Wounded Soldiers Describe Firefight

[tom h]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...ed_lat,1,5279983.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Now safe at an army hospital in Germany, men recall ambush near Nasiriyah, express surprise at level of Iraqi resistance.

Villafane and Horgan, members of the 1st Battalion of the 30th Infantry Regiment out of Fort Benning, Ga., came under attack Saturday afternoon after being sent to disperse what they thought were civilians grouped near a bridge south of Nasiriyah.

Their truck, backed by two other Humvees, an Abrams tank and a Bradley assault vehicle, had just crossed the span when Horgan, who was manning the machine-gun turret, noticed something suspicious about the knot of people in front of him.

"They seemed kind of edgy, jumpy," as though formulating a plan, said Horgan, 21, of Helena, Mont.

The crowd started to run away. Moments later, a wire-guided missile bore down on the Americans, hitting the lead Humvee. The explosion threw Villafane out of the truck. Dazed by the blast, he began groping for his M-4 rifle.

Horgan, part of his right heel blown off, crawled to safety. Villafane ignored the shrapnel in his arm and captured four Iraqis, who wore military uniforms underneath their civilian robes.

Villafane, still wearing clunky chemical protection gear, jumped down -- and found himself staring at the back of an armed Iraqi. He shouted at the man to drop his AK-47 rifle, then held him at gunpoint.

As he tried to bandage his wounded hand, three more Iraqi soldiers arrived, dressed in the flowing robes of Bedouin herders. They, too, dropped their weapons in surprise in front of the wounded American.

OK, I have never been in the military, let alone combat, so I really have no idea what it's like ... but maybe we have too much of a sense of "fair play" , against an enemy who will "fight dirty".

After all that I cannot understand putting yourself at more risk and trying to capture them. Why not just kill the Mother***kers?

I just hope our administration has not gone to such an extreme in the belief of "surgical precision strikes" , that americans' safety is jeopardized.

This is not civilian "cops & robbers" where you have to read them their "rights" -- maybe the way to disperse "suspicious groups of civilians" is to fire machine gun warning shots at their feet ...

Frustrated

 

[bruce]

Gotta remember Klinton did all he could to castrate the military, so there's some house cleaning to be done.

To be promoted to a Field Grade Officer takes an act of Congress, which is Congress's strangle hold over the military. So with the likes of Billary in there, they're looking for the Politically Correct more so then the Warrior. Hopefully, there are enough guys that played the game to get to where they are just bidding their time, and still are warriors underneath. So far looks like the guys calling the shots are smart enought to have things pretty well thought out.

Pres Bush is in a tough spot, there are so many people around him willing to surrender their (and your) rights, that getting anything done in DC is a battle unto itself. Just look at how Congress has surrendered your rights to the Terrorists. Shameful.

Personally I think the airlines are part of the terrorist plots <g>
Look at them whine and complain. While Americans are willing to buckle down and do something, they worry about profits. After years of poor service, and getting the Feds to pay for the FAA radars and ATC they are just too spoiled.

Sorry, started to rant...........

 

[Red Regal T]

Hey.......we're only 8 days in with fierce sandstorms a couple of those days. We are adjusting as we go and I think it will be over soon. These Iraqis are killing their own. Our soldiers know it and won't give these cowards and murderers any more free shots.

The stories of the soldiers above make me feel proud. Americans are, no doubt, the BEST and have the world's best interest at heart.