Son faced raw reality of war

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

Shipped off to Okinawa for the usual seven-month rotation, Hawai'i Marine Jerry J. "JJ" Aguirre thought that's where he'd stay while other Marines fought in two wars.

Lt. Col. Michael Ramos greets Marine Lance Cpl. Jerry Aguirre after Aguirre received the Purple Heart in Fallujah, Iraq. Photo courtesy of Jerry J. Aguirre

Lance Cpl. Aguirre would lose the bet, and four Marine buddies in Iraq.

The life-changing journey and his deployment along with 900 Hawai'i Marines, now winding down, is told through e-mail and letters from the younger Aguirre to his father.

A country music fan and baseball lover who hopes to land a job as a baseball coach, JJ Aguirre traces the arc of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment's Iraq duty through pre-war jitters in Kuwait, the loss of friends, the fighting in Fallujah, a close call with a bullet and weariness with it all.

The 23-year-old Marine is on the USS Essex, one of three ships heading to Okinawa. From there, the Marines will return to Hawai'i next month.

His father, Andy Aguirre, 51, is a retired enlisted man who was with the 82nd Airborne Division and saw combat in Grenada. He describes the worry over a son taking his turn in a war zone.

"There's no comparison being in a combat zone to having a son or daughter in a combat zone," the Fayetteville, N.C., man said. "It's excruciating — especially when it comes on TV: 'Marines killed.' "

Aguirre's personal account traces the experiences of the 1/3 Marines from Kane'ohe Bay, including house-to-house battles with insurgents in Fallujah in November. Eight 1/3 Marines were killed in a suicide car bomb attack on Oct. 30; 26 Hawai'i Marines and a corpsman died in the crash of a helicopter in a sandstorm on Jan. 26; and 11 other Marines died in Iraq — most of them in Fallujah.

A total of 159 Purple Hearts have been approved for the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. JJ Aguirre has one of them.

Here are excerpts from his e-mails to his father:

14 Oct. 04

Ready to get out of Kuwait, Dad. Waiting on aircraft, and everyone is getting on each other's nerves. We've been here since Sept. 11 now. No matter what happens, I'm pretty satisfied with my life.

The infantry battalion, one of three at Kane'ohe Bay, headed to Okinawa in July. As an Asia-Pacific contingency force for hot spots like the Korean Peninsula, the 3rd Marine Regiment had a reputation for not deploying to a combat zone. But that changed with the Marines stretched thin by two wars.

17 Oct. 04

Finally here (in Iraq) and there was an incoming rocket today. Heard that some (headquarters and service company) Marines were wounded. Platoon flew on a CH-46. A few rounds every day they say, but they are bad shots.

30 Oct. 04

Check the (Defense Department) news, Dad. I can't talk but it's a sad day in 1/3 and Bravo (Company). We lost some of our brothers today. Doc (Joel Ivy Jr., a Navy corpsman) did an awesome job doing the nine line medevacs, and some of the junior Marines did an extraordinary job. 3rd platoon was hit by a suicide car bomber. (Lance Cpl. Alberto) Felix told us all about it, and we raced down to Bravo surgical. We cussed and we cried. Dad, Foxy is gone.

Lance Cpl. Travis Fox, 25, who had gone through boot camp and infantry school at Camp Geiger with Aguirre, was one of eight 1/3 Marines killed when an explosives-laden Chevy Suburban crashed into a Marine Corps troop truck on Oct. 30 near Fallujah. Ten Marines were wounded.

Fox, from Cowpens, S.C., had visited the Aguirres while on liberty. JJ's mother, who is Korean, taught him how to eat with chopsticks. His father had attended Fox's wedding on June 5, just before the deployment.

Aguirre wrote to his father the day before the Battle of Fallujah began on Nov. 8. At least 71 U.S. troops died and 450 were wounded over the next several weeks re-taking the rebel-held city.

7 Nov. 04

Rehearsals and final checks and a two-star general talked to us today. (Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski) said he needed some 3rd Marines, and 25 to 30 years from now when our grandkids are sitting on our laps and they ask what you did, Grandpa, you can say, 'I was in Fallujah, not shoveling s*** in Hawaii.' That was pretty motivating.

