The 1544th
30-11-2004, 23:18
Dedicated to all of the 1544th.
Authors Note:
Since this is NOT a true story, some units and characters are NOT real.
Intro
It was September 19, 2007 when Iraq sent a threat to Cuba. The threat was that Cuba had to make all the U.S. Military Personal release all of the prisoners held in the prison, or Iraq was going to nuke Cuba.
Cuba, having three years before that losing Fidel Castro to Iraqi forces, refused Iraqi requests. The new president, Rico Jimenez, came out on September 23, 2007 to tell the Iraqi government that Cuba refused to make the United States release all the prisoners held in Cuba.
Then, on September 25, 2007 President George W. Bush declared war on Iraq. That’s when I come into the picture.
I enlisted with the 1544th Transportation Company just one month before all of this started. I still remember the day that we got told that we had to deploy like it was yesterday.
I walked into drill on Friday, September 25, 2007. I looked around and noticed something strange. Everyone was just sitting around like they were really depressed. I sat down at a table by my cousins, Specialist Brian Duvall, and Specialist Tyler Heleine. Then our commander, Staff Sergeant Frank Johnson came into the room.
“If everyone hasn’t heard the news, then listen up. As the commander of the 1544th Transportation Company, I am the one that has to tell everyone the sad news. We are going to war in Iraq!”
About that time it hit me hard. I was just told that I had to leave my home, family, and everything else behind. I was just thinking about how hard my girlfriend would take it.
All I did was look at my cousins and they weren’t really happy about it either, but that’s our job, and we weren’t really complaining.
Chapter 1:1
October 1, 2007 we headed for Iraq. We were scheduled to land at our base in Karbala, Iraq by early the next morning. We went from Paris, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri by bus, and then we loaded into an airplane at the St. Louis International Airport. That was after we said goodbye to our families.
Then from St. Louis we went to Indianapolis, Indiana. We had 5 minutes before our plane left for Virginia. I found the nearest pay phone and called my wife. I told her where I was and that I was okay. Then I had to go.
We loaded back on the plane and headed towards Virginia. We had to make an emergency landing in Ohio. Our plane lost an engine and we were losing altitude fast. Luckily, we were in a town with an airport. At, 17:00 we finally made it to Virginia.
At 03:00 on October 2, 2007 we made it to Kuwait City. I was glad to be off of the plane.
We had a little briefing before we headed out to Iraq. It was just about the first mission we had to do. I was pumped and so were the rest of my comrades in the 1544th.
We took a Chinook Helicopter to our base, which I already said was located in Karbala, Iraq. It was a bigger base then I imagined, but I was sure we wouldn’t be there that much.
When our Helicopter landed we were taken by surprise. Out of nowhere a group of about twenty-five militants attacked us. The gunfight only lasted five minutes.
That was the first thrill of my life!
Chapter 1:2
We finally were able to go into the base fifteen minutes AFTER the gunfight. We had to make sure everyone was okay. I’m glad we did, because I would’ve never known a bullet grazed me on my left leg, just below my kneecap. I got it wrapped up and went back to work.
We were able to take a little nap before we entered another gunfight. Thirteen Iraqi Insurgents started firing at us from a pickup. My cousin Brian fired the bazooka and that’s the last time we heard from those militants.
At 13:00 we headed to Mosul to help the 1st Calvary Division of the U.S. Marine Corps take the city. By the time we got there, Fifty Insurgents were dead, along with two Marines.
We started into the fight about 14:35 and we didn’t stop till 1:09 the next morning. Thirty more Insurgents were dead, along with three more Marines. My cousin Tyler was shot in the leg and had to be AirEvaced to Kuwait City.
When we were packing up and getting ready to move out we heard more gunfire up ahead. I looked at Brian, and he looked back at me. We were both puzzled.
“I thought we got everyone here?” asked Brian
“I guess not!” answered Staff Sergeant Johnson.
Then we were ordered to move towards the direction of the gunshots. We left the Marines behind, mainly because they had began the first fight we were in. We got closer and closer to the gunshots. We finally found out what they were.
They were gunshots from a Marine Division clearing out a building that Iraqi Insurgents were hiding in. They didn’t know that any U.S. units were in the town. NOW THEY DO!
They backed off when we got there, and my Staff Sergeant ordered Brian and I to pick one more person and to go clear the building. So we picked Specialist Charles Lamb. He was our long time friend from the town we grew up in, so we already had a good friendship going.
We went inside the building, and I had never seen so much blood in my life.
“Holy Sh**!” I yelled.
Brian and Charlie started laughing at me. I didn’t see anything funny, but evidentially they did. Anywho, we looked around in the little, tight-spaced building, but no one was around.
We went outside and shot a white flare. The white flare let all the units in the area know that Mosul was cleared.
Chapter 1:3
I was glad when we got back to base that morning. I was so tired, and so were the rest of the guys…and girls too. It was about 8:00 when we got back to Karbala, and I wanted to go to bed, but instead Brian made me lift weights with him. So, I did. For about an hour or less.
