Thursday, March 30, 2006

I Will Wear Their Names On My Wrist Proudly

The names on the bracelets were my friends from my unit who gave their life in Fallujah in Nov of 2004, and who perished in the CH-53 helicopter crash in Jan of 2005. Sgt Peralta gave his life by jumping on a grenade after being shot 6 times by insurgents in Fallujah. He saved four Marines from the blast and is currently up for the Medal of Honor. Peralta came to our unit from 1/8 after re-enlisting. He was a hard leader who was well liked amongst all of the Marines in our Company. We spent most of our time hanging out in the local bars of Wiakiki. Cpl Cohen was one of my first new guy's. He was killed by enemy fire when entering a room in Fallujah. Cohen was one of the nicest guys I have had the prvilige to meet. He would have done anything for his brothers. Cpl Grimes was an outstanding human being as well as Marine. I played on the Battalian football team with him. He had adopted the name "Grimesy" from those who knew him best. He was killed when his helo went down while transferring to another city. 1st Lt Travis Fuller was a Lt with Charlie 1/3. I was in Alpha and got to know Travis through my platoon commanders, who we would party with in town. Travis was a New Englander like my self. He was a quiet but awesome leader. He and Grimes were on the same helo. Thats my story, and I wear their names on my wrist proudly. Semper Fi.

No comments: