TwinMom7
Proud Mom of a United States Marine
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2000
- Messages
- 1,479
I'm sad to know that this is the last one...but thrilled to know that their days in Kuwait are numbered. I can't wait for the day that I can thank Fred Dodd in person!!!
Mission Over; It is Time to Go Home
POSTWAR IRAQ: DESERT DISPATCH
By FRED DODD
CAMP SOLOMON ISLANDS, Northern Kuwait -- The South Bend Marines are all safely out of Iraq.
Their time in Kuwait will be short, followed by a quick visit to Camp Pendleton, Calif. Soon the Marines will return to South Bend and get back to their loved ones and go back to their civilian pursuits.
The main goal of Desert Dispatch was to let the community know that their Marines were safe during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their small part in the war is over. As a result, my work here is done. This is the final Desert Dispatch.
Engineer Company B is still far from home but there are several international cell phones working their way around the camp and the men will soon reach Camp Pendleton and its abundance of pay phones.
More than once during Operation Iraqi Freedom the Marines fully expected to meet enemy resistance -- especially early in the war during convoys. But thankfully the South Bend Marines never had to fire a shot. In some locations other units were fired upon the day before and the day after Engineer Company B passed through, but our Marines traveled untouched.
Commanding Officer Maj. Leon Bertschy II, 42, of Niles, thought that any of three things could've contributed to this.
"One possible reason might have been fate. Another was that maybe we looked a little harder than what the enemy wanted to take on," he said. "The third possibility was that we each got numerous letters from friends, family and strangers saying that they were praying for us. Maybe those prayers kept us from being shot up."
The South Bend Marines saw death. They saw pain and destruction. They suffered and they sacrificed.
The South Bend Marines did everything they were asked to do. They did it quickly and competently. And when they finished a task they asked "what's next?"
And they complained about very little.
I lost track of how many times a Marine came up to me after reading a letter from home and said, "My family told me to come over and thank you for being here."
It's happened after nearly every mail call. One day back at Camp Chesty I counted eight such visits.
Others would say "You must be getting paid a lot of money to be here." I'd shake my head and say "Just my normal pay." But every time a Marine thanked me for being here, I got a little bonus.
Bertschy recently walked up to me and said "If anyone here deserves a medal it's you. Morale is so much better because everyone at home knows what's going on and that we're safe."
I was just doing my job -- which the Marines did their best to make easy for me.
It would've been nice to stick with them until they get on that last flight back home, but there's not much that'll be going on in Kuwait. You know they're all safe and a lot of people at The Tribune have been working extra shifts to make up for my absence.
It was great being with a Marine Corps unit again. There's a saying "Once a Marine, always a Marine." Our Marines proved it by their acceptance of a stranger in their midst. Many Marines admitted to me that they don't like reporters, but they made an exception in my case. "He's OK, he used to be a Marine," they'd tell others.
As I carried my sea bags out of a tent this afternoon to head to the airport, I was mobbed by scores of Marines chanting my name and was nearly squished in a hilarious "group hug" after being thanked one more time for spending a war with them.
I also recently started receiving thank-you cards from across the country. Many more cards I'll probably never even see, but thank you all for taking the time and energy to send them.
It's very rare to be able to make a difference as a journalist. From what little I've heard about reactions to Desert Dispatch, it seems like it's worked out well for everyone -- except my wife who wasn't crazy about me being gone. She thought I'd retired from the Marine Corps five years ago! It's time to go home and make it up for some of that missed quality time -- as your Marines will be doing soon.
The Marines have asked me to meet them at the airport in South Bend and ride with them to the reserve center. Hope to see you there.
Mission Over; It is Time to Go Home
POSTWAR IRAQ: DESERT DISPATCH
By FRED DODD
CAMP SOLOMON ISLANDS, Northern Kuwait -- The South Bend Marines are all safely out of Iraq.
Their time in Kuwait will be short, followed by a quick visit to Camp Pendleton, Calif. Soon the Marines will return to South Bend and get back to their loved ones and go back to their civilian pursuits.
The main goal of Desert Dispatch was to let the community know that their Marines were safe during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their small part in the war is over. As a result, my work here is done. This is the final Desert Dispatch.
Engineer Company B is still far from home but there are several international cell phones working their way around the camp and the men will soon reach Camp Pendleton and its abundance of pay phones.
More than once during Operation Iraqi Freedom the Marines fully expected to meet enemy resistance -- especially early in the war during convoys. But thankfully the South Bend Marines never had to fire a shot. In some locations other units were fired upon the day before and the day after Engineer Company B passed through, but our Marines traveled untouched.
Commanding Officer Maj. Leon Bertschy II, 42, of Niles, thought that any of three things could've contributed to this.
"One possible reason might have been fate. Another was that maybe we looked a little harder than what the enemy wanted to take on," he said. "The third possibility was that we each got numerous letters from friends, family and strangers saying that they were praying for us. Maybe those prayers kept us from being shot up."
The South Bend Marines saw death. They saw pain and destruction. They suffered and they sacrificed.
The South Bend Marines did everything they were asked to do. They did it quickly and competently. And when they finished a task they asked "what's next?"
And they complained about very little.
I lost track of how many times a Marine came up to me after reading a letter from home and said, "My family told me to come over and thank you for being here."
It's happened after nearly every mail call. One day back at Camp Chesty I counted eight such visits.
Others would say "You must be getting paid a lot of money to be here." I'd shake my head and say "Just my normal pay." But every time a Marine thanked me for being here, I got a little bonus.
Bertschy recently walked up to me and said "If anyone here deserves a medal it's you. Morale is so much better because everyone at home knows what's going on and that we're safe."
I was just doing my job -- which the Marines did their best to make easy for me.
It would've been nice to stick with them until they get on that last flight back home, but there's not much that'll be going on in Kuwait. You know they're all safe and a lot of people at The Tribune have been working extra shifts to make up for my absence.
It was great being with a Marine Corps unit again. There's a saying "Once a Marine, always a Marine." Our Marines proved it by their acceptance of a stranger in their midst. Many Marines admitted to me that they don't like reporters, but they made an exception in my case. "He's OK, he used to be a Marine," they'd tell others.
As I carried my sea bags out of a tent this afternoon to head to the airport, I was mobbed by scores of Marines chanting my name and was nearly squished in a hilarious "group hug" after being thanked one more time for spending a war with them.
I also recently started receiving thank-you cards from across the country. Many more cards I'll probably never even see, but thank you all for taking the time and energy to send them.
It's very rare to be able to make a difference as a journalist. From what little I've heard about reactions to Desert Dispatch, it seems like it's worked out well for everyone -- except my wife who wasn't crazy about me being gone. She thought I'd retired from the Marine Corps five years ago! It's time to go home and make it up for some of that missed quality time -- as your Marines will be doing soon.
The Marines have asked me to meet them at the airport in South Bend and ride with them to the reserve center. Hope to see you there.