About 09:56 I actually got to sleep, and at 9:58 they woke me up. We were under fire again. By the time I got up and got my gun loaded and stuff, they had most of the Insurgents killed, the others were running away. I shot at one anyways for waking me up, and I got him in the head. That’s an once-in-a-lifetime shot. Especially, with a M16 and not a Sniper Rifle.
Just let me note though, an M16 is very powerful gun, but its not very good for long distance tangos. The sniper on our team was Specialist Jeremy Ridlen.
At 18:00 we headed back to Mosul, just to make sure that the city was still under the control of the U.S. Military. We got there, and the town was deserted. I have never seen a city that bare like that one. All the citizens ran when the 1st Calvary Division stormed in and took the Insurgents by surprised.
We were only in Mosul for maybe four minutes, if that. We only saw one Iraqi citizen, and a unit of the Army. We waved to them, and went on our way.
We then got ordered by the 4-Star General of the U.S. Army to head to Baghdad to make sure all the checkpoints were secured. Baghdad was seventy-five miles from Mosul, but we were the closest Transportation Company, and the only one not under fire. At least for now we weren’t under gunfire.
Chapter 1:4
We reached Baghdad after what seemed forever. We reached for the first checkpoint at 12:00. Marines secured the checkpoint. Tall, muscular black guys mainly filled that unit. There were maybe one or two white guys, but I can’t actually remember.
We didn’t stop at the checkpoint since we knew it was secured. Plus, they waved us on anyways. So, we headed to the next checkpoint about ten miles down the road.
We saw some strange activity halfway to the second checkpoint, but when we got there no one was there. So, we kept going. We weren’t even thinking about a roadside bomb, until it exploded.
The shrapnel hit the Humvee, and did a lot of damage to it. Sergeant Ivory Phipps had cuts to his neck. We called for a helicopter, but by the time it got there he was already dead from losing a lot of blood.
The helicopter still took his body to Kuwait City, to be put in the morgue until it was time for his body to be sent back to the United States for his funeral.
After that, we went pulled out of Baghdad and went back to base. We already had two dead and one injured in our unit. I could fell that more comrades of mine would die before this war was over.
We got back to base at 04:00, and when we got there we noticed that there was someone already there. We thought the Iraqi’s found a way in and was waiting for us so they could attack us, but it wasn’t Iraqi’s. It was my cousin Tyler. They discharged him from the hospital, and he was brought back to Karbala by a unit of Marines on their way to Iraq.
Chapter 2:1
Nothing really exciting happened for the next month. I was sent home for a visit, and I went to Sergeant Phipps’ funeral. The military made me one of the Paul Bearers, but I didn’t really want to be. I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I could, cause I couldn’t stand seeing a friend of mine laying there in a casket.
When I came back from my ten days back in the states, I was pumped up. I wanted to get the Iraqi Insurgents back for killing my friend, but I also had to protect myself along with my other comrades.
We headed into Tikrit for a mission. If you didn’t know, Tikrit is also the hometown of Saddam Hussein. That’s one reason we had to go there, the other reason was because we had to eliminate all Insurgents in that town. That’d be the third Iraqi city the United States would have taken into their control. Those cities were Mosul and Basra.
My unit didn’t have anything to do with Basra though. The 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army took Basra. That happened when I was in the states anyways, and while I was gone the 1544th really didn’t do anything.
Chapter 2:2
We took our time going to Tikrit. Especially after what happened with Sergeant Phipps and all. Us taking our time didn’t really prevent things anyways. We were involved in three different gunfights, and they weren’t that far apart of from each other. So, we figured there was something going to happen, and we were ready.
After about five hours of taking our time to reach Tikrit, we arrived! I figured the town would be a pretty big one, but it wasn’t really. It was big, but not like a MAJOR town big. It looked mainly like the town I grew up in, but only poorer.
We ditched our Humvee at the entrance of the town, and walked. That way we could sneak around and not be caught as much.
The citizens followed us around, which really didn’t help us none. It blew our cover immediately. The Insurgents would know right of the bat that we were there, because there would be no other reason Iraqi’s are following us around.
We checked fifteen building and there was no fight yet. I was hoping that the Insurgents ran, but then again I might be wrong.
Chapter 2:3
Fifteen buildings later and we still hadn’t entered gunfight with anybody. By this time though we got the Iraqi’s to stop following us, which was a little plus.
As we were walking and about to check another building a grenade blew up a few hundred feet from us. After all, I was wrong about Iraqi Insurgents running away.
We looked around to see if we could find out where the grenade was thrown from and out of the corner of Tyler’s eye he saw a guy in a black robe, the uniform of an Iraqi Insurgent, running away.
He got our attention and let us know, and the entire unit slowly ran after him. We lost him for a few seconds but then we found him, and before he could get away again I shot him down with only one shot with my M16. The Staff Sergeant praised me for my shot. I hadn’t even aimed and I still hit him right between the eyes.
Brian, wanting to make sure the Insurgent was dead, shot at him three times. He sure wasn’t getting up after that, and that was a good thing.
We kept walking whenever Brian got done shooting the guy. We cleared ten buildings with only two gunfights. Right after the last gunfight, we met up with the 130ht Infantry Division of the U.S. Army National Guard. They are from Illinois just like my unit is, and they are based out of a town not to far away from the town my unit is based out of.
“When did you get here?” I asked Specialist Joey Cole.
“Last night.” Specialist Cole answered.
I just looked at him like “OH”.
We went into the house of Saddam Hussein, while the 130th Infantry Division guarded us outside. It looked like no one had been inside for a long time, but Specialist Daniel Murphy found a covered up hole in the floor.
When Murphy and Ridlen uncovered the hole, Specialist Lamb discovered that it had been occupied not to long ago. We got there a week late.
Tyler took note of it and wrote it down, so we could give the information to Headquarters. Headquarters, by the way, is located in Kuwait City.
It didn’t take too much longer after that to clear Tikrit. Once again, the Iraqi citizens were following my unit. They weren’t that bad after all. Two Iraqi’s offered my unit some food, but we declined. We had to get back to base so we could give Headquarters the information over radio.
The radios we used, also known as CB’s (Citizen Band), were not known by the Iraqi Insurgents. The frequencies we used could not be broken. The government had made CB’s for every U.S. base in Iraq that changed frequencies fifteen times in one second.
Chapter 2:4
We got back to base and Sergeant Shawna Morrison sent the information to Headquarters. They then sent a unit of Marines to check it out. It’s not that they didn’t believe us, they just wanted to make sure that another unit could be able to say that there was a hole in the ground.
When the group of Marines acknowledged the hole, a group of Army Rangers were ordered to stand guard near there. They had soldiers standing next to it, soldiers far away with sniper rifles, and they had soldiers going down into the hole to see if there was a route out underground or if the only way to get out was to climb out of the hole.
Indeed, the only way to get out was to climb out. Which means, that someone had to see Saddam leave and go somewhere else. Unless, Saddam had changed in appearance.
Staff Sergeant Johnson ordered us to ask citizens if they saw anyone come out of that house last week, but no one did. I tried to get it through his head that it was a waste of time, but I’m always wrong when it comes to him.
Chapter 3:1
After that, we had two days off, and then we were back to work. During our break I only talked to my girlfriend for about ten minutes, and it killed me in the long run. Anyways, after our two days off, we had to take ammo to an Infantry unit of the U.S. Army. Their location was Kirkuk.
They had been involved in a firefight with Iraqi Insurgents for the past three days, and they needed more ammo, and we were the unit.
“Everyone!” said Staff Sergeant Johnson during the briefing.
We gave him the attention he needed.
“We have been ordered by the United State Army to go to Kirkuk and give an Infantry Division of the U.S. Army some ammo. They have been in the fight for three days and they have lost three people in that unit. The thing is, some of us might not come back. I know, and I think I can speak for you guys too, that we will not leave without being shot at and everything. So, pray and pray and pray. We are leaving in ten minutes so get the supplies loaded and your gear loaded and let’s go. We’ve already been through who’s driving the supply trucks, and all.”
With that he walked off. Tyler looked at Brian and I, and we looked back at him. There would be three supply trucks, and we all three would be driving one. In my truck it would be Charlie and Jason Ridlen as the gunners, and I’d be driving. In Brian’s truck it would be Shawna and Jeremy Ridlen as the gunners, and Brian would be driving. Tyler, however, would be driving alone, and he’d be the last truck in order. The rest of the unit would be in Humvees, except two mechanics, surrounding the supply trucks. All I was worried about was getting there and getting back unharmed.
We loaded up, and were ready to go in five minutes. The other five minutes were occupied by trying to get the other unit to stop whining and leave. Finally, that happened and we were ready to take off with just prayers behind us.
Chapter 3:2
Five miles later, and we experienced some Humvee trouble. One of our Humvees had an engine problem, and that slowed us down. We eventually got a hold of our base and got a mechanic to come out and haul it back to base. By the time the mechanic got there, we were long gone.
Twenty miles after that, we were already under gunfire, but it wasn’t bad. It was only one or two Insurgents here and there trying to stop us, but the one thing they didn’t know is that YOU CAN’T STOP THE 1544TH.
The town of Kirkuk was bare from the fighting happening there. There were maybe one or two citizens there, but they were locked up in their houses to scared to come out.
It took forever to find the Infantry Division, but we finally did. I went to walk up to a guy in that unit, and before I got there he had his arm literally blown off. That was one of the sickest sights I have ever seen in my entire life, but I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
We unloaded the ammo into a close building that was cleared out, and then we joined the fight. There was no choice, their unit was going down and no other unit was close enough to come help them. We were their only hope for now.
Chapter 3:3
When I started fighting, I knew one of my friends would die, and I wanted it to be me. I just shot like crazy, and so did Brian. It took me awhile to figure out that Tyler wasn’t around.
I finally had the chance to ask Brian where Tyler was when the gunshots stopped.
“He was ordered to go back to base, and get some more weapons.”
Those weapons weren’t necessary. By the time he got to base the fight was over. Finally, the unit could get some rest, and Kirkuk was the fourth Iraqi city controlled by the U.S. Military. I had been part of the capture of three of the four cities, and it made me feel good.
Halfway to base, Tyler radioed to us.
“Specialist Heleine to 1544th” he radioed.
“Go ahead Heleine” said Staff Sergeant Johnson.
“The U.S. Army has just reported that a Specialist was captured and taken to Baghdad.”
“We will look out for them, over!” replied Johnson back.
“Alright! The unit is reporting that three Insurgents captured her. Two of the units members are dead, and five Insurgents are also dead!”
“Where was the fight at?” asked Johnson.
“Rutbah, Iraq!” Heleine replied.
“Over!” replied Johnson.
Chapter 3:4
We decided to head back to an Army base in Badrah. Badrah is not to far from Baghdad, and the U.S. Armed Forces were planning on trying to take over Baghdad. They already attacked Baghdad on the first night of war, with bombs from jets and stuff, and fighting was still going on there.
This wasn’t going to be no small little war. This was going to be the biggest attack in Iraq. Almost every unit, including mine, was included in this attack. The plan goes that if the units need more ammo and supplies, all of the Transportation Companies there would go back and get some, but yet we would still fight until the supplies and stuff were needed.
And just to let you know, the 1544th was not the only Transportation Company over in Iraq, at that time. There was some from Ohio, Virginia, and even California. There was even another Transportation Company, the 1644th Transportation Company, from Illinois.
Anyways, we were given a day to prepare. How we were supposed to prepare was a fluke to me. There was no way, in my mind, to prepare to die or to be scared for your life. Evidentially, the Military thought so, or they wouldn’t have said it.
I just prayed, and so did the rest of my comrades.
Chapter 4:1
It was the day of the attack, and I was even more nervous. I tried and tried to call my girlfriend but no answer. Finally, with three minutes left before we were suppose to deploy out to Baghdad, I got through to her.
“Hey baby!” I said.
“Hi” she replied back.
“I won’t be able to call or write for a little bit, because we are going to do a heavy attack on Baghdad, but don’t worry I’ll be okay.
“And you tell me not to be worried! I’m going to be worried. I don’t want to lose you babe.”
“I know, and I don’t want to lose you either. Just pray for me and the other guys and girls in my unit alright babe?”
“Alright” she replied back.
And then I had to go so I told her I loved her, and she said she loved me too, and I hung up the phone. I knew she was crying when we hung up, and I was crying too. No one asked me what was wrong. They probably already knew, I always talked about my girlfriend, just like all the rest of the guys. It was normal. That’s just the way we got through times when we were in Iraq, and the women we loved were back home worrying about us.
Chapter 4:2
We reached Baghdad not to long after we left. Like I said, Badrah wasn’t to far from Baghdad. All you really had to do was walk a few miles, and you’d be in Baghdad. Of course, that part of Baghdad was all desert and no one was around.
We still had to be careful though. Insurgents could still be around, and they could of put roadside bombs anywhere. Something, my unit was used too.
We drove on for what seemed forever, unit we heard a loud explosion a short distance from us. All we could see was part of a U.S. Humvee flying everywhere, and body parts flying everywhere too. The Humvee had run over an Anti-Tank Mind, and those things are deadly. Sometimes, you are lucky and your truck will hold up, but this Marine unit wasn’t. Nobody from that unit survived either. Fifteen Marines lost their lives, and now I was so ticked off it wasn’t funny.
I might not of known those Marines, but they helped my unit out by keeping the Insurgents from coming our way somehow.
And like that saying goes. “PAY BACK IS SATAN’S WORST ENEMY!”
Chapter 4:3
We entered the main part of Baghdad after a while and boy was it crowded with citizens. I really didn’t see any Insurgents, but I’m sure they passed us.
We still had about four minutes left before we were suppose to take action with the rest of the one hundred or so units, when something came over the radio.
“This is Echo 6 to any unit in Baghdad. We’ve been hit!” said the pilot.
Staff Sergeant Johnson ordered me to get on the radio.
“Echo 6 this is Specialist Duvall of the 1544th Transportation Company. Do you copy?” I asked.
“Echo 6 copies. We are falling fast.”
“Do you have any parachutes?” I asked.
“Positive, but don’t think I’ll have enough time to get out.”
“Over. Can you jump out when you get close enough to the ground or are you falling to fast?”
“Not….”
The radio got all silent. All you could hear was a little bit of static off and on. Then a ground unit of the U.S. Navy came on the radio.
“This is 899th Infantry Division of the U.S. Navy. We are at the location of Echo 6. Doesn’t look like the pilot has survived” replied the leader.
“899th this is 1st Calvary Marines. Look to see if the pilot has survived if not move out. A UH-60 Chinook Helicopter is on its way.”
“Over.”
The sad story is the pilot didn’t make it. He was still in the seat of the plane. I’d say that he was scared and knew he had a possibility of dieing, and he died of shock. Most people do that. I know I would.
Chapter 4:4
Finally we were able to get the attack under way. After we heard the first gunshot we were rolling. Brian and I had to drag a 20 year old kid out of the Humvee. He didn’t want to be apart of this, and he was just in the unit for college.
