Dawid Pietrek, a Polish immigrant, couldn't vote, run for public office or obtain a U.S. passport. But he signed up to serve a country that wasn't yet his, and last month he gave his life for that country.
Continue reading "Immigrant Killed in Afghanistan Granted Posthumous Citizenship" »
Family, Friends Remember Sgt. Matthew Mendoza
SAN ANTONIO -- A San Antonio Marine was laid to rest Saturday, a little more than a week after he died on patrol in Afghanistan.
Before Marine Sgt. Matthew Mendoza left for each of his three deployments to the war zone, he told his father what he wanted done if he came back in a casket.
U.S. Marine Dawid Pietrek, who gave his life for a country that was not yet his own, will be buried with military honors alongside other American heroes.
Continue reading "Fallen DuPage Marine to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery" »
A sergeant was killed in Afghanistan on Friday, bringing the number of confirmed casualties in 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, to at least seven in less than one week.
Continue reading "At least 7 deaths in one week for battalion" »
Family members of a 21-year-old U.S. Marine critically injured in Afghanistan late Thursday have talked with him as he awaits transfer to a hospital in Germany.
Continue reading "Injured soldier: I need you to be strong" »
CAMP BARBER, Afghanistan — The Marines now have a place to call their own.
Continue reading "Task Force 2⁄7 dedicates camp after MoH recipient" »
'Outgoing,' 'brave' RHS grad among 4 killed by roadside bomb
A 22-year-old Richmond Marine described by friends as "outgoing" and "brave" was killed over the weekend while serving in Afghanistan.
Dawid Pietrek was a Polish immigrant who went to war for the U.S. to help fulfill his dream of becoming a citizen and police officer.
Continue reading "Roadside bomb claimed Marine from Bensenville" »
ARGHANDAB, Afghanistan — Taliban militants destroyed bridges and planted mines in several villages they control outside southern Afghanistan's largest city in apparent preparation for battle, residents and officials said Tuesday.
Continue reading "Taliban Prepare for Battle Outside Kandahar as Thousands Flee Area" »
Corps was big dream for Polish immigrant
Dawid Pietrek was a Polish immigrant who had always wanted to join the Marines.
Continue reading "Marine from Bensenville killed in Afghanistan, Defense Department says" »
TACOMA -- Family says one of the four Marines killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan was from Tacoma.
FENTON — Michael Patton, 19, who grew up in the Fenton area and graduated from Fox High School in Arnold in 2007, was among four Marines killed by a roadside bomb on Saturday in Afghanistan, his sister said Sunday.
Continue reading "Marine from Fenton area is killed in Afghanistan" »
TACOMA, Wash. - A Tacoma family mourns a marine who was killed in Afghanistan.
Continue reading "Marine from Tacoma killed in Afghanistan" »
A Tacoma Marine was among four Americans killed Saturday in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan, his family said Sunday. Sgt. Michael T. Washington, 20, was returning from a mission when an IED exploded near their Humvee, said his father, who is also named Michael. The Department of Defense had not yet issued a news statement about the incident.
Continue reading "Tacoma Marine among four killed in Afghan blast" »
Roadside bomb kills 4 US troops training police in Afghanistan
A roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. military vehicle on Saturday, killing four Marines in western Afghanistan in the deadliest attack against U.S. troops in the country this year, officials said.
CAMP BARBER, Afghanistan - The Marine Corps' top commanders recently visited with Marines and Sailors of Task Force 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, serving here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom
U.S. NAVAL CONTRACTING CENTER, Singapore — Summer Slam 2008, a sports tournament held by the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit at the Sembawang area of Singapore, took place June 4-5 with participants from the 15th MEU, PHIBRON 3 and crew of USS Peleliu (LHA 5).
