaker 2>like Davy krocking and everybody just getting blasted. I was

642
00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:38.960
<v Speaker 2>in a room downstairs, probably on the second or third floor,

643
00:36:40.199 --> 00:36:44.360
<v Speaker 2>facing the West, and it seemed like just non stop.

644
00:36:44.920 --> 00:36:47.960
<v Speaker 2>Every every few minutes, another RPG hitting the side of

645
00:36:47.960 --> 00:36:54.440
<v Speaker 2>the building there, and I remember just getting my belt

646
00:36:54.559 --> 00:36:59.559
<v Speaker 2>rung again and again. It's just concussion, concussion, concussion, the

647
00:36:59.639 --> 00:37:02.760
<v Speaker 2>air tasting almost like if he chew up an aspirin

648
00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:06.199
<v Speaker 2>as the residue from an RPG. And I just remember

649
00:37:06.199 --> 00:37:10.199
<v Speaker 2>that being a distinct century experience, and not being able

650
00:37:10.199 --> 00:37:14.719
<v Speaker 2>to hear, and just being you know, agitated, angry, you know,

651
00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:17.320
<v Speaker 2>because we're just getting blasted and there's nothing we can do.

652
00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:20.719
<v Speaker 1>That's Mike Ergo, a US Marine Corps veteran of the

653
00:37:20.719 --> 00:37:24.000
<v Speaker 1>Iraq War and the Second Battle of Fallujah in late

654
00:37:24.039 --> 00:37:27.280
<v Speaker 1>two thousand and four. Up next, Ergo explains how he

655
00:37:27.320 --> 00:37:29.920
<v Speaker 1>became resigned to the fact he would die there and

656
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:33.000
<v Speaker 1>how that actually freed him to do his job well,

657
00:37:33.400 --> 00:37:37.639
<v Speaker 1>and he describes the devastation of losing platoon mate Bradley Faircloth.

658
00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:42.679
<v Speaker 1>That's next. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles.

659
00:37:44.039 --> 00:37:47.760
<v Speaker 1>This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in

660
00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:51.360
<v Speaker 1>this edition is US Marine Corps veteran Mike Ergo, who

661
00:37:51.400 --> 00:37:53.880
<v Speaker 1>is sharing his story of service in the second Battle

662
00:37:53.880 --> 00:37:57.239
<v Speaker 1>of Fallujah during the Iraq War in late two thousand

663
00:37:57.239 --> 00:38:00.599
<v Speaker 1>and four. In a moment, Ergo describes the of losing

664
00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:04.440
<v Speaker 1>another close friend and the impact that had on his platoon.

665
00:38:05.440 --> 00:38:07.960
<v Speaker 1>But first he explains how they finally got away from

666
00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:10.760
<v Speaker 1>the Alamo and moved on to the next objective.

667
00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:16.920
<v Speaker 2>I remember, I think it was that night or very

668
00:38:16.960 --> 00:38:21.119
<v Speaker 2>early the next morning, under the cover of darkness. Again,

669
00:38:21.360 --> 00:38:26.920
<v Speaker 2>we patrolled, I believe it was east a few blocks

670
00:38:26.920 --> 00:38:33.320
<v Speaker 2>to another building, and as we left, you know, every time,

671
00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:35.559
<v Speaker 2>we're expecting to get hit, because a lot of us

672
00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:38.840
<v Speaker 2>were shell shocked, Like I remember hearing the definition of

673
00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:44.199
<v Speaker 2>being shell shocked, you know, from studying World War One, especially,

674
00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:49.199
<v Speaker 2>like what does that even mean? And my slight taste

675
00:38:49.280 --> 00:38:52.519
<v Speaker 2>just slight, nothing compared to those guys, But of getting

676
00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:57.320
<v Speaker 2>hit with RPG after RPG after RPG that day, I

677
00:38:57.400 --> 00:39:00.679
<v Speaker 2>understood what shell shock meant, of a taste of it.

678
00:39:00.679 --> 00:39:02.519
<v Speaker 2>And so as soon as we stepped out of that building,

679
00:39:02.559 --> 00:39:04.960
<v Speaker 2>I'm like, we're just going to get shot. We're going

680
00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.360
<v Speaker 2>to get shot. And I remember feeling very afraid and

681
00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:15.119
<v Speaker 2>my mood was very low, just feeling dark, like hopeless.