We kept moving positions, which got annoying after a while but it was worth it. You saw a lot of action at every position.
I figured I would’ve froze when I had to shoot someone but I didn’t. It was pretty fun to hear them scream, as they were lying there dieing. They deserved every inch of what they got after they killed a family member of mine. (Ivory Phipps)
Brian and I did a technique we had practiced a thousand times. Tyler and Charlie were involved too. The technique is called Leap Frog. Incase you aren’t familiar with the technique I’ll explain it to you.
Leap Frog is when a group of people line up in a row. The person on the end is supposed to run in front of the guy in front, and you keep doing it until you get to a particular place that you want to go. The whole point of Leap Frog is to cover the other members of your unit, and take out any “bad guys” that get in your way.
Anyways, the Leap Frog didn’t really work. Our position was given away to easily. There were to many Insurgents around and everywhere we went we were easily seen, even if we were as quite as could be.
Chapter 5:1
“Lets move out!” ordered Staff Sergeant Johnson once again.
We all lined up ready to go. He pointed with his gun where we were suppose to go, and that was the worst place we could have went to at that time.
He told us to go to a building that was supposed to be clear, but instead three Insurgents were in it. It didn’t take long to clear it out, cause they never saw us coming. Brian, without aim, shot the last Insurgent in the head, and his brains went everywhere.
We put soldiers in the building, around the building, and on top of the building. I was equipped with an M16-A2, and sent to the roof with our sniper, Jeremy Ridlen. He was also equipped with an M16-A2, just incase his sniper rifle ran out of ammo.
At first, we had no action, until Brian, out of boredom, yelled “Iraqi!!” I jumped up ready to fire, and then everyone started laughing at me so I knew it was a joke.
“What?!” I asked
“Get down! Here they come!” whispered Specialist Ridlen.
A group of about twenty Insurgents started walking towards us. We waited until they got into range for an M16-A2 to kill before Ridlen started sniping.
Chapter 5:2
Ridlen had killed five of the twenty Insurgents before they realized what was happening. AND THEY CALL AMERICAN’S DUMB!!
“Stupid Insurgents!” I whispered.
Ridlen had to do everything to stop himself from laughing.
They still couldn’t find us though. I guess after all, our camo really does hide us good.
There was one Insurgent left before they found out where we were shooting from, but he was shot down before he could shoot at us.
“Tango down!” said Ridlen in the CB.
Chapter 6:1
“1st Calvary Division to any units that can hear our traffic! We are under heavy fire. Position is Foxtrot.”
That’s all that was heard. Static then came over the radio, and that usually means bad news.
We raced to Foxtrot as fast as we could. Entering small gunfire off and on.
When we got there, the Marine Division had only lost four soldiers, and had held off at least forty Insurgents.
It took us two hours to defeat all of the Insurgents with that Marine Division.
Then the U.S. Military pulled us out of Baghdad. It was time for the bombs again. This should help us win over Baghdad for sure.
Oh, and just to let you know. While this attack was going on with us, the Army and Marines had taken over all of Saddam’s palaces in Baghdad. We now had some new camps, with some pretty good materials we could use, eat, and drink.
Chapter 6:2
As a transportation unit, we had to go to our regular base and get all the supplies we had there and move them to a palace of Saddam’s. One palace had a lot of Army units in it, and they helped us out a lot too. They went with us to help move the stuff, even though we did have 119 people in our unit.
On our last trip back to the regular base, we entered heavy gunfire.
More to come…
Authors Note:
Since this is NOT a true story, some units and characters are NOT real.
Intro
It was September 19, 2007 when Iraq sent a threat to Cuba. The threat was that Cuba had to make all the U.S. Military Personal release all of the prisoners held in the prison, or Iraq was going to nuke Cuba.
Cuba, having three years before that losing Fidel Castro to Iraqi forces, refused Iraqi requests. The new president, Rico Jimenez, came out on September 23, 2007 to tell the Iraqi government that Cuba refused to make the United States release all the prisoners held in Cuba.
Then, on September 25, 2007 President George W. Bush declared war on Iraq. That’s when I come into the picture.
I enlisted with the 1544th Transportation Company just one month before all of this started. I still remember the day that we got told that we had to deploy like it was yesterday.
I walked into drill on Friday, September 25, 2007. I looked around and noticed something strange. Everyone was just sitting around like they were really depressed. I sat down at a table by my cousins, Specialist Brian Duvall, and Specialist Tyler Heleine. Then our commander, Staff Sergeant Frank Johnson came into the room.
“If everyone hasn’t heard the news, then listen up. As the commander of the 1544th Transportation Company, I am the one that has to tell everyone the sad news. We are going to war in Iraq!”
About that time it hit me hard. I was just told that I had to leave my home, family, and everything else behind. I was just thinking about how hard my girlfriend would take it.
All I did was look at my cousins and they weren’t really happy about it either, but that’s our job, and we weren’t really complaining.
