Happy Thanksgiving Fallujah

Marine Staff Sgt. Brian Bland, at left, eats Thanksgiving dinner in Fallujah, Iraq, with a fellow Marine. He was killed in a helicopter crash in Jan.

Ten years ago today a group of warriors fought house to house to secure a city referred to as hell on earth, Fallujah Iraq. Considered the biggest U.S. led offensive since the legendary battle of Hue City in Vietnam, the second battle of Fallujah was the bloodiest battle of the Iraq war and the bloodiest U.S.  battle since the Vietnam war. Coalition forces suffered 107 deaths and another 613 were wounded.

These young men that fought so valiantly in Fallujah faced things that most Americans will never imagine. Over 2,000 radical Muslims were killed in the battle, and it was the first time since The Vietnam War that the American military was given the endorsement to completely destroy the enemy.  American warriors jumped from roof to roof while under heavy machine gun fire and random RPG fire. Americans fought house to house, and street to street to secure a city with a population roughly the size of Birmingham, Alabama. Servicemen were blown up, lost limbs, and some even lost their sanity.

The battle started on November 8, 2004, and while most of the major fighting was over within 10 days, Americans continued to fight isolated pockets of insurgents until Christmas Eve. Most men fighting in the battle were between the ages of 18-24. For most of these young men it was the very first time that they had ever been away from their families during the holidays. In a world where most Americans have a complete meltdown if their cell phone loses its charge, these warriors fought an enemy in a land over 6,000 miles from home not knowing if they were ever going to get the chance to speak with their loved ones again. These warriors came from small towns, they came from big cities, they were black, they were white, and they all fought for one another.

Thanksgiving dinner made its way to some of these warriors on the frontline via convoy from the bigger bases throughout Iraq. Some of the men ate with no utensils, some ate their dinner on a roof ducking and dodging sniper fire and some ate their dinner in some shithole house that they had just cleared. While they ate, I’m sure past thanksgiving memories came to mind. Memories of hunting with their dad the morning before the big meal, memories of watching football with their brothers, and memories of enjoying family around the table are probably a few of the memories that went through the minds of these great warriors. Some prayed that they would make it home alive, some prayed for their brothers that weren’t coming home alive, some thought about their wives, some thought about their kids, and some thought of their parents. They were all thankful to have something to eat other than an MRE, they were thankful to still be alive, but most of all they were thankful for the brother to their left and their right.

This Thanksgiving, on the 10^th Anniversary of the battle of Fallujah, I would like to give a well-deserved THANKS. Thank you to all the Marines and Soldiers who gave up life and limb fighting door to door. Thank you to the Navy Seals that provided sniper fire and expertise throughout the battle. Thank you to all the Airman, Marines, and Soldiers that provided air superiority throughout the battle. My deepest sympathies to all the warriors that lost a brother, to all the families that lost a son, a brother, or a dad. My deepest sympathy goes out to the warriors that couldn’t find their place in life after returning home from this battle, and were lost forever. And my deepest Thanks to all the warriors that continue to fight this battle here at home a decade later- I pray you find peace. Happy Thanksgiving!