682
00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:18.519
<v Speaker 2>Nothing happened. We didn't have to move that far to

683
00:39:18.559 --> 00:39:20.719
<v Speaker 2>the next building, where we ended up sleeping the next

684
00:39:20.840 --> 00:39:26.639
<v Speaker 2>night and setting up on that day. But we weren't ready.

685
00:39:27.880 --> 00:39:31.800
<v Speaker 2>I wasn't ready. I wasn't mentally prepared after that, you know,

686
00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:33.719
<v Speaker 2>I was. I felt like I was.

687
00:39:33.719 --> 00:39:36.199
<v Speaker 1>Almost out of the game well in our remaining time.

688
00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:39.159
<v Speaker 1>I certainly want to get your thoughts on what was

689
00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:42.559
<v Speaker 1>probably the toughest day of the battle for your platoon,

690
00:39:42.599 --> 00:39:47.199
<v Speaker 1>and that's the loss of Bradley Faircloth around Thanksgiving. Where

691
00:39:47.239 --> 00:39:49.599
<v Speaker 1>were you as that happened and how do you remember

692
00:39:50.119 --> 00:39:52.079
<v Speaker 1>that whole situation unfolding.

693
00:39:52.639 --> 00:39:57.000
<v Speaker 2>I was an overwatch with my team when brad Faircloth

694
00:39:57.400 --> 00:40:03.039
<v Speaker 2>was killed, and he was in a building, in a

695
00:40:03.119 --> 00:40:07.639
<v Speaker 2>house that I had personally cleared three times, because after

696
00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.239
<v Speaker 2>we pushed from north to south in the city, we'd

697
00:40:10.239 --> 00:40:12.639
<v Speaker 2>go and start back clearing the houses because we knew

698
00:40:12.639 --> 00:40:16.000
<v Speaker 2>these guys moved around, they were smart, and so I

699
00:40:16.039 --> 00:40:20.639
<v Speaker 2>had cleared that house with my team three times, and

700
00:40:21.079 --> 00:40:25.639
<v Speaker 2>I remember just hearing gunfire, big big spray gunfire, a

701
00:40:25.639 --> 00:40:29.639
<v Speaker 2>lot of yelling, and then two guys running across, hopping

702
00:40:29.719 --> 00:40:33.920
<v Speaker 2>the fence and leaving. You know, we shot out a

703
00:40:33.960 --> 00:40:38.079
<v Speaker 2>mist eventually got him. Learning that Faircloth was hit and

704
00:40:38.119 --> 00:40:42.559
<v Speaker 2>then he was killed. Hard to comprehend because Faircloth, Brad,

705
00:40:42.639 --> 00:40:47.039
<v Speaker 2>he was a Marines marine. You know, I feel lucky

706
00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:48.679
<v Speaker 2>that I was able to give him. The nickname we

707
00:40:48.719 --> 00:40:52.039
<v Speaker 2>called him was the Barbarian, because we had a company

708
00:40:52.159 --> 00:40:55.039
<v Speaker 2>wide dodgeball tournament. Me and a couple of friends started

709
00:40:55.039 --> 00:40:57.760
<v Speaker 2>this right before he deployed. No one had cars anymore,

710
00:40:57.920 --> 00:41:01.760
<v Speaker 2>so we just had a bunch of guys with nothing

711
00:41:01.800 --> 00:41:05.519
<v Speaker 2>to do with a lot of pre war aggression, and

712
00:41:05.559 --> 00:41:07.239
<v Speaker 2>we needed something to get that out of our system.

713
00:41:07.320 --> 00:41:09.760
<v Speaker 2>So we played dodgeball. A ran on the PX, got

714
00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:12.360
<v Speaker 2>a bunch of dodgeballs, and he played up front, was

715
00:41:12.360 --> 00:41:15.639
<v Speaker 2>pegging dudes in the face all day long, dodging these

716
00:41:15.880 --> 00:41:19.480
<v Speaker 2>and we're like, you're a barbarian, and that nickname stuck.

717
00:41:19.679 --> 00:41:23.320
<v Speaker 2>And so even Lieutenant Barnes is like, hey, Barbarian, you good.