Chapter 1:1
October 1, 2007 we headed for Iraq. We were scheduled to land at our base in Karbala, Iraq by early the next morning. We went from Paris, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri by bus, and then we loaded into an airplane at the St. Louis International Airport. That was after we said goodbye to our families.
Then from St. Louis we went to Indianapolis, Indiana. We had 5 minutes before our plane left for Virginia. I found the nearest pay phone and called my wife. I told her where I was and that I was okay. Then I had to go.
We loaded back on the plane and headed towards Virginia. We had to make an emergency landing in Ohio. Our plane lost an engine and we were losing altitude fast. Luckily, we were in a town with an airport. At, 17:00 we finally made it to Virginia.
At 03:00 on October 2, 2007 we made it to Kuwait City. I was glad to be off of the plane.
We had a little briefing before we headed out to Iraq. It was just about the first mission we had to do. I was pumped and so were the rest of my comrades in the 1544th.
We took a Chinook Helicopter to our base, which I already said was located in Karbala, Iraq. It was a bigger base then I imagined, but I was sure we wouldn’t be there that much.
When our Helicopter landed we were taken by surprise. Out of nowhere a group of about twenty-five militants attacked us. The gunfight only lasted five minutes.
That was the first thrill of my life!
Chapter 1:2
We finally were able to go into the base fifteen minutes AFTER the gunfight. We had to make sure everyone was okay. I’m glad we did, because I would’ve never known a bullet grazed me on my left leg, just below my kneecap. I got it wrapped up and went back to work.
We were able to take a little nap before we entered another gunfight. Thirteen Iraqi Insurgents started firing at us from a pickup. My cousin Brian fired the bazooka and that’s the last time we heard from those militants.
At 13:00 we headed to Mosul to help the 1st Calvary Division of the U.S. Marine Corps take the city. By the time we got there, Fifty Insurgents were dead, along with two Marines.
We started into the fight about 14:35 and we didn’t stop till 1:09 the next morning. Thirty more Insurgents were dead, along with three more Marines. My cousin Tyler was shot in the leg and had to be AirEvaced to Kuwait City.
When we were packing up and getting ready to move out we heard more gunfire up ahead. I looked at Brian, and he looked back at me. We were both puzzled.
“I thought we got everyone here?” asked Brian
“I guess not!” answered Staff Sergeant Johnson.
Then we were ordered to move towards the direction of the gunshots. We left the Marines behind, mainly because they had began the first fight we were in. We got closer and closer to the gunshots. We finally found out what they were.
They were gunshots from a Marine Division clearing out a building that Iraqi Insurgents were hiding in. They didn’t know that any U.S. units were in the town. NOW THEY DO!
They backed off when we got there, and my Staff Sergeant ordered Brian and I to pick one more person and to go clear the building. So we picked Specialist Charles Lamb. He was our long time friend from the town we grew up in, so we already had a good friendship going.
We went inside the building, and I had never seen so much blood in my life.
“Holy Sh**!” I yelled.
Brian and Charlie started laughing at me. I didn’t see anything funny, but evidentially they did. Anywho, we looked around in the little, tight-spaced building, but no one was around.
We went outside and shot a white flare. The white flare let all the units in the area know that Mosul was cleared.
Chapter 1:3
I was glad when we got back to base that morning. I was so tired, and so were the rest of the guys…and girls too. It was about 8:00 when we got back to Karbala, and I wanted to go to bed, but instead Brian made me lift weights with him. So, I did. For about an hour or less.
About 09:56 I actually got to sleep, and at 9:58 they woke me up. We were under fire again. By the time I got up and got my gun loaded and stuff, they had most of the Insurgents killed, the others were running away. I shot at one anyways for waking me up, and I got him in the head. That’s an once-in-a-lifetime shot. Especially, with a M16 and not a Sniper Rifle.
Just let me note though, an M16 is very powerful gun, but its not very good for long distance tangos. The sniper on our team was Specialist Jeremy Ridlen.
At 18:00 we headed back to Mosul, just to make sure that the city was still under the control of the U.S. Military. We got there, and the town was deserted. I have never seen a city that bare like that one. All the citizens ran when the 1st Calvary Division stormed in and took the Insurgents by surprised.
We were only in Mosul for maybe four minutes, if that. We only saw one Iraqi citizen, and a unit of the Army. We waved to them, and went on our way.
We then got ordered by the 4-Star General of the U.S. Army to head to Baghdad to make sure all the checkpoints were secured. Baghdad was seventy-five miles from Mosul, but we were the closest Transportation Company, and the only one not under fire. At least for now we weren’t under gunfire.
Chapter 1:4
We reached Baghdad after what seemed forever. We reached for the first checkpoint at 12:00. Marines secured the checkpoint. Tall, muscular black guys mainly filled that unit. There were maybe one or two white guys, but I can’t actually remember.
We didn’t stop at the checkpoint since we knew it was secured. Plus, they waved us on anyways. So, we headed to the next checkpoint about ten miles down the road.
We saw some strange activity halfway to the second checkpoint, but when we got there no one was there. So, we kept going. We weren’t even thinking about a roadside bomb, until it exploded.
