Letters From Fallujah (7) The Memorial Service

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FOB Volturno, Letters From Fallujah Series, Veterans' Tales

Veterans’ Tales by Allen Ness

23 Oct 03

Uncle Hank,

We went back to FOB Volturno the other day.  We’re on our third month here, there’s been guys injured, evac’d, a couple in Germany in the hospital but we had our first Paratrooper killed.  Sarn’t Spear and the Delta Comp’ny CO and 1SG went back for the memorial service.  We took two trucks, took some volunteers for the convoy ‘cuz they knew Staff Sarn’t Peterson.  One of my buddies was in Sarn’t Peterson’s squad in Alpha Comp’ny.  I was glad I got to see him, he’s pretty tore up.

From what I gather Alpha had been conducting check points on the “interstate” highway outside Fallujah.  I don’t know if they developed a pattern or if haji just got lucky but Sarn’t Peterson and his squad were setting up and haji command detonated an IED.  It was an artillery round in a rusty old five-gallon bucket, surrounded by scrap metal, bolts and nails.  Sarn’t Peterson was right next to it, it wasn’t f*ckin perdy.  A couple guys caught some of the shrapnel but they’re ok.

We walked in and sat down in chairs set up in front of a small stage.  Sarn’t Peterson’s boots and rifle were standin up front.  His dog tags were tangled around the stock and pistol grip of his M4.  It looked empty, like a black hole in some sci fi movie, tryin to suck us all into the nothingness.  It was the death of our paratrooper’s immortality.  I thought we’d all live forever, somewhere down deep we all thought we would, we’re steely-eyed killers, isn’t that how it works?  We jump out of airplanes fer christ’s sake.  Being good at your job isn’t any protection, being a badass isn’t any protection, Murphy’s Laws will get you every time.  Murphy and f*ckin haji[…]

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Letters From Fallujah (6): John Wayne in Iraq

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Letters From Fallujah Series, Veterans' Tales

Veterans’ Tales by Allen Ness

Oct 02, 03

Uncle Hank,

Pretty much the same old same old here.  Route clearance, patrols, maintenance, bullshit.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Sometimes we don’t have enough water to rinse but you get the drift.

There’s a village down the road with a sign out by the highway, we drove past it the other day and there was graffiti on it in haji script.  We asked the ‘terp and he told us the sign said “Highway of Death.”  So we stopped and took a picture.  Yep, your graffiti terrifies me.  Posing with our weapons, stripping down to Tshirts, screw you, haji.

We met an Iraqi when we stopped to visit his farm the other day.  He had a nice Belgian made FN FAL rifle.  I’m sure you know Fabrique Nationale (FN) makes the SAW rifle for the US Army.  They also make a nice semi-auto (FAL) rifle for civilians.  So this guy was carrying one slung across his back when we pulled up into his yard.  We just stop by to introduce ourselves and give the local farmers a case of water or whatever we have that they might find useful.  Most people have AKs, its standard procedure to see Iraqi’s carrying AKs but not FN FALs.  There’s lots of farmers out here.  They dig a pit with a bulldozer, maybe thirty to fity feet deep, put a pump in the bottom and fill a bermed field with water.  Mostly onions, rice, wheat.  There’s some cows around but in America the owners would be arrested and jailed for animal abuse.  We talked to him for a while and talked him into letting us confiscate his rifle just so we could check to ensure he was allowed to have it.  We told him to come to the COP the next day and we’d let him know if he could have it back.

He was at the gate bright and early, we brought him into the Company Command Post gave him his rifle back, thanked him for cooperating with us and fed him breakfast.  As he was going out the gate he told us about one of the locals who had a stash of RPGs buried in the berm surrounding his well[…]

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Letters From Fallujah (4) COP Factory

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Letters From Fallujah Series

Veterans’ Tales by Allen Ness

20 AUG 03

Uncle Hank,

We’ve been busy since I wrote last.  We ran a couple missions into Fallujah, what a shithole.  We were security for the Battalion Commander, which means we were way too far from what was really going on but we got to hear about it on the radio.  What utter bullshit.  We also had to watch our Battalion CSM sleep in his vehicle like the huge turd he is.  The men of 1Panther call him “Deebo” like the character from “Friday.”  He’s a turd that won’t flush.  Sarnt Spear sayz “I won’t badmouth my superiors.”  But sayin that means he ain’t got nothin good to say, he’s just bein as politically correct as he can be.  He ain’t got a thimble full of politically correct in ‘im, trust me.