718
00:41:23.440 --> 00:41:26.320
<v Speaker 2>You know, like that was his name, and he was

719
00:41:26.360 --> 00:41:30.199
<v Speaker 2>a Marine's marine, you know, he was. He was always

720
00:41:30.199 --> 00:41:36.239
<v Speaker 2>out front. He was as brave as they come. And

721
00:41:36.280 --> 00:41:39.719
<v Speaker 2>for him to be killed, it was it was hard

722
00:41:39.719 --> 00:41:42.679
<v Speaker 2>to comprehend, you know, the shock of anyone, you know, dying,

723
00:41:43.800 --> 00:41:46.360
<v Speaker 2>but especially for him to be killed, you know, it

724
00:41:46.360 --> 00:41:48.239
<v Speaker 2>felt like something in the Platun died in us that

725
00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:53.360
<v Speaker 2>day because you know, between him and Billy Leo, I mean,

726
00:41:53.400 --> 00:41:55.960
<v Speaker 2>he was he was the spirit of that platoon too,

727
00:41:56.440 --> 00:41:59.760
<v Speaker 2>you know, we everyone respected him. What happens after a

728
00:41:59.760 --> 00:42:03.400
<v Speaker 2>big fight, a lot of downtime, a lot of downtime,

729
00:42:03.679 --> 00:42:07.480
<v Speaker 2>and thinking, okay, if he can get killed, I mean,

730
00:42:07.519 --> 00:42:11.119
<v Speaker 2>who's next, And just also knowing that, like, Okay, I'm

731
00:42:11.159 --> 00:42:14.119
<v Speaker 2>gonna have to put this away right now. You know,

732
00:42:14.239 --> 00:42:17.440
<v Speaker 2>someone that I care about, that I love as a

733
00:42:17.480 --> 00:42:20.119
<v Speaker 2>brother has been shot and killed. I'm gonna have to

734
00:42:20.159 --> 00:42:24.679
<v Speaker 2>bury this deep in my soul and maybe someday touch it,

735
00:42:24.719 --> 00:42:27.079
<v Speaker 2>but right now it's not the time, because the mission

736
00:42:27.159 --> 00:42:30.519
<v Speaker 2>just kept rolling on. We had to keep going, you know,

737
00:42:30.679 --> 00:42:35.360
<v Speaker 2>so just knowing that that one hurt, that one really hurt,

738
00:42:35.599 --> 00:42:38.239
<v Speaker 2>you know, and and you know a lot of people

739
00:42:38.280 --> 00:42:44.800
<v Speaker 2>were dying, so it was not Eventually with my psyche,

740
00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:47.239
<v Speaker 2>it started to become like, okay, if he can die,

741
00:42:47.559 --> 00:42:49.360
<v Speaker 2>how many times can I kick open a door and

742
00:42:49.400 --> 00:42:52.039
<v Speaker 2>expect to live with someone waiting to shoot me? So

743
00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:56.800
<v Speaker 2>we're the odds. And at that time though I'd made

744
00:42:56.800 --> 00:43:03.320
<v Speaker 2>my peace with death. Fortunately because of what happened to

745
00:43:03.360 --> 00:43:05.840
<v Speaker 2>me a few days earlier, you know, having my own

746
00:43:05.920 --> 00:43:08.320
<v Speaker 2>pretty intense gun battle with my squad and my team.

747
00:43:08.760 --> 00:43:12.800
<v Speaker 2>But the important thing out of that was that I

748
00:43:12.920 --> 00:43:15.920
<v Speaker 2>was no longer afraid of dying. I come to peace.

749
00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:17.320
<v Speaker 2>I was like, I'm not gonna make it out of

750
00:43:17.360 --> 00:43:20.000
<v Speaker 2>the city, so I'm going to do the best job

751
00:43:20.039 --> 00:43:22.320
<v Speaker 2>I can to make sure my guys make it out,

752
00:43:23.119 --> 00:43:30.679
<v Speaker 2>you know, and it just but losing Brad after that,

753
00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:33.480
<v Speaker 2>I was like, this is there's nothing fun about this.

754
00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:38.639
<v Speaker 2>I mean, there's nothing fun about being here, you know.

755
00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:41.559
<v Speaker 2>I have the pre Fallujah experience of wanting to be

756
00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:44.199
<v Speaker 2>in a big gun fight, being a war, and then

757
00:43:44.280 --> 00:43:46.360
<v Speaker 2>after the reality it was like, yeah, people you know

758
00:43:46.519 --> 00:43:49.360
<v Speaker 2>will get hurt and killed and they'll be dead and

759
00:43:49.360 --> 00:43:51.239
<v Speaker 2>there's nothing you can do about it. You'll never see

760
00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:53.679
<v Speaker 2>him again. I just know that I'll be just a

761
00:43:53.679 --> 00:43:54.280
<v Speaker 2>big void.