The shrapnel hit the Humvee, and did a lot of damage to it. Sergeant Ivory Phipps had cuts to his neck. We called for a helicopter, but by the time it got there he was already dead from losing a lot of blood.
The helicopter still took his body to Kuwait City, to be put in the morgue until it was time for his body to be sent back to the United States for his funeral.
After that, we went pulled out of Baghdad and went back to base. We already had two dead and one injured in our unit. I could fell that more comrades of mine would die before this war was over.
We got back to base at 04:00, and when we got there we noticed that there was someone already there. We thought the Iraqi’s found a way in and was waiting for us so they could attack us, but it wasn’t Iraqi’s. It was my cousin Tyler. They discharged him from the hospital, and he was brought back to Karbala by a unit of Marines on their way to Iraq.
Chapter 2:1
Nothing really exciting happened for the next month. I was sent home for a visit, and I went to Sergeant Phipps’ funeral. The military made me one of the Paul Bearers, but I didn’t really want to be. I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I could, cause I couldn’t stand seeing a friend of mine laying there in a casket.
When I came back from my ten days back in the states, I was pumped up. I wanted to get the Iraqi Insurgents back for killing my friend, but I also had to protect myself along with my other comrades.
We headed into Tikrit for a mission. If you didn’t know, Tikrit is also the hometown of Saddam Hussein. That’s one reason we had to go there, the other reason was because we had to eliminate all Insurgents in that town. That’d be the third Iraqi city the United States would have taken into their control. Those cities were Mosul and Basra.
My unit didn’t have anything to do with Basra though. The 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army took Basra. That happened when I was in the states anyways, and while I was gone the 1544th really didn’t do anything.
Chapter 2:2
We took our time going to Tikrit. Especially after what happened with Sergeant Phipps and all. Us taking our time didn’t really prevent things anyways. We were involved in three different gunfights, and they weren’t that far apart of from each other. So, we figured there was something going to happen, and we were ready.
After about five hours of taking our time to reach Tikrit, we arrived! I figured the town would be a pretty big one, but it wasn’t really. It was big, but not like a MAJOR town big. It looked mainly like the town I grew up in, but only poorer.
We ditched our Humvee at the entrance of the town, and walked. That way we could sneak around and not be caught as much.
The citizens followed us around, which really didn’t help us none. It blew our cover immediately. The Insurgents would know right of the bat that we were there, because there would be no other reason Iraqi’s are following us around.
We checked fifteen building and there was no fight yet. I was hoping that the Insurgents ran, but then again I might be wrong.
Chapter 2:3
Fifteen buildings later and we still hadn’t entered gunfight with anybody. By this time though we got the Iraqi’s to stop following us, which was a little plus.
As we were walking and about to check another building a grenade blew up a few hundred feet from us. After all, I was wrong about Iraqi Insurgents running away.
We looked around to see if we could find out where the grenade was thrown from and out of the corner of Tyler’s eye he saw a guy in a black robe, the uniform of an Iraqi Insurgent, running away.
He got our attention and let us know, and the entire unit slowly ran after him. We lost him for a few seconds but then we found him, and before he could get away again I shot him down with only one shot with my M16. The Staff Sergeant praised me for my shot. I hadn’t even aimed and I still hit him right between the eyes.
Brian, wanting to make sure the Insurgent was dead, shot at him three times. He sure wasn’t getting up after that, and that was a good thing.
We kept walking whenever Brian got done shooting the guy. We cleared ten buildings with only two gunfights. Right after the last gunfight, we met up with the 130ht Infantry Division of the U.S. Army National Guard. They are from Illinois just like my unit is, and they are based out of a town not to far away from the town my unit is based out of.
“When did you get here?” I asked Specialist Joey Cole.
“Last night.” Specialist Cole answered.
I just looked at him like “OH”.
We went into the house of Saddam Hussein, while the 130th Infantry Division guarded us outside. It looked like no one had been inside for a long time, but Specialist Daniel Murphy found a covered up hole in the floor.
When Murphy and Ridlen uncovered the hole, Specialist Lamb discovered that it had been occupied not to long ago. We got there a week late.
Tyler took note of it and wrote it down, so we could give the information to Headquarters. Headquarters, by the way, is located in Kuwait City.
It didn’t take too much longer after that to clear Tikrit. Once again, the Iraqi citizens were following my unit. They weren’t that bad after all. Two Iraqi’s offered my unit some food, but we declined. We had to get back to base so we could give Headquarters the information over radio.
The radios we used, also known as CB’s (Citizen Band), were not known by the Iraqi Insurgents. The frequencies we used could not be broken. The government had made CB’s for every U.S. base in Iraq that changed frequencies fifteen times in one second.
Chapter 2:4
We got back to base and Sergeant Shawna Morrison sent the information to Headquarters. They then sent a unit of Marines to check it out. It’s not that they didn’t believe us, they just wanted to make sure that another unit could be able to say that there was a hole in the ground.
When the group of Marines acknowledged the hole, a group of Army Rangers were ordered to stand guard near there. They had soldiers standing next to it, soldiers far away with sniper rifles, and they had soldiers going down into the hole to see if there was a route out underground or if the only way to get out was to climb out of the hole.