Continue reading "15TH MEU Summer Slam 2008: 'A success' in Singapore" »
Police Trainers Focus on Afghan People, Not Taliban, Official Says
WASHINGTON, June 6, 2008 - The Marine battalion tasked with training Afghan police members focuses more on helping Afghan people prosper than on defeating the Taliban, a military official involved in the training effort said today.
Continue reading "2/7 Marines Battalion Commander Participates in VSO" »
CAMP BARBER, Afghanistan — The Marines now have a place to call their own.
Continue reading "Task Force 2/7 dedicates camp after MoH recipient" »
AT-TAQADDUM, Iraq — Chasing a lifelong dream for a career in professional baseball … It’s a story as distinctly American as apple pie.
Continue reading "Deployed Marine holds onto ‘Big League’ dream" »
STRAIT OF BALABAC, Philippines (NNS) -- Six local mariners from the Philippines were rescued from a sinking vessel May 30 by U.S. Navy personnel as ships from the Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group (PELESG) transited the Strait of Balabac.
Continue reading "Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group Rescues Six Mariners from Sinking Vessel" »
Thousands of Marines and sailors with the Tarawa Expeditionary Strike Group will return home to San Diego on June 3 following a seven-month deployment, Navy officials said Thursday.
Continue reading "Tarawa, 11th MEU to return to San Diego" »
COUPLEVILLE, Wash. — After they received the hard news of their daughter’s death in Iraq in December 2006, Mike and Re McClung cloaked themselves in solitude, declining requests for interviews.
Continue reading "Legacy of female major killed in Iraq grows" »
WASHINGTON, May 27, 2008 – When Army Col. Thomas J. McGrath arrived in Kandahar, Afghanistan, last year as the commander of the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command, he stopped in on a police checkpoint.
Continue reading "Afghan Police Transform Into Professional, Equipped Force" »
BASRA, Iraq — A detachment of Marines from al-Anbar province moved their operations south to Iraq’s third largest city.
Continue reading "Logistics element in Basra supporting transition teams" »
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Three U.S. Navy ships are sailing toward Myanmar, ready to deliver aid to cyclone victims if the country's military rulers allow it, a top American commander said Monday.
Continue reading "US Navy ships move closer to Myanmar, ready to help if asked: commander" »
The Marines and sailors of 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion gathered with friends and family at the Combat Center’s Sunset Cinema Thursday to honor their fallen comrade Lance Cpl. Drew W. Weaver, who was killed in action Feb. 21 in Iraq.
HOBART'S population swelled yesterday as the crew of USS Tarawa took to the streets in what is expected to be a bumper three days for retailers and tourism operators.
The 250m-long amphibious assault ship sailed proudly up the Derwent about 8am yesterday as the city turned on a perfect autumn morning.
LAEM CHABANG, Thailand – Returning home from an extended deployment to the Fifth Fleet area of responsibility USS Germantown (LSD 42) conducted a port visit in Laem Chabang, Thailand.
Continue reading "USS Germantown Visits Laem Chabang, Thailand" »
THE visit of US warship USS Tarawa will pump more than $6 million into the local economy, the US Government says.
The 250m amphibious assault ship will bring 3000 sailors and marines to Hobart tomorrow morning.
HOBART is preparing to cash in on the economic bonanza of a visiting US Navy ship with 3000 crew.
A US Government official last night confirmed the lead ship of the US Navy's first-class amphibious assault fleet USS Tarawa would arrive this weekend.
FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan — The Marines of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division have made immediate progress with Afghans here despite arriving in Afghanistan just weeks ago.
Continue reading "2/7 conducts first combat patrol in support of OEF" »
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Navy ships, including an amphibious assault ship with helicopters and US marines, are standing by off Thailand awaiting permission to join relief efforts in cyclone-hit Myanmar, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Continue reading "US ships standing by for Myanmar relief: Pentagon" »
On Sunday, 5,500 sailors and Marines left San Diego on a six-ship convoy, though no one would say where they were headed, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Continue reading "Newspaper reports military mum on destination of 6-ship convoy" »
SAN DIEGO — Six ships carrying 2,200 Marines and more than 3,000 sailors left San Diego Naval Base on Sunday for a scheduled six-month deployment to the Western Pacific.