762
00:43:55.039 --> 00:43:57.960
<v Speaker 1>You mentioned a moment ago that you had come to

763
00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:01.079
<v Speaker 1>the conclusion you weren't going to make it out of

764
00:44:01.079 --> 00:44:06.000
<v Speaker 1>Fallujah live. So when you get to middle of the

765
00:44:06.039 --> 00:44:10.400
<v Speaker 1>second week in December and the battle's over and you're

766
00:44:10.440 --> 00:44:13.519
<v Speaker 1>still alive, how do you process that?

767
00:44:14.280 --> 00:44:17.519
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's a great question of how to process still

768
00:44:17.519 --> 00:44:22.079
<v Speaker 2>being alive, And it's It's something I've largely been doing

769
00:44:22.199 --> 00:44:25.920
<v Speaker 2>for the past twenty years of I'm still alive. I

770
00:44:25.960 --> 00:44:28.719
<v Speaker 2>have to remind myself of that, like I'm still alive. Life,

771
00:44:29.599 --> 00:44:34.400
<v Speaker 2>life still happens. And I had a friend, another veteran,

772
00:44:34.599 --> 00:44:36.440
<v Speaker 2>who told me, you know, it's okay to be happy,

773
00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:39.199
<v Speaker 2>but almost needing permission to do that. For a lot

774
00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:42.000
<v Speaker 2>of years, I carried the survivor's guilt, you know. Even

775
00:44:42.039 --> 00:44:44.840
<v Speaker 2>getting back out of the city of Fallujah and back

776
00:44:44.840 --> 00:44:48.800
<v Speaker 2>into the camp, I went out to my friend Robbie

777
00:44:48.840 --> 00:44:52.400
<v Speaker 2>Landars and Hey, where's Dave, our friend Dave Hawk, you know,

778
00:44:52.440 --> 00:44:54.559
<v Speaker 2>because the three of us went through infantry school together

779
00:44:54.639 --> 00:44:56.719
<v Speaker 2>and he was in Brava company. I want to see

780
00:44:56.719 --> 00:44:58.920
<v Speaker 2>how he did. He's like, got shot in the face. Man,

781
00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:02.679
<v Speaker 2>he's dead. And so that was, you know, like even

782
00:45:02.679 --> 00:45:04.920
<v Speaker 2>when I was out of the city, there's another just

783
00:45:05.039 --> 00:45:10.760
<v Speaker 2>kicking the gut of oh, okay, who else then? You know,

784
00:45:10.920 --> 00:45:16.719
<v Speaker 2>like I went through a lot of dark years too,

785
00:45:17.840 --> 00:45:22.840
<v Speaker 2>just trying to basically not actively kill myself, but passively

786
00:45:23.039 --> 00:45:27.519
<v Speaker 2>riding my motorcycle, blacked out, getting drunk a lot, trying

787
00:45:27.519 --> 00:45:29.400
<v Speaker 2>to process what I'd seen, not believe in it, but

788
00:45:30.920 --> 00:45:32.599
<v Speaker 2>fresh out of that battle there.

789
00:45:33.280 --> 00:45:33.760
<v Speaker 1>How did I.

790
00:45:33.719 --> 00:45:38.360
<v Speaker 2>Process still being alive? It wasn't something I could even comprehend.

791
00:45:39.239 --> 00:45:40.920
<v Speaker 2>You know, that question showed up, but I had no

792
00:45:41.000 --> 00:45:43.559
<v Speaker 2>answer for it. I knew that, you know, still, even

793
00:45:43.559 --> 00:45:45.039
<v Speaker 2>though we were out of the city of Flujia, we're

794
00:45:45.039 --> 00:45:47.800
<v Speaker 2>still in Iraq, and I I guess, you know, I

795
00:45:47.800 --> 00:45:49.760
<v Speaker 2>guess I'll figure this out as a civilian someday.

796
00:45:50.119 --> 00:45:52.119
<v Speaker 1>Talk a little bit more about that, that journey, because

797
00:45:52.119 --> 00:45:54.599
<v Speaker 1>I know you do a lot of work with mental

798
00:45:54.639 --> 00:45:57.519
<v Speaker 1>health now and helping others. So what was what was

799
00:45:57.519 --> 00:45:59.039
<v Speaker 1>the turning point for you?

800
00:45:59.320 --> 00:46:03.280
<v Speaker 2>Yeah? I spent about seven years trying to drink as

801
00:46:03.320 --> 00:46:07.639
<v Speaker 2>much alcohol as possible and do as many drugs as

802
00:46:07.679 --> 00:46:10.840
<v Speaker 2>I could to get out of my head and not

803
00:46:10.960 --> 00:46:16.079
<v Speaker 2>feel either the horror of panic attacks or intrusive thoughts,

804
00:46:16.159 --> 00:46:18.639
<v Speaker 2>or remembering parts of the battle, or the just the

805
00:46:18.800 --> 00:46:25.639
<v Speaker 2>crippling survivor's guild. And you know, my wife, we'd grown

806
00:46:25.719 --> 00:46:28.599
<v Speaker 2>up together and she knew me. We're friends and started

807
00:46:28.639 --> 00:46:31.320
<v Speaker 2>dating while I was in the Marine Corps, and eventually

808
00:46:31.320 --> 00:46:37.039
<v Speaker 2>she said, look, I know that there's a good person

809
00:46:37.079 --> 00:46:40.639
<v Speaker 2>inside of you right now, but what you're doing to yourself,

810
00:46:41.840 --> 00:46:43.920
<v Speaker 2>I can't be part of it. Anymore, and we've been

811
00:46:43.960 --> 00:46:45.960
<v Speaker 2>married for about four years. At that point, she said,

812
00:46:46.599 --> 00:46:50.920
<v Speaker 2>you either have to stop drinking and using drugs or

813
00:46:51.119 --> 00:46:54.239
<v Speaker 2>I can't be here anymore. And so it was a

814
00:46:54.400 --> 00:46:57.360
<v Speaker 2>July eleventh of twenty twelve. I made a decision no

815
00:46:57.440 --> 00:47:03.679
<v Speaker 2>more drugs and alcohol and then began this humongous journey

816
00:47:03.679 --> 00:47:06.719
<v Speaker 2>of processing what felt like a tsunami of feelings that

817
00:47:06.760 --> 00:47:10.440
<v Speaker 2>would hit me, you know, guilt him, I a piece

818
00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:13.320
<v Speaker 2>of garbage for surviving when when people I thought we

819
00:47:13.320 --> 00:47:18.199
<v Speaker 2>were better marines than I was, did not, panic attacks,

820
00:47:19.920 --> 00:47:27.159
<v Speaker 2>memories of death and killing, feelings of abject terror, like

821
00:47:27.320 --> 00:47:29.519
<v Speaker 2>walking down the stairs, and then all of a sudden

822
00:47:30.599 --> 00:47:33.119
<v Speaker 2>having this full body memory of walking down the stairs

823
00:47:33.119 --> 00:47:36.280
<v Speaker 2>and getting shot at and at my house in Wallut Creek, California,

824
00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:40.159
<v Speaker 2>going paralyzed like like on my stairs, just lying there

825
00:47:40.480 --> 00:47:44.280
<v Speaker 2>and trying to breathe. So I faced all of that. Luckily,

826
00:47:44.280 --> 00:47:47.440
<v Speaker 2>I had a good marine friend who was part of

827
00:47:47.440 --> 00:47:50.079
<v Speaker 2>the sober community who helped bring me to some recovery

828
00:47:50.079 --> 00:47:52.679
<v Speaker 2>groups and meetings. And you know, I've been meeting with

829
00:47:52.679 --> 00:47:58.079
<v Speaker 2>a therapist too, and I just remember telling me this

830
00:47:58.159 --> 00:47:59.880
<v Speaker 2>is why I was still using and drinking, you know,

831
00:48:00.119 --> 00:48:02.559
<v Speaker 2>like what do you want to do with your life now?

832
00:48:02.760 --> 00:48:05.119
<v Speaker 2>You know you talk about purpose and I said, well,

833
00:48:06.320 --> 00:48:09.639
<v Speaker 2>I don't know. I don't know what can compare it

834
00:48:09.679 --> 00:48:12.519
<v Speaker 2>to being in urban combat. There's nothing. It felt like

835
00:48:12.559 --> 00:48:17.239
<v Speaker 2>my life was anti climatic at that point, but yet

836
00:48:17.280 --> 00:48:19.400
<v Speaker 2>she'd helped me in such a way that I felt

837
00:48:19.400 --> 00:48:23.960
<v Speaker 2>this tremendous hope. Now, no, I wasn't suicidal anymore. I'd

838
00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:28.159
<v Speaker 2>stopped harming, you know, myself through drinks, dragging and drinking.

