1st Anniversary of 1st visit by Gold Star Dad to site where USMC 2Lt J.T. Wroblewski KIA Iraq 6 April 2004

As the first anniversary of my and John Wroblewski's journey to Iraq approaches, I will be posting unedited video shot on 6 Mar 2008 of our historic visit on 6 Mar 2008 to the actual site where his son, USMC 2Lt J.T. Wroblewski, ten other US Marines, and a Navy Corpsman were killed in a Ramadi ambush on 6 April 2004. This video (shot by USMC Combat Cameraman Cpl Angel) was used along with my images for a 2008 Memorial Day special by Fox News on 26 May 2008.

I was honored to escort John Wroblewski as he made a 2nd attempt to travel to Iraq to perform a memorial service at the site where his son, J.T. and the other 11 men were KIA. Unfortunately, our first visit in January 2007 with Martha Zoller was unsuccessful, but this time we made it. My eternal thanks to the fine men and women of the U.S. military for working with us to make the journey possible. I was honored to have been a part of this historic 1st visit by any Gold Star parent to any site in Iraq where their son or daughter was killed. I felt we tried to honor the terrible sacrifices paid by the 12 men who were killed in that alley on 6 April 2004.

The names of the fallen are as follows: LCPL Benjamin Carman, LCPL Marcus Cherry, PFC Christopher Cobb, LCPL Kyle Crowley, PFC Deryk Hallal, PFC Ryan Jerabek, PFC Moises Langhorst, LCPL Travis Layfield, HM3 Fernandez Mendez, LCPL Anthony Roberts, SSGT Allan Walker, and 2nd Lt John Thomas Wroblewski.

My heart is also heavy with the realization that 6 April is only a month away - a date on which 12 brave men died together during a well planned ambush in 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq. This date will be one of sadness for those families that have lost sons, fathers and brothers. But 6 April should also be a day of remembrance of their noble sacrifice, as they selflessly laid down their lives while they fought alongside their Marine and Navy brothers. These men were also doing the job for which they volunteered, a job that most of them loved, proudly serving their country, the United States Marine Corps and U.S. Navy.

Our successes in Iraq were bought and paid for with the blood of our sons and daughters. We must never forget their sacrifices! Please remember them as they fought and died for all of us. Rest in peace brave warriors. Semper Fidelis!

Does the Israel - Gaza conflict affect security in the Mideast or Iraq?

Currently, Palestinian militants are launching homemade and Iranian manufactured unguided rockets into Israeli civilian areas on an ongoing basis. Meanwhile, Israel is responding to these terror attacks through intelligence research, and has since surveyed and attacked Palestinian CNC (command and control sites), weapons caches, smuggling tunnels, rocket/mortar launch sites, and clandestine activities to load-fire-conceal these rockets. Generally speaking, I believe that Israel has previously restricted their responsive attacks to the particular locations where the rockets or munitions are located or have been used as launch sites.

Please note that in spite of the Israeli turnover of Gaza to the Palestinians, Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks have continued, and are likely to increase. Complaints about "precisely targeted" Israeli air strikes ring hollow when compared with the the many unrestricted attacks that Israel and it's citizens have experienced during the seven years of Palestinian missile launches into Israel. Since 2001, Palestinian militants in Gaza have launched over 10,000 unguided missiles from the Gaza Strip into Israel! Yet, our Israeli allies are criticized when they defend themselves. This is an inexcusable double standard from the liberal apologists and radical Islamic jihadists. Even the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for restraint and a cessation of Palestinian rockets attacks! Gaza has got to be at fault if a Clinton chastises them!

My primary concern is Iran's (clandestine) support of Hamas in Gaza during this conflict. Iran is continuing to supply weapons, technology, training, and support for the Palestinian "rocket men" in spite of calls from Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria to end Palestinian attacks against non-specific Israeli targets inside Israel.

As I have reported previously during my Iraq embeds, Iran is desperately seeking to exert influence in the Mideast to increase their prestige among the Arab nations. Iran has spent huge amounts of money supplying EFP's (explosive formed penetrating devices), weapons, and Quod's training to "Al Qaeda in Iraq" insurgents during the last 5 years. Iran's radical Islamist leadership seems to be supporting Ahmadenijad's "bully" tactics to date.

U.S. Troops Return Fallujah facilities to Iraqis

It was great to see that the USMC is pulling Marines and equipment out of Camp Fallujah this week. I watched Fox News video today of the dismantling of this huge military industrial installation. Since John Wroblewski and I spent some time there during our February - March 2008 embed with the USMC, it was very surreal (but also inspirational!) to see once familiar landmarks/buildings/barriers being torn down in conjunction with the withdrawal of all of our troops from this (formerly) huge complex. Now the Iraqis will have full control over their destiny within the city formerly known as the headquarters of AQ's insurgency.