Continue reading "15th MEU, Peleliu sail to Western Pacific" »
Three US sailors on a stopover in Perth on board the US navy ship USS Tarawa have been attacked and robbed in Perth’s CBD.
SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- USS Peleliu (LHA 5) deployed May 4 in support of the war on terrorism as part of the Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group's (PELESG) regular deployment rotation.
PERTH, Australia (May 3, 2008)— Marines and Sailors from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Tarawa Expeditionary Strike Group donated their time and energy to clean up the natural habitat for Australian wildlife at Cohunu Koala Park May 3 during a port visit here.
Continue reading "Tarawa Marines, Sailors help preserve Australian wild life park" »
More than 3000 US Navy personnel are expected to inject millions of dollars into the local economy after arriving in Fremantle yesterday.
The USS Tarawa docked in Fremantle with more than 3000 US marines and sailors making Perth home for the weekend.
Continue reading "USS Tarawa docks, 3000 US sailors in Perth" »
Sgt. Merlin German had been struggling with burn wounds covering more than 97 percent of his body for nearly two years when he made a decision: painful or not, he was going to don his dress blues and whisk his mother away for a dance during a hospital ball.
Continue reading "Marine burned on 97 percent of body dies" »
Friends and family gathered over the weekend to bid farewell to the Marines and sailors of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.
OKINAWA, Japan (NNS) -- The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) arrived in Okinawa, April 27, to embark Sailors and Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), for their annual Spring Patrol throughout East and Southeast Asia.
Between a sandstorm and mortar fire, Oklahoma country music star Toby Keith's latest United Service Organizations trip to U.S. war zones is turning into his most harrowing.
Continue reading "Amid attack in Kandahar, Toby Keith doesn't miss a beat" »
Several hundred U.S. Marines engaged in a dramatic firefight Tuesday with an army of rebels in a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan.
The battle against insurgents came during the first large-scale American operation in the area in years.
HIT, Iraq —
HIT, Iraq — Corpsmen know they are responsible for keeping Marines in the fight. The corpsmen in 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, relish the idea of being depended on.
Apr. 26--KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Diverted at the last minute from its planned deployment to Iraq, a battalion of Marines has arrived here to take up a critical mission: training Afghan police to hold the line against Taliban insurgents.
CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, OKINAWA, Japan — Combat veterans with Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, conducted military operations on urbanized terrain training in Combat Town April 15 to share lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan with the unit’s junior Marines.
FALLUJAH, Iraq – Entry control points (ECP) throughout Fallujah are designed to protect the city from harm and prevent people from transporting illegal contraband such as weapons and explosive materials. Coalition forces discovered the enemy exploiting the cultural sensitivity precluding the search of females by having females carry contraband into the city.
Continue reading "Sisters of Fallujah break barriers, build security" »
ABOARD USS TARAWA (April 22, 2008) – Marines from every section of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 166 (Reinforced), pitched in to keep their aircraft looking good during an agricultural wash down in the Arabian Gulf. The cleaning, or “De-snailing,” as aviation combat crews call it, is done to cleanse the entire aircraft of any foreign matter that has been collected over the last several months.
Continue reading "Marines clean helos that have flown in every clime, place" »
A lot has changed for the parents of the late Cpl. Jason Dunham since he died in 2004, after saving two other Marines by throwing himself on an insurgent’s grenade in Karabilah, Iraq.
Continue reading "Construction begins on USS Jason Dunham" »
KUWAIT - The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted an agricultural wash-down and inspection of its vehicles and equipment in Kuwait, April 11-14.
USS PELELIU, At Sea - Sailors aboard USS Peleliu (LHA 5) and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted a Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) exercise, April 14, in preparation for an upcoming combined deployment.