839
00:48:29.360 --> 00:48:31.760
<v Speaker 2>And she said, well, what about doing this kind of work?

840
00:48:32.960 --> 00:48:36.280
<v Speaker 2>And it was it was an epiphany right there. I said, yeah,

841
00:48:36.719 --> 00:48:38.559
<v Speaker 2>I mean, if I can have this kind of hope,

842
00:48:38.679 --> 00:48:40.440
<v Speaker 2>maybe I want to pass this on to other people.

843
00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:46.960
<v Speaker 2>It was like I needed permission to be happy, and

844
00:48:46.960 --> 00:48:50.119
<v Speaker 2>permission to be alive, and permission to continue on with

845
00:48:50.199 --> 00:48:54.239
<v Speaker 2>my life. And it's almost like in that moment she

846
00:48:54.280 --> 00:48:57.440
<v Speaker 2>had given me that permission. And I realized how many

847
00:48:57.480 --> 00:48:59.960
<v Speaker 2>of us, you know, my brothers and sisters who fought

848
00:49:00.960 --> 00:49:05.119
<v Speaker 2>been overseas in combat, feeling that same way. And I

849
00:49:05.159 --> 00:49:07.440
<v Speaker 2>was like, Okay, this is something I can do that

850
00:49:07.599 --> 00:49:11.960
<v Speaker 2>has to me that same amount of purpose and passion

851
00:49:12.039 --> 00:49:15.360
<v Speaker 2>I can put behind this effort to help people on

852
00:49:15.400 --> 00:49:18.199
<v Speaker 2>the other side of combat now, and so I've been

853
00:49:18.199 --> 00:49:22.559
<v Speaker 2>doing that since since twenty twelve. I'm a director of

854
00:49:22.599 --> 00:49:25.400
<v Speaker 2>a VA Vet center and we see veterans every day

855
00:49:25.480 --> 00:49:28.320
<v Speaker 2>from you know, all walks of life and all conflicts,

856
00:49:29.480 --> 00:49:32.400
<v Speaker 2>and so yeah, I've been able to be someone who's

857
00:49:32.400 --> 00:49:35.239
<v Speaker 2>gotten help from a VET center and now someone who's

858
00:49:35.280 --> 00:49:37.719
<v Speaker 2>worked at a VET center. I saw I'm both a

859
00:49:37.760 --> 00:49:42.599
<v Speaker 2>provider and a veteran, and that combination can be a

860
00:49:42.639 --> 00:49:45.400
<v Speaker 2>tough line to walk sometimes because I've had my own

861
00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:49.079
<v Speaker 2>experiences and I got to worry about transference and got

862
00:49:49.119 --> 00:49:52.880
<v Speaker 2>to worry about, you know, realizing that I'm the one

863
00:49:53.679 --> 00:49:56.920
<v Speaker 2>helping people, but I'm not invincible to feeling the same

864
00:49:57.039 --> 00:50:02.559
<v Speaker 2>kind of feelings they have. So it's been a nice

865
00:50:02.599 --> 00:50:05.639
<v Speaker 2>balancing act. But it's been something I've been doing through

866
00:50:05.679 --> 00:50:09.559
<v Speaker 2>a lot of physical activity and a lot of meditation,

867
00:50:11.440 --> 00:50:15.079
<v Speaker 2>clean living and in terms of you know, absence from

868
00:50:15.239 --> 00:50:20.039
<v Speaker 2>drugs and alcohol. And for me, I'm someone who's always

869
00:50:20.079 --> 00:50:23.119
<v Speaker 2>needed a big reason to do something. I need to

870
00:50:23.320 --> 00:50:25.559
<v Speaker 2>have my passion involved or I just can't put up

871
00:50:25.599 --> 00:50:31.840
<v Speaker 2>the effort, you know. For instance, I participate in triathlons,

872
00:50:31.920 --> 00:50:36.960
<v Speaker 2>and like Ironman trathlons and I can't be bothered to

873
00:50:37.039 --> 00:50:39.480
<v Speaker 2>work out unless I have a race or some big

874
00:50:39.519 --> 00:50:42.960
<v Speaker 2>event coming up. And so just the what I do

875
00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:44.760
<v Speaker 2>with the Vet Center gives me that purpose to get

876
00:50:44.840 --> 00:50:47.159
<v Speaker 2>up every day and to love my family and to

877
00:50:47.519 --> 00:50:49.079
<v Speaker 2>you know, take care of my vets.

