Posted on: Saturday, February 26, 2005
War winds down for Kane'ohe Marines
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
KANE'OHE BAY — Nearly 900 Kane'ohe-based Marines have left the battlefields of Iraq and are expected to be coming home at the end of April.
The 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment left the Islands in July 2004 and was involved in the bloodiest battles of the Iraq war.
Lt. Col. Michael Ramos, the battalion commander, last night praised the Marines under him and called them heroes.
"To see the sheer bravery, the courage under fire, the patriotism of these men, has been awesome," Ramos told Hawai'i reporters by satellite telephone from Kuwait, where the unit is preparing for its return to Hawai'i via Okinawa. "Our mission has been a success. We're really looking forward to coming back home."
The battalion played a big role in the monthlong battle for Fallujah in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 31 elections, and also took part in the repatriation of its residents.
But the toll on the unit was severe, with 46 Marines killed in action and dozens others wounded. Twenty-six Marines and a sailor were killed when a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed Jan. 26 in western Iraq, and eight Marines died Oct. 30 in a suicide car bomb attack in Fallujah.
Ramos said several of the Marines who died in the helicopter crash chose to return to their unit despite being wounded.
"These men were special men. They were heroes," he said. "They had gone through one of the most important battles of this war. Many of those men had been wounded in action and remained in action with their brothers to continue (to) fight because we needed them, because they didn't want to leave their brothers behind."
Ramos said that even in their darkest hours, when they were under constant attack from insurgents, his Marines held their heads high. He recalled how they celebrated the birthday of the Marine Corps Nov. 10 after winning a decisive, bloody battle in Fallujah.
As night fell, Ramos said, they cut a piece of cake and gave slices to the youngest and oldest Marines. They also blasted the Marine hymn through the city for all to hear.
"After the ceremony was over, the insurgents were a little bit upset that we had the audacity to play our song, and they opened fire again on us," Ramos said. "But that was OK because we had more than enough firepower and it was a beautiful thing to see tracers across the night from numerous Marine positions, silencing the insurgents that interrupted our ceremony."
Sgt. Maj. Michael Berg said that even though they were thousands of miles from home, the Marines were aware of the support and prayers of the people here. Following the helicopter crash, Berg relayed messages of sympathy to the Marines.
"It touched every single one of us," Berg said. "I brought the Marines and sailors together and I told them about the great support and the kind gestures of our people back home and it bolstered our spirits to know that people cared and to know that people were showing their concern and compassion to our families."
Ramos said much more work needs to be done in Iraq, but he said he's "very hopeful" for that country's democratic future because of the large amount of people who turned out for its election, particularly in Fallujah.
"If it can be done there, it can be done anywhere in Iraq," he said. "That was the heart of the insurgency and you never would have thought that people would have participated in elections in that city."
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