I had heard about the possibility of this turnover of Iraqi territory to Iraqi Army/Police control while I was in Iraq in early 2008. It is inspiring to see the installation being turned over to the Iraqis, announced by Major General John Kelly (MNFI-W CMDR) during a press conference today. Some of you may remember that Maj Gen Kelly personally escorted John and I (along with PSD CO) to the ambush site in Ramadi on 6 Mar 2008 where John's son, 2nd Lt. J.T. Wroblewski, along with ten other Marines and a Navy Corpsman were killed in action on 6 April 2004. The memorial service conducted by John Wroblewski and Major General Kelly was aired on Fox News by Jennifer Griffin of Fox News on Memorial Day, 26 May 2008.

USMC Maj Gen Kelly heard about the "mission" that I had planned through my (outstanding!) Public Affairs Officers Major Peters, USMC Msgt Ellerbrock, and enabled us to complete this historic first visit to the actual site in Iraq by a Gold Star parent to honor the sacrifice made by their child in their service to the U.S.A.

I applaud the USMC 2-8, USMC 3-1, USMC RCT1 units; USMC Maj General John Kelly, USMC Ltc Bargeron, USMC Maj Peters, USMC Cpt Martin, USMC Lt T. Vickers, USMC Msgt Ellerbrock, USMC Ssgt Forsythe, USMC Ssgt Cazee, and USMC Cpl Angel (USMC Combat videographer who videotaped the 6 Mar 2008 memorial service in Ramadi to honor these fallen heroes), along with the U.S. Army's 3rd ID PAO staff (Cpt Signori, Cpt Richardson, Ssgt DeMaio, Ssgt Kimber, Ssgt Moriarity, Ssgt B. Taylor IV (thanks for the sunglasses as they were a lifesaver!), Ssgt R. Spencer, Sgt E. Burmeister, Ssgt D. Veitch. The list goes on...and I know I have omitted some key personnel, but I WILL thank everyone publicly via this forum or a publication soon. I have NOT forgotten your hospitality, professionalism, and assistance!

Without EACH of these men and women (and MANY others during the mission phases) that performed their jobs flawlessly along with a smile on their face, John and I would have failed in our 2nd attempt to get to Ramadi. Thank you again, men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces! Your sacrifices and patriotism are my inspiration and motivation!

Iraq 2007 photos - John Wroblewski, Martha Zoller, Greg Janney

Due to many requests, I have included a selection of photographs from my first embed assignment in Iraq with Martha Zoller, Gold Star father John Wroblewski, and LTC R. Quinn. (This is only a small sample, and I'll get more photos posted soon.)

Welcome guest blogger, Leslie McDonald, wife of a Marine "over there."

Hello again friends, families and supporters of our deployed troops.

I'd like to introduce a new "guest" blogger, Leslie McDonald, who is the wife of a U.S. Marine NCO, currently stationed "over there", serving our country in his second deployment.

I've known Mrs. McDonald for about a year now, and she is articulate, and well-informed. She offers a unique perspective on not only what it is like to be the wife of a deployed Marine, but is also a lifetime supporter of our volunteer military forces. Leslie will detail all the freedoms (and responsibilities) that U.S. citizenship and military service convey, along with views from the "home front".

I have many updates to post as well, and look forward to your feedback about both my and Leslie's posts. I've never been the wife of a deployed Marine (and never will be!), so Leslie will offer readers a unique view into the challenges and blessings of being both a Marine wife and an avid supporter of our deployed troops.

Memorial Day - FOX News 6 p.m. airs our Ramadi Memorial Service

I am honored to announce that tonight at 6:00 p.m., FOX News will broadcast the story of my and John Wroblewski's visit to Ar Ramadi, Iraq on 6 Mar 2008 to perform a memorial service for John's son, USMC 2nd Lt. J.T. Wroblewski and the eleven other men who were KIA at that spot on 6 Apr 2004. This national broadcast is the culmination of 15 months of my efforts to assist John in visiting the site to honor these men who bravely laid down their lives in the performance of their duties.

This historic first visit by a Gold Star parent to the exact site in Iraq where their son or daughter was killed was our way to symbolically honor not only J.T. and the fallen of the 2-4 Marines, but all the service members that have selflessly made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. I am especially thankful to Fox News for airing this story on Memorial Day to honor these heroes.

Our 16 day embed was the culmination of a 15 month odyssey that began with an embed organized and led by radio personality Martha Zoller (The Martha Zoller Show; WDUN 550AM; www.marthazoller.com) in January 2007. Martha had met John Wroblewski in 2005 during a trip to Crawford, TX at a counter-protest to Cindy Sheehan's anti-war demonstration. Martha came up with the idea to get John to the exact site in Ramadi where J.T. and eleven others were KIA on 6 Apr 2004.

