Dear Dad -

We have had a pretty hard week here. Unfortunately, we have taken some tough casualties and had a setback or two with the fledgling Iraqi Security Forces. Even though these setbacks are inevitable in this kind of insurgency, the 115 degree heat and general conditions seem to make them all the more bitter at times.

One of our companies lost five killed and more wounded in a series of attacks. I am very fond of this particular company commander and his Marines. They are a special group in the community of elite people. This commander truly loves his Marines. He personally lost the gunner on his vehicle among the KIA. You are always close to your Marines, but inevitably you are closest to those on your crew or your radio operators or just those that you work closest with day in and day out. In a period of 7-8 days, this small group of men lost five of their own and several more seriously wounded. Words cannot describe the kind of hammer blow that goes through young men when their buddies are killed or evaced. It hits commanders the hardest and the better the commander the harder the blow. It hit this commander incredibly hard. There really is not much you can say to Marines at times like this. You just kind of be around them. I really am not 100% sure how, but this young captain allowed himself some short time to grieve and then was out in front of his men leading by example the very next day on both occasions. His guys are once again back on their mission and looking for ways to improve and take the fight back to the enemy. The dead Marines are never far from their minds, but they are able to get back to work by drawing closer and recommitting themselves to close whatever holes that made them vulnerable in the first place.

Earlier in the week, we were having a memorial service for another Marine that was lost in an ambush just outside of Baghdad. These services are always very moving as the Marines step out in front of the gathered masses and share their memories of the fallen. It always strikes me how heartfelt and well spoken the Marines are when they talk about their buddies. The stories are vivid and often funny and almost always heartbreaking.

There is always a picture of the Marine and out in front of the gathering is a single rifle stuck into the deck by its bayonet crowned with a helmet. The fallen Marine's dog tags hang from the rifle's handgrip and a pair of boots sit in front of the rifle. At the end of the service, each Marine in attendance marches in front of the rifle, clutches the dog tags and pays his last respect, one at a time.

The final man to speak at this service was our Regimental Commander. Again, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. Of all the commanders that I have seen, I have never seen one that has cultivated more loyalty among his Marines.

He stepped out in front of the Marines and in a very poignant way reminded them that even though their friend and fellow Marine had died at a very young age, he died selflessly, among his brothers and with his honor in tact. The CO spoke of honor briefly and reminded the Marines that it is the one gift that a man gives himself and the one character attribute that makes each man a king. The fallen Marine's buddies should feel proud that the Marine that was lost was so fondly thought of and that even in his young life he was able to give himself the gift of honor. He ended his piece by referencing a recent article in a national publication. The author had gotten himself into a number of insurgent cells from southern Iraq to Baghdad to Fallujah. The author spoke about the terrorists' commitment and motivation to continue their cause. Surprisingly, it was not religion or ideology; it was hate for American and the West. Toward the end of his article, he asked one terrorist what he would do if the Americans were driven from Iraq and went back to America. The terrorist stated after some reflection that he and his men would follow us there....

Regardless of why we came to Iraq, and how much mud will be slung in the upcoming political season, we cannot lose site of the fact that as a nation we are here and we must have the courage and conviction to see this mission through. The burden cannot be carried indefinitely by a few. In the end, our success will be determined by the conviction of the people as a whole and specifically, whether or not they are willing to show some selflessness, put their personal feelings aside and draw together.

It strikes me how short our memories are as a nation. Mike made it by our position tonight and we were wondering out loud how the people and the opinion polls would look if the law enforcement, intelligence community and military had not done such a good job over the past three years of preventing another 9/11? That is, if we would have suffered another tragedy like the one we suffered in 2001, would there be so much second guessing and hand wringing over whether or not what we are doing is right?

I watch men like our Regimental Commander and the company commander who lost his Marines this week and I realize that they do not suffer from the angst of wondering if we are doing the right thing or not. The price of continuing is horrible. The cost of losing is unthinkable.

The Iraqi Security Forces continue to be a point of frustration. As I have told you in the past, the cultural divide is massive. There is very little trust between us and it is always two steps forward, one step back. However, this week, we completed training two platoons of Special Forces soldiers that look to be potential meat eaters. We also received another 400 volunteers. Tomorrow, we will get up and work on establishing trust with these new forces, making them capable and slowly but surely continue to turn the corner. Granted it is a very wide turn but we are relentlessly working to set the conditions for success here.

Really miss "S" (Dave's wife) and the kids right now, but I know we are on the right course. Keep the faith.

Love,