Outnumbered 8-1: 'A good day for the Corps'

By Peter Bronson

"Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our humvees was disabled from RPG fire,  and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast."  That's not from an episode of The Unit or 24. It's not from an  anti-war movie. It's not from any newspaper or TV news reports I could  find.

The quote comes from a "designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified." He was reporting what happened recently in the city of Shewan, Afghanistan. The story was told in a Marine Corps News report by Cpl. James M. Mercure.   It will give you goose bumps and make you want to stand up and salute the nearest flag. Here's more, because it's a lot better than anything I could write today:

"The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat," the marksman said.  Mercure reported, "Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task Force  2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines' deployment here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, because it controls an important supply route into the Bala Baluk district. Opening the route was key to continuing combat operations in the area."

"The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush  site.

'"The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can  accomplish when they're given the opportunity to fight,'" the sniper said. '"A  small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in  their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger  than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong."'

"During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn't miss any shots, despite the enemies' rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position."  '"I was in my own little world,"' the young corporal said. '"I wasn't  even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target."'

"After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed forward and broke the enemies' spirit as many of them dropped their  weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines had  reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several  more.

'"I didn't realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies' lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us,"' the corporal said. '"It was a good day for the  Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured."'

Such an amazing story of heroism and victory would have been on Page One in every paper in the country during World War II. Just 30 Marines giving eight hours of hell to 250 insurgents is the kind of story that would make a good movie - if that kind of movie still could be made.  But these days, it did not even make Page 10. I couldn't find a story about
it anywhere. The only mentions were on conservative blogs and military Web sites.  The soldiers who are fighting for their lives and our country might as well be in another dimension. News from the battlefronts in Iraq and  Afghanistan is apparently not important.
It reminds the jaded anti-war crowd that they were wrong. We're  winning. It reminds a self-centered nation that some Americans are making  sacrifices much bigger than a loss in their 401(k)s. So we don't hear about  it.  But we need to hear news like that, because a good day for the Marine Corps is a good day for freedom. And that's a good day for  Americ

Comments

[anon]

Awesome job, Marines. Warriors all.

[squiggle]

Glad to hear a story from a first hand source.

Blogs like this are valuable since they arent filtered and censored like the media seems to be.

Thank you for posting

[GunnNutt]

Chesty would be so proud!

[Julia Zalesak]

I so wish you all felt the moral support that you truly deserve. I will keep you in my prayers. This story makes me proud! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[OCS Candidate]

MOTO

[tim]

God bless and protect them all. I thank them.

[John Smith]

Frickin Motivating

[chris depaolo]

You guys make so proud to
be an american!!!Keep up the
the good work. Thank from my familly.

[RichW]

From the civilian side we thank you to no end for the job you are doing for our country. God Bless and we are behind you.

[usmcflowers]

My son is a US Marine he spent 5 tours in Iraq . We are so proud of him and the Devil Dog and all the of men and woman over there .Keep up the good job over there and come home save we are all praying for all .your save return

[sgt r f hull]

Semper Fi and God Bless the 7th Marines !!!!!!

[gil smith]

i am a veteran of the 7th marines during the korean war. i am so proud of the troops today sgt of marines.

[Marcus Rhodes]

God bless you!

[Art Welch]

OOH-RAH!

[Jeff Davis]

Oscar Oscar Hotel, Romeo Alpha Hotel!

Semper Fi

[Troy Schoonover]

This story sounds too good to be true, really. I think I'll stick to Michael Yon, and hope that stories like this can be confirmed before I stand up and salute.