The Few And The Brave

Michael Yon, talking about clearing roadside bombs in Iraq:

The enemy can plant huge bombs in the culverts, such as the one that blew up Superman. The entrances to the culvert were easy for the enemy to reach unobserved, and mines, bombs or other boobytraps could have been easily planted. SSG Lee could have ordered one of the Iraqis to clear the culvert, and I’m sure that an Iraqi would have done so. Many are very courageous. But SSG Lee was mentoring these men, and without hesitation, he entered the culvert himself to check it out. This was my introduction to MiTT 8.

People at home want to know what our Soldiers and Marines are doing in Iraq, and the only way to tell their story is to follow them. So deep inside the culvert, crawling on all fours, using my camera as a walking chalk (it’s pretty tough), I crawled behind SSG Lee who was using his rifle as a walking chalk. The day was hot. The body armor made it hotter.

I said, “I only met you for the first time like twenty minutes ago. What’s your name, Staff Sergeant?”

“Staff Sergeant Lee, Sir,” he answered while crawling forward.

“United States Marine Corps,” I said.

“Semper Fi,” he answered, and kept clearing the tunnel.

Helping to pave the way for a brighter future in Iraq.