Category: Iraq

Friends Forever

Friends Forever

I just wanted to share this photo with everyone, this is a picture of my son and some of the men in Fox Company the morning they were getting deployed to Iraq. He has been gone for about a month and we all miss him so much. It is going to be a long road ahead of us and for everyone that has someone gone. Please keep all the prayers and blessings going out to all that are serving our country so well. There is not a day or moment that goes by that I don?t think of these Men and hope they are all safe. read more

Longest Day

Longest Day

Grit,

This is Tim McMahon HMM-262 65-67 RVN 66-67. I read the letter to you titled ?Longest Day? in reference to the HMM-364 (Purple Foxes) CH-46 crash. It?s really something how so many are affected by any incident in Iraq. I was with HMM-262 in Nam flying gunner and fixing hydraulic problems on the old CH-46?s which were pretty new then. The guys in Iraq are still flying and fixing the same aircraft somewhat modified now but basically the same birds. Our squadron HMM-262 hadn?t been to war since Vietnam, but are now fighting the good fight. We as ?Old Tigers? have been in touch with our younger ?Brothers? in the current squadron for years now. We?ve set up a support system to send care packages over to them, and one of our guys Larry Zok thought it would be a good idea to have a squadron coin made up and have them presented to the guys in country. The day before the HMM-364 accident the squadron CO had a formation and he and the SgtMaj presented the coin to every squadron member. The Marines cherished the coins and made a slit to form a pocket in their squadron patch to carry the coin for good luck. Since the squadron just arrived in country they were riding on missions with other squadrons to get the lay of the land (fam flights). It was on one of these fam flights with HMM-364 that one of our Crew Chiefs Cpl Tom Saba was flying when the aircraft was shot down, the day after the coins were presented. read more

Family Reunion in Fallujah

Family Reunion in Fallujah

Well, where does a father start? I am proud that I have served our beloved Corps for 15 years. 12 of which was on active duty in the Airwing(VMFA-314, VMFA-531, MATSG-90), got out in 1994. Went back in the reserves after 9/11, took over a year to get my waiver but I got it and was reinstated as a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, Kilo 3/23 after 9 years broken time. Rare but these things do happen ask my buddy Ernie Hall!! Deployed to Iraq at the first part of the war in 2003. Upon returning home my Son was about to graduate from high school and expressed to me that he wanted to join the Corps. WOW! Outwardly I was very concerned as I had just returned home from a combat tour in Iraq, but inwardly I was bursting with pride that my Son was thinking about joining the Corps. Words could and still cannot describe what that meant to me. You brother Marines out there with Son’s and Daughter’s that are in the Corps understand. A few weeks before his graduation from recruit training in San Diego, he writes me that he wants me to be in uniform on his graduation day. I wasn’t planning on it because I didn’t want to take away from his big day so I wrote that back to him, which he quickly wrote back that was all he wanted on his graduation day was to stand on the same parade deck that I did 22 years earlier both of us wearing our uniforms. That was and will always be one of the proudest moments in my life along with the day God brought him into my life. Well it’s been almost 3 years since then and he is on his second tour of duty here in Iraq. He spent the better part of 2005 patrolling the streets of Ramadi, and is now back, but this time in Fallujah. With HQ Bat 2/10. read more

News From Iraq

News From Iraq

Sgt. Grit,

Thought you might enjoy some candid moments of the Marines here in the Anbar Province and at the Security Detachment in Baghdad. I work with the MEF throughout Iraq and will always hold dear the camraderie of the Corps and how the young Marines take care of this ‘Old Dog’. Can’t go into what I do with the Corps nor where the camps are located but let it suffice for me to say, though it is a different generation than it was in Vietnam all Marines here have the same Esprit de Corps and desire to go out and complete the mission. The old adage of Improvise, adapt, and overcome still holds true for todays Marines who put themselves in harms way everyday. read more

Classroom who wrote to deployed Marines

Classroom who wrote to deployed Marines

I’d like to share these pictures with your readers and especially with the ignorant principal who wouldn’t let the children of Connie’s class write to soldier’s in Iraq .These pictures were in the local newspaper which prompted several other schools to contact these Marines to ask that they speak to their classrooms . They’ve spent several days of their leave doing just that! read more

Toby Keith

Toby Keith

Dear Grit,

Wanted to get a shout out from Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq and let you know Toby Keith played a concert for all the people on base two days ago, even after the bad guys had lobbed something onto the base, he went on. It was a great show. I am in a “Joint” billet (read: army command with a few Marines to keep things interesting!),and it was nice to hang out with other Marines to watch the show. Keep up the great news letters! read more

SFC McSheffrey

SFC McSheffrey

Hey Sgt Grit,
Thanks for all the great stories and great quotes. I’ve posted some of those quotes in the connex box where my soldiers keep there weapons. The men love them. I am a former Marine currently serving in Baghdad with a deployed National Guard unit. We have several former Marines in the unit. The Marines in Baghdad have been great to my guys. I am a Sergeant First Class (E-7) but all the Marines call me, “Gunny”. Enclosed some pics of the Marine Corps Birthday Ball last year in Baghdad and a pic of me at work. read more