We got attached to Delta Company a few days ago, one section and two platoons of Delta are west of the Euphrates guarding some nuclear radio-active shit.  We’re about 30 klicks from Bn HQ, Sarnt Spear seems pretty happy about it.  It’s primitive as hell, we sleep under camo nets and eat MRE’s three times a day but I guess it could be worse.  We relieved a team from the Third ID, the whiners.  They’ve got burn barrel shitters here but we’ve already figured out how to replace the graffiti with something “tasteful” so Sarnt Spear won’t be any more pissed off than usual.  Third ID are some pitiful whiners, them bitches cry about everything.  I’m glad I’m a Paratrooper and not one of them dirty nasty, whinin legs[…]

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Letters From Fallujah (3) American Traitors

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Letters From Fallujah Series

Veterans’ Tales by Allen Ness

Aug 23, 2003

Uncle Hank,

The rest of the Battalion and the Brigade have moved in.  We can’t shoot the mortars anymore, Brigade Artillery has taken over and they’re so slow at clearing fires we can’t shoot.  Its total bullshit according to Sarnt Spear, he hates artillery with a white hot passion.  We just got word that half of the platoon is moving south of the Euphrates to a COP, Company Out Post.  It’ll be us and half of Delta Company.  We got a warning order but no details.

We’ve been surrounded by embedded journalists since we got here.  One actually rode with us on the last mission.  Sarnt Spear threatened to shoot them himself if they turned on a white light or pissed him off in any other way.  I think they were scared to do anything, Sarnt Spear sounded pretty serious to me.  The LT and the reporter were butt-hurt but Sarnt Spear didn’t give a damn.  He say’s they’re all communists and oughta be killed anyway.  Except for LTC Oliver North, according to Sarnt Spear LTC North stood by Reagan’s side during some Iran-Contra shit and is a paragon of Americanism.  You might know more about that than I do[…]

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Letters From Fallujah (2) Volturno

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Letters From Fallujah Series, Veterans' Tales

Veterans’ Tales by Allen Ness (@nessaTMR)

August 18, 2003

Uncle Hank,

Before Sarnt Spear left for the leader’s recon he gave a warning order, get everything ready to roll tonight at O’dark thirty.  Of course he added, “I wanna be able to look at the trucks before dark, me and the LT’s shit is packed, put it on the trucks.”  He’s got a serious pet-peeve with load plans.  Every truck has to be exactly like the others, f*ck its a pain in the ass but Sarnt Spear is a master of being a pain in the ass, he lives for it.

So him and the LT got back about 1600, they said some idiot shot at the helicopter they were in from his front yard.  Sarnt Spear thought it was f*cked up they didn’t shoot back, I agree.  Aviators are pussies though.

He went through the trucks with all of us standing behind them at a rigid position of parade rest, he likes to think he’s still on the trail sometimes.  He also has a reputation for tearing the trucks up somethin fierce.  The Load Plan is one of his many pet-peeves, one of the worst, you’d rather put your beret on backwards than screw up the load plan.  All he did was walk thru, ask a few questions, where’s the new night sights?  Then he says “Jonsey, get me 100 rounds of .50 cal from truck number two.  Terell, get me 100 rounds of 40 mike mike from gun four.”  The named soldiers looked around confused then burst into motion, simultaneously we heard, “Take your mother f*ckin time turbo, I ain’t got nothin better to do.”  Feet pounded across the sand.  “Awright turbos, put that shit back, good job.  Y’all are actually ready, we’ll kick some ass tonight.”  What the f*ck?  I ain’t never seen no shit like that, even the Squad Leaders are wonderin if it’s actually SFC Spear.  LOL, I heard ‘im talkin with the LT, he said the Squad Leaders are actually men now and need to be treated as such, he planned this shit hours before the inspection.  Uncle Hank, he’s got us right where he wants us[…]

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