Martha asked me to accompany her on the January 2007 embed to document the trip. Along with LTC Robert Quinn, Martha, John, and I departed Atlanta on 12 January 2007. Unfortunately, due to the tenuous security situation in Ramadi at that time, as well as the increased demands on DOD resources because of the incoming troop surge, we were unable to make it to Ramadi. During this trip, I got to know John Wroblewski, and through him, his son J.T. I was touched by the dedication of John to his son, and to the other fallen heroes and their families. On 19 Jan, during the flight back to Atlanta, I made a promise to John that if I ever got another chance to return to Iraq, I would bring him with me and get him to Ramadi so we could complete the important story that Martha Zoller envisioned - honoring J.T. and the other 11 men.

On 16 January 2008, after a year of planning and fundraising, my embed request in Ramadi was approved for John and I to return. We departed Atlanta on 27 February, and arrived in Baghdad's International Zone four long days later on 1 March. I spent these four days conducting interviews with the soldiers, Marines, and Airmen we encountered in our journey. After our arrival at CPIC, I immediately went to work on another story I was writing about the religious genocide of Iraq's native Christian population, conducting an interview with the Anglican Church's representative, Canon Andrew White to document the plight of Iraq's Christians. The next day, John and I boarded a CH-47 for our flight into Fallujah.

With help from my PAO, USMC Msgt. Ellerbrock, and a personal escort by USMC Major General Kelly and PSD Company of the 2-8 Marines, we arrived at the site in east Ramadi on 6 Mar 2008, three years and eleven months to the day after the ambush took place. In a solemn ceremony in that narrow alley lined by cinder block walls, John Wroblewski read the names of the twelve fallen men. "LCPL Benjamin Carman, LCPL Marcus Cherry, PFC Christopher Cobb, LCPL Kyle Crowley, PFC Deryk Hallal, PFC Ryan Jerabek, PFC Moises Langhorst, LCPL Travis Layfield, HM3 Fernandez Mendez, LCPL Anthony Roberts, SSGT Allan Waker, and my hero, 2nd Lt John Thomas Wroblewski."

John then asked for a moment of silence to honor these unforgotten heroes. We bowed our heads together, and I offered a prayer for John and his family, the fallen men and their families who had given everything to our country, and for the continued safety of the Marines that surrounded us. Afterward, John asked the Marines to offer a loud "Hoorah!" in honor of the memory of these men. Their emotional cheer rang throughout the alley, echoing off the walls of the houses behind the cinder block walls, finally fading away into the palm groves that surrounded us. In a voice cracking with emotion, John thanked Major General Kelly and our Marine escorts for their assistance in fulfilling his dream of visiting this now hallowed spot. Some of the Marines visibly struggled to control their own emotions, yet never relaxed their vigilance in their goal to provide security for the ceremony.

I truly felt J.T.'s presence there with us that day, especially when I observed the following - As John knelt to collect a handful of soil to bring home with him, the red T-shirt with J.T.'s name that John had hung on the wall above him "flew" off the wall, landing at John's feet. This incredible "coincidence" is even more amazing in light of the fact that I felt no gust of wind at that moment! I have posted a photograph of the shirt as it "flew" over John, and another as it landed at his feet to show you what I saw. Someone once told me that "coincidence" is God's way of saying, "Hello!" Was J.T. there with us that day? I prefer to believe that he was, and I know he was proud of his father for coming all this way to honor him.

Please remember to honor all the veterans on this very special Memorial Day. Never forget that their hard work and blood have paid for the liberty and freedoms we all enjoy here in the United States of America.

For a complete selection of images from this memorial service in Ramadi, please visit my 7 March 2008 post.

Wow! Moqtada's Saved the Day!

After the recent flare-up in violence in the Shiia majority areas of Basra and Sadr City in Baghdad, Moqtada Sadr (the self-proclaimed Mullah of Iraq's Shiia majority) ONLY took eleven days to announce to the world that the recent Shiia attacks on coalition forces were a mistake by rival Shiia insurgents designed to discredit his authority.

Strangely enough, even though these were "rogue Shiia militias," the attacks against coalition forces stopped almost immediately. Hmmm - what a coincidence. These groups are "not under his control", but violence stopped as soon as he issued his proclamation. Amazing!

I told you in my 7 May blog post that the recent Shiia violence was only a way for Sadr to flex his political "muscle." I think I've proven my point beyond a shadow of a doubt. If these groups were not under his control, then why did their attacks cease as soon as he issued his proclamation?

Coincidence? Hardly...