Veterans Day is Nov. 11th and it will have a new meaning for all of us in 1/3. Sgt. Maj. (Carlton) Kent talked about Hue City (in Vietnam) and the Marines that came before us. I am not too worried; just keep low and keep moving. I know God will be with us.

Five days later, two more of Aguirre's buddies — Lance Cpl. David M. Branning, 21, of Baltimore; and Lance Cpl. Brian A. Medina, 20, of Woodbridge, Va. — would die. Aguirre and Branning were roommates on a deployment to Okinawa.

14 Nov. 04

Hey, Dad, you probably already know: We lost two guys in the platoon, and they were in my squad. Branning and Medina died from machine gun fire and just lost too much blood. It happened ... on the 12th. We were clearing buildings, and we found caches of (weapons). Also heroin and other drugs. I guess they were all hopped up because you had to shoot at least four or five rounds to drop them.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jerry Aguirre was badly grazed by a bullet in Fallujah. Two members of his squad were killed in the same battle. Photo courtesy of Jerry J. Aguirre

The gun position was well concealed and had great fields of fire. We fired 40mm (high explosive rounds) and had a (Light Armored Vehicle) come up and fire its guns. Cpl. (Andrew) Etheridge took a shot in the right leg; Doc (Robert C.) Trottman did a fabulous job on him; then we got Branning out of there.

DC (Cpl. Michael DanielCollins) and Ayala grabbed him. There was a trail of blood; he died seconds later. He took a shot in the neck, and it exited out of his head. Then I got hit on the left side of my back as I was laying suppressive fire with the rest of the guys.

It was a bad graze; I got lucky. Doc threw a dressing on and they put Medina on the (Light Armored Vehicle) with the rest of us, but he died five minutes later en route to the battalion aid station.

Both Branning and Medina were awesome guys, and they brought a lot to the squad and platoon. They were well-liked and good Marines. It was great seeing the rest of the platoon back, the hugs and handshakes. It is a brotherhood.

We're taking the deaths well, but we understand we have a job to do. We'll have our first beer for those guys and cry our hearts out.

15 Nov. 04

I only spent about a day and a half in Bravo surgical. I was lucky; it is a grazing wound but it feels like I was branded. Hurts like hell. They cut my cammies off me and no idea where my Kevlar (helmet), flak (vest) and weapon are now. Buddies took pics of my wound.

17 Nov. 04

It was really emotional talking to Brian (Medina's) dad. He said we are his sons now.

Fallujah would claim the life of another friend on Nov. 29. Lance Cpl. Blake Magaoay, 20, a 2002 Pearl City High graduate, was killed as so many others had been: in a burst of gunfire entering a Fallujah home. He was assigned to the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., but got to know the Hawai'i-based Marines. JJ Aguirre has Magaoay's father Tony's phone number and plans to meet with him back in Hawai'i.

27 Dec. 04

(Lt. Col. Michael Ramos, the battalion commander) awarded Purple Hearts to B Company Marines today; it is a honor but not something I ever want to do again. Alex Ayala and (Staff Sgt. Jason) Benedict from 3rd Platoon received one also. Plenty of pics. I will mail Purple Heart home.

The crash of the CH-53E occurred a month later. JJ told his father it was sad the Marines survived Fallujah, but died in the crash. But by then he was just tired of memorial services.

28 Jan. 05

Just found out Charlie lost a platoon and doc in helo crash. Lt. Col. Ramos said we will end combat ops soon.

7 Feb. 05

In Kuwait now. Finally out of that hellhole. Convoys will follow soon.

27 Feb. 05

Getting on ships soon. (Former pro baseball player) Bo Jackson is here, and we better be able to see him. I just want to get back to K Bay. I don't care about any port visits.

7 March 05

Dad, I am OK. Just had surgery for a right hernia that I had since Fallujah. I will heal here.

Before the deployment, JJ and his fellow Marines "were champing at the bit to go," Andy Aguirre said. When he gets back, he'll be in the Marines for a little over a year, and then he plans on getting out, his father said.

Andy Aguirre isn't sure how the experience has changed his son. "I told him, you've been through a lot, and you don't realize it, and it's just going to take time," he said. "The question that never ends is, why did I live and so-and-so die?"

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.