Business Insider has an article about a speech given by General John Kelly about two Marines who died defending their post against a suicide truck bomb. You really need to read the whole thing. Here’s an excerpt:
They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America’s exist simultaneously depending on one’s race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.
The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like: “Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass.†“You clear?†I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: “Yes Sergeant,†with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, “No kidding sweetheart, we know what we’re doing.†They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq.
A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way—perhaps 60-70 yards in length—and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck’s engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped.
These two Marines didn’t hesitate, but engaged the target threatening their brother Marines.
H/t Miguel
