News you don't hear...

[Owen]

We do not hear any of this sort of news anymore, I wonder what kind of free press we still have? Pray for our Republic and its defenders!

Outnumbered 8-1: 'A good day for the Corps'

By Peter Bronson

 

 

"Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our humvees was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast." That's not from an episode of The Unit or 24. It's not from an anti-war movie.

It's not from any newspaper or TV news reports I could find.

The quote comes from a "designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified." He was reporting what happened recently in the city of Shewan, Afghanistan. The story was told in a Marine Corps News report by Cpl. James M. Mercure. It will give you goose bumps and make you want to stand up and

salute the nearest flag. Here's more, because it's a lot better than anything I could write today:

 

 

"The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat," the marksman said. Mercure reported, "Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task

Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines' deployment here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, because it controls an important supply route into the Bala Baluk district. Opening the route was key to continuing combat operations in the area."

"The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought

house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.

 

 

'"The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they're given the opportunity to fight,'" the sniper said. '"A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong."'

"During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn't miss any shots, despite the enemies' rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position." '"I was in my own little world,"' the young corporal said. '"I wasn't even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position,

because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target."'

 

"After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed forward and broke the enemies' spirit as many of them dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more.

 

'"I didn't realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies' lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us,"' the corporal said. '"It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured."'

 

 

Such an amazing story of heroism and victory would have been on Page One in every paper in the country during World War II. Just 30 Marines giving eight hours of hell to 250 insurgents is the kind of story that would make a good movie - if that kind of movie still could be made. But these days, it did not even make Page 10. I couldn't find a story about it anywhere. The

only mentions were on conservative blogs and military Web sites. The soldiers who are fighting for their lives and our country might as well be in another dimension. News from the battlefronts in Iraq and Afghanistan is apparently not important.

It reminds the jaded anti-war crowd that they were wrong. We're winning.

It reminds a self-centered nation that some Americans are making sacrifices much bigger than a loss in their 401(k)s. So we don't hear about it.

[RandyR]

salute

[Bob Myers]

I loved that report. There once was a "secret reporter" doing some day to day blogging on a off road site i frequented, he stopped posting, no one ever found out why.

Even if no one cares to read you can email them to me, thanks for that post

[Aussie Annie]

Thank you for that, as a proud Aussie who supports our men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan too, I salute both our nations soldiers--keep posting 'cause I'll always read them

[saddlebum]

In some ways I agree, but all too often news reporters give away too much information which tends to be harmful to our our troops. As cruel as this may sound the media can often be our troops worst enemy. having said that I do wish to forward my deepest respect for the 30 MARINES that kicked butt.

[Guest seuadr]

more than anything.. it's not nearly as interesting as 10 hours of live coverage of the outside of the hospital where michael jackson died on CNN!

 

i mean FFS.. he's dead now MOVE ON.

 

this is news! these guys deserve a little recognition! they don't see themselves as heros, if they are anything like any of the marines i know, but kids need people they can look up to. These are the kind of guys that i would want my kids to be like. Commit to something and stick with it.

 

the major news networks have moved from reporting impartial news to the nation to pushing their opinions on the mindless masses.When they do cover a "story" it's 5+ hours of footage of a house or a building and restating 30 seconds of fact over and over for the whole time.

 

it's sad. we need more kronkites and kopples.

 

i have to listen to NPR to get unbiased national and international news.

[davecb]

Yup, it's beginning to sound like a 2nd Vietnam......The news media doesn't give a %$#@ about over there, cause Michael , the weirdo, Jackson died. Thats top news...Not our soldiers dieing or fighting for there lives to keep these aholes alive and rich....

[Snarley Bill]

i watch fox news. it's all we got left. thats sad.

[Sailor]

Don't forget, the job of the media is not to report the news, or facts. The job of the media is to make money for the owners. It is sad that the death of Jackson sells more advertising space than the story about the marines. The media will always go with the money.

[royalstarjac]

Don't forget, the job of the media is not to report the news, or facts. The job of the media is to make money for the owners. It is sad that the death of Jackson sells more advertising space than the story about the marines. The media will always go with the money.

 

I wish that was true but it's not. The New York Times is losing money. CNN and MSNBC, ABC and CBS are all tanking. Fox is kicking their butts. If it was about the money they would change to a more balanced reporting.

 

They don't because it's all about the ideology, not money. I'll stop there before this turns into a political thread and gets shut down.

[Squidley]

Semper Fi.....Thats all

[barend]

 

it's sad. we need more kronkites and kopples.

 

i have to listen to NPR to get unbiased national and international news.

I must be missing something here! Wonder what that could be???

My stepson just came back from Afghanistan, his perspective is interesting in that from his viewpoint the locals don't give a sh*t, the kids spit at our men and in one instance they were even stoned. Our g'vment is paying farmers for damage done to their lands by our operations and in case you forgot they grow poppies and hash. He did state that they were the first ones there and hoped that things would get easier for subsequent units.

 

I have a lot of respect for these guys, at that age I wasn't willing to stick my neck out for some foreign conflict (which in fairness was a volunteer UN mission - '79 Lebanon). Still think it might have been easier to just nuke the place and be done with it

[Eddie Fulmer]

One thing, In WWII the news was delayed by several days, weeks or evenmonths. This made it possible to report without the danger of giving our troops position away or a number of other things. I think the camera's for the most part have kept our guys from doing their job. There is always a camera there. Let's face it war is ugly!! The average American just doesn't get it anymore. Our military is designed to tear things up and kill people. If we leave them alone they couuld do a much better job!! Sorry for getting carried away.

[Sailor]

Just about all the media are in trouble financially including here in Canada. I have found Fox to be one of the more sensationalist and least reliable of the media, but that is just my opinion after catching some of their broadcasts.