Bryan Strawser

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Blackfive: Taking Chance Home

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Blackfive posts a letter from Marine LTC Strobl outlining his experiences and emotions at escorting the body of Marine LCPL Chance Phelps to his home in Dubois, Wyoming.


From Dover to Philadelphia; Philadelphia to Minneapolis; Minneapolis to Billings; Billings to Riverton; and Riverton to Dubois we had been together. Now, as I watched them carry him the final 15 yards, I was choking up. I felt that, as long as he was still moving, he was somehow still alive.

Then they put him down above his grave. He had stopped moving.

Although my mission had been officially complete once I turned him over to the funeral director at the Billings airport, it was his placement at his grave that really concluded it in my mind. Now, he was home to stay and I suddenly felt at once sad, relieved, and useless.

Jordan Disrupts Major Al-Qaeda Plot

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CNN is reporting that a major al Qaeda plot has been disrupted in Jordan:

Jordanian authorities said Monday they have broken up an alleged al Qaeda plot that would have unleashed a deadly cloud of chemicals in the heart of Jordan’s capital, Amman.

The plot would have been more deadly than anything al Qaeda has done before, including the September 11 attacks, according to the Jordanian government.

Among the alleged targets were the U.S. Embassy, the Jordanian prime minister’s office and the headquarters of Jordanian intelligence.

The threat is real – and growing.

John Howard has Cajones

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CNN reports on Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s trip to Baghdad, Iraq – for ANZAC Day, the Australian equivalent of our Memorial Day:

Howard later told reporters it was “the most moving ANZAC Day dawn service” in many respects, and the first with gunfire in the background.

When asked his reaction to the sound of gunfire, he said, “Well, you just get on with what you are doing, don’t you, that’s the Australian way.”

Sgt Hook: Taps

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Sgt. Hook writes:


We landed at one of the Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) yesterday to drop off supplies and pick up some equipment, a somewhat routine mission for us. The crew suddenly became very solemn when we noticed a ceremony being conducted about 30-meters away. A KIA ceremony.

The flag draped coffin was placed in the position of honor in front of a formation of Soldiers while a chaplain said a few words. We were all humbled and reminded of our own immortality and that everyday out here, we are in harm’s way.

As taps played we rendered our salute to the fallen Soldier, hero, who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. News of the firefight resulting in one dead and two wounded a couple of days ago had reached us. We had no idea it was Pat Tillman. Tillman turned down a big fat NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to become an Army Ranger shortly after 9/11.

Sgt Tillman is a hero not because he walked away from the Cardinals, but because of where he walked to. He like all the rest of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coastguardsmen volunteered to put himself between the bad guys and our way of life and fight for its preservation. Rest In Peace Sgt Tillman, your service to our nation is an inspiration and you will not be forgotten.

RIP, Pat Tillman. You’ll be in my thoughts tonight.

Pat Tillman killed in Afghanistan

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Citizen Smash writes:

PAT TILLMAN didn’t have to join the Army. He didn’t have to volunteer to become a Ranger. He didn’t have to go to Afghanistan and fight terrorists.

He did it anyway.

On July 12, 2002, Peggy Noonan wrote about Tillman in the Wall Street Journal:

Maybe he was thinking Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Maybe it was visceral, not so much thought as felt, and acted upon. We don’t know because he won’t say, at least not in public. Which is itself unusual. Silence is the refuge of celebrities caught in scandal, not the usual response of those caught red-handed doing good.

All we know is that 25-year-old Pat Tillman, a rising pro football player (224 tackles in 2000 as a defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, a team record) came back from his honeymoon seven weeks ago and told his coaches he would turn down a three-year, $3.6 million contract and instead join the U.S. Army. For a pay cut of roughly $3.54 million dollars over three years.

US Army Ranger Pat Tillman was killed in an ambush yesterday in Afghanistan. He was 27 years old.

Chief Warrant Officer Chris Campbell

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I went to high school and met a great guy named Chris Campbell. We were very close friends, even fighting once over the same girl, and nearly losing our friendship. But life perseveres.

Tonight, for some reason, I wondered what had become of him. Because, as is so often the case, we lose track of our friend after high school. I knew Chris had joined the US Marines and had gotten married, but other than that, I had no idea where he was.

A good google search led me to this news article from Navy News:

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Campbell was wounded in the arm by shrapnel during a battle at Nasiriyah, Iraq, March 26. He was treated in Kuwait before being transferred to Fleet Hospital (FH) 8 in Rota April 5.

Before leaving Kuwait, Campbell was awarded the Purple Heart by Marine Lt. Gen. E.B. Haliston, commander, U.S. Marine Corps Pacific. The Purple Heart is awarded to any member of the U.S. Armed Forces killed or wounded in an armed conflict.

Sure looks like Chris in that picture. And I had no idea he was in harm’s way.

Semper Fi, Chris