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Writings and musings on the eccentric beauty of sacrifice. Come journey and write with us. We are resolved to capture something positive in a troubled world and laugh when we can along the way. This, then, is dedicated in Loving Memory to LCpl. Aaron C. Austin, USMC KIA Fallujah, Iraq on April 26, 2004. Rock On...
5 comments:
The e-mails you are talking about here, De'on, were written while Rich was still in Kuwait. I think they were there about 3 weeks before they headed North, from Kuwait into Iraq for their first project, the bridge project. While doing this project they stayed at a camp just to the west of the Euphrates river, not very far from the cities of Haditha and Hit. I will have to prompt Rich for the name of this camp, I can't think of it.
At this time, Rich was still able to e-mail and send the pics of the bridge. He then e-mailed telling me that he recieved his orders for his next mission and that they would be heading to what they called the "Wild, Wild West." This mission was to go and build COP South. They would head way west to the Syrian border to build a camp for the Iraqi Army to occupy, to try to keep insurgents from crossing the border into Iraq. This camp was not far from Al Quaim, where Operation Steel Curtain was clearing this city and others of insurgents. Rich let me know that while he was out at COP South, he wouldn't be able to e-mail because he said they would be out in the middle of nowhere, building a camp from dust, like the surface of the moon, nothing there. So for those months, I was able to befriend his XO that had contact with him daily from camp in Kuwait, and was able to know if he was safe daily. Due to the success of Operation Steel Curtain, the scope of COP South was reduced. He said that while out there at COP South they would see the "fireworks", sometimes just a mile away,from Operation Steel Curtain.
I had wondered if that wasn't the deal. I think the troops are usually in Kuwait 2 or 3 weeks before they go in.
I had wondered about Operation Steel Curtain. I put it into google with NMCB 22's name and didn't come up with anything.
So Operation Steel Curtain was a different mission ongoing fairly close to them; Rich's unit wasn't a part of the OSC mission? That makes more sense to me.
I know Rich is always busy running things with his company. I'm glad we have you to pitch-hit for us on the questions we have, b/c it amazes me that people really can build things like this. I know that sounds stupid, but I could never accomplish anything like this.
When Greg makes something from wood that is useful as well as beautiful, I'm amazed, really impressed, so when I see the photos of what Rich has been in charge of, when I think about what he does for a living, it's amazing to me.
It's art, knowledge and science at its finest.
I know you're proud of both Rich and Johnny.
Have you been studying for your test?
Yes, De'on, Operation Steel Curtain was a Marine Operation, not Seabee. I just printed off the article for that Op for the scrapbook to show what was going on in the area Rich was in at that time. In conjuction with Steel Curtain, there were other Marine Ops going on during those months at the Syrian border. I could always feel the excitement from Rich when he would write about our Marines and the Marines his battalion was supporting. He got to go out on a patrol with the Marines while he was out at COP South and I think he was just as proud of that as anything he built out there. He loves our Marines as much as he does his Seabees.
Yup, I'm up! for another try on one of your tests! You really made me research on the last one. ( I had never heard of a webding?) I know now to be prepared for anything!
You were pretty close Karen.
I first emailed from Kuwait before we went north. Then our battalion was in Al Asad (that's where my XO was emailing you from).
A couple of days after we arived in Al Asad, I convoyed south to Camp Hit to do a turnover from the battalion we were relieving. Camp Hit was where we stayed whild doing the bridge mission in the city of Hit a few miles away. Hit is down near Ramadi. Then I convoyed back up north to Haditha to do the turnover there. Then back to Al Asad. A few days later I received the warning order to start planning the bridge mission. After it was complete, I returned to Al Asad. My CO knew that I didn't want to sit around on Al Asad, so he told me to pack my crap because I was going to get my wish and head out to the wild wild west.
Spoken like a true CO :)
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