878
00:50:49.280 --> 00:50:54.639
<v Speaker 1>Thank you for sharing that. We talked earlier before, we

879
00:50:54.679 --> 00:50:58.800
<v Speaker 1>talked about the battle about the bond that exists among

880
00:50:58.840 --> 00:51:01.800
<v Speaker 1>the guys in a platoon and down to the squad

881
00:51:01.840 --> 00:51:06.159
<v Speaker 1>and team level. It's twenty years later now, and just

882
00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:08.360
<v Speaker 1>from the other couple of guys that you came in with,

883
00:51:08.400 --> 00:51:11.639
<v Speaker 1>that's obvious that that bond still exists many years after

884
00:51:11.679 --> 00:51:14.480
<v Speaker 1>you've left. And from what I understand, the bond still

885
00:51:14.519 --> 00:51:20.480
<v Speaker 1>exists between many of you guys and Bradley Fairclough's mom. Yeah, Kathleen,

886
00:51:20.599 --> 00:51:23.000
<v Speaker 1>So talk a little bit about that and how that endures.

887
00:51:23.199 --> 00:51:25.800
<v Speaker 2>You know, I hadn't seen a lot of these guys

888
00:51:25.800 --> 00:51:29.719
<v Speaker 2>for twenty years. The last time I saw Miss Kathleen

889
00:51:29.800 --> 00:51:33.679
<v Speaker 2>Faircloth and some of these guys was at Kathleen's house

890
00:51:33.719 --> 00:51:37.599
<v Speaker 2>in Fair Hope, Alabama, And we're there in two thousand

891
00:51:37.599 --> 00:51:40.320
<v Speaker 2>and six, April two thousand and six to see her.

892
00:51:41.840 --> 00:51:45.639
<v Speaker 2>To Bradley was getting a statue dedicated to his high school,

893
00:51:46.239 --> 00:51:49.960
<v Speaker 2>and so we're there for that dedication. And so I

894
00:51:49.960 --> 00:51:52.400
<v Speaker 2>haven't seen these guys in twenty years, but as soon

895
00:51:52.400 --> 00:51:54.639
<v Speaker 2>as I walk up and I see him, it smiles,

896
00:51:54.679 --> 00:51:57.440
<v Speaker 2>it's hugs. It's like not missing a beat, you know,

897
00:51:57.519 --> 00:52:00.159
<v Speaker 2>catching up with each other. You know, sometimes we we

898
00:52:00.239 --> 00:52:02.719
<v Speaker 2>only know what each other's up to through seeing pictures

899
00:52:02.719 --> 00:52:07.840
<v Speaker 2>on Facebook or social media. But the closeness that bond

900
00:52:09.000 --> 00:52:11.920
<v Speaker 2>just as strong as it would have been if we

901
00:52:11.920 --> 00:52:15.800
<v Speaker 2>had seen each other yesterday, as ugly as the death

902
00:52:15.840 --> 00:52:19.800
<v Speaker 2>and the killing in wartime can be. The message I

903
00:52:19.880 --> 00:52:23.239
<v Speaker 2>take away is that the bond of love and connection

904
00:52:23.599 --> 00:52:26.039
<v Speaker 2>is so much stronger that it trendscends all of that.

905
00:52:26.039 --> 00:52:28.800
<v Speaker 2>That's why we're here together this weekend, you know, spending

906
00:52:28.840 --> 00:52:31.719
<v Speaker 2>time with each other think, you know, talk about things

907
00:52:31.719 --> 00:52:34.840
<v Speaker 2>that for a lot of us are difficult to talk about.

908
00:52:35.519 --> 00:52:37.679
<v Speaker 2>I've talked about this a few times with people and

909
00:52:37.679 --> 00:52:40.679
<v Speaker 2>shared my experience and process that and therapy, and I

910
00:52:40.719 --> 00:52:42.559
<v Speaker 2>know some of these guys haven't had the chance to

911
00:52:42.559 --> 00:52:44.320
<v Speaker 2>do that, and so for them it's a little more raw.

912
00:52:44.360 --> 00:52:47.159
<v Speaker 2>But they're willing, just like I am, to come here

913
00:52:47.199 --> 00:52:51.199
<v Speaker 2>because that bond is that much stronger, and so that's

914
00:52:51.199 --> 00:52:53.480
<v Speaker 2>what I took away from my experience in the Marine

915
00:52:53.519 --> 00:52:57.119
<v Speaker 2>Corps and combat is that when you're with people in

916
00:52:57.159 --> 00:53:01.159
<v Speaker 2>adverse situations and you form those bonds, you can't nothing

917
00:53:01.199 --> 00:53:03.039
<v Speaker 2>can break that, and not even death.

918
00:53:03.599 --> 00:53:06.440
<v Speaker 1>Last question for you, sir, what are you most proud

919
00:53:06.440 --> 00:53:08.119
<v Speaker 1>of from your time in the service.

920
00:53:09.199 --> 00:53:14.039
<v Speaker 2>I'm most proud of the fact that I can talk

921
00:53:14.079 --> 00:53:21.679
<v Speaker 2>to guys who are in my charge who thank me

922
00:53:21.760 --> 00:53:25.239
<v Speaker 2>for being a good leader. And it's difficult for me

923
00:53:25.320 --> 00:53:28.960
<v Speaker 2>to say that because I don't like a spotlight or

924
00:53:28.960 --> 00:53:33.760
<v Speaker 2>I don't not trying to brag, however, I'm bringing that up.

925
00:53:33.800 --> 00:53:37.719
<v Speaker 2>He's just because that was important to me. I didn't

926
00:53:37.719 --> 00:53:39.880
<v Speaker 2>want to fail these guys, and we went through hell

927
00:53:39.960 --> 00:53:43.440
<v Speaker 2>together and for someone to say that I did anything positive,

928
00:53:43.440 --> 00:53:49.280
<v Speaker 2>that I helped them, just knowing the tremendous responsibility I

929
00:53:49.320 --> 00:53:51.480
<v Speaker 2>had of trying to take care of these guys, for

930
00:53:51.519 --> 00:53:54.880
<v Speaker 2>them to have some positive words to say about me,

931
00:53:54.480 --> 00:53:55.480
<v Speaker 2>it means the world.

932
00:53:55.960 --> 00:53:58.960
<v Speaker 1>Mike. It's been an amazing conversation. I thank you so

933
00:53:59.079 --> 00:54:01.880
<v Speaker 1>much for your time today, and I especially thank you

934
00:54:02.000 --> 00:54:03.920
<v Speaker 1>for your service to our country.

935
00:54:04.000 --> 00:54:05.119
<v Speaker 2>Thank you, thank you.

936
00:54:05.320 --> 00:54:07.800
<v Speaker 1>Mike Ergo is a veteran of the US Marine Corps.

937
00:54:07.960 --> 00:54:10.559
<v Speaker 1>He served in the Iraq War, including the Second Battle

938
00:54:10.599 --> 00:54:13.800
<v Speaker 1>of Fallujah in November and December two thousand and four.

939
00:54:14.639 --> 00:54:28.559
<v Speaker 1>I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans Chronicles. Hi, this

940
00:54:28.679 --> 00:54:31.920
<v Speaker 1>is Greg Corumbus and thanks for listening to Veterans Chronicles,

941
00:54:32.119 --> 00:54:36.119
<v Speaker 1>a presentation of the American Veterans Center. For more information,

942
00:54:36.360 --> 00:54:41.079
<v Speaker 1>please visit American Veteranscenter dot org. You can also follow

943
00:54:41.119 --> 00:54:44.519
<v Speaker 1>the American Veterans Center on Facebook and on Twitter We're

944
00:54:44.639 --> 00:54:49.400
<v Speaker 1>at AVC update. Subscribe to the American Veterans Center YouTube

945
00:54:49.480 --> 00:54:53.880
<v Speaker 1>channel for full oral histories and special features, and of course,

946
00:54:54.039 --> 00:54:57.719
<v Speaker 1>please subscribe to the Veterans Chronicles podcast wherever you get

947
00:54:57.719 --> 00:55:01.360
<v Speaker 1>your podcasts. Thanks again for listen, and please join us

948
00:55:01.360 --> 00:55:03.400
<v Speaker 1>next time for Veterans Chronicles.