Indeed, the only way to get out was to climb out. Which means, that someone had to see Saddam leave and go somewhere else. Unless, Saddam had changed in appearance.
Staff Sergeant Johnson ordered us to ask citizens if they saw anyone come out of that house last week, but no one did. I tried to get it through his head that it was a waste of time, but I’m always wrong when it comes to him.
Chapter 3:1
After that, we had two days off, and then we were back to work. During our break I only talked to my girlfriend for about ten minutes, and it killed me in the long run. Anyways, after our two days off, we had to take ammo to an Infantry unit of the U.S. Army. Their location was Kirkuk.
They had been involved in a firefight with Iraqi Insurgents for the past three days, and they needed more ammo, and we were the unit.
“Everyone!” said Staff Sergeant Johnson during the briefing.
We gave him the attention he needed.
“We have been ordered by the United State Army to go to Kirkuk and give an Infantry Division of the U.S. Army some ammo. They have been in the fight for three days and they have lost three people in that unit. The thing is, some of us might not come back. I know, and I think I can speak for you guys too, that we will not leave without being shot at and everything. So, pray and pray and pray. We are leaving in ten minutes so get the supplies loaded and your gear loaded and let’s go. We’ve already been through who’s driving the supply trucks, and all.”
With that he walked off. Tyler looked at Brian and I, and we looked back at him. There would be three supply trucks, and we all three would be driving one. In my truck it would be Charlie and Jason Ridlen as the gunners, and I’d be driving. In Brian’s truck it would be Shawna and Jeremy Ridlen as the gunners, and Brian would be driving. Tyler, however, would be driving alone, and he’d be the last truck in order. The rest of the unit would be in Humvees, except two mechanics, surrounding the supply trucks. All I was worried about was getting there and getting back unharmed.
We loaded up, and were ready to go in five minutes. The other five minutes were occupied by trying to get the other unit to stop whining and leave. Finally, that happened and we were ready to take off with just prayers behind us.
Chapter 3:2
Five miles later, and we experienced some Humvee trouble. One of our Humvees had an engine problem, and that slowed us down. We eventually got a hold of our base and got a mechanic to come out and haul it back to base. By the time the mechanic got there, we were long gone.
Twenty miles after that, we were already under gunfire, but it wasn’t bad. It was only one or two Insurgents here and there trying to stop us, but the one thing they didn’t know is that YOU CAN’T STOP THE 1544TH.
The town of Kirkuk was bare from the fighting happening there. There were maybe one or two citizens there, but they were locked up in their houses to scared to come out.
It took forever to find the Infantry Division, but we finally did. I went to walk up to a guy in that unit, and before I got there he had his arm literally blown off. That was one of the sickest sights I have ever seen in my entire life, but I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
We unloaded the ammo into a close building that was cleared out, and then we joined the fight. There was no choice, their unit was going down and no other unit was close enough to come help them. We were their only hope for now.
Chapter 3:3
When I started fighting, I knew one of my friends would die, and I wanted it to be me. I just shot like crazy, and so did Brian. It took me awhile to figure out that Tyler wasn’t around.
I finally had the chance to ask Brian where Tyler was when the gunshots stopped.
“He was ordered to go back to base, and get some more weapons.”
Those weapons weren’t necessary. By the time he got to base the fight was over. Finally, the unit could get some rest, and Kirkuk was the fourth Iraqi city controlled by the U.S. Military. I had been part of the capture of three of the four cities, and it made me feel good.
Halfway to base, Tyler radioed to us.
“Specialist Heleine to 1544th” he radioed.
“Go ahead Heleine” said Staff Sergeant Johnson.
“The U.S. Army has just reported that a Specialist was captured and taken to Baghdad.”
“We will look out for them, over!” replied Johnson back.
“Alright! The unit is reporting that three Insurgents captured her. Two of the units members are dead, and five Insurgents are also dead!”
“Where was the fight at?” asked Johnson.
“Rutbah, Iraq!” Heleine replied.
“Over!” replied Johnson.
Chapter 3:4
We decided to head back to an Army base in Badrah. Badrah is not to far from Baghdad, and the U.S. Armed Forces were planning on trying to take over Baghdad. They already attacked Baghdad on the first night of war, with bombs from jets and stuff, and fighting was still going on there.
This wasn’t going to be no small little war. This was going to be the biggest attack in Iraq. Almost every unit, including mine, was included in this attack. The plan goes that if the units need more ammo and supplies, all of the Transportation Companies there would go back and get some, but yet we would still fight until the supplies and stuff were needed.
And just to let you know, the 1544th was not the only Transportation Company over in Iraq, at that time. There was some from Ohio, Virginia, and even California. There was even another Transportation Company, the 1644th Transportation Company, from Illinois.
Anyways, we were given a day to prepare. How we were supposed to prepare was a fluke to me. There was no way, in my mind, to prepare to die or to be scared for your life. Evidentially, the Military thought so, or they wouldn’t have said it.
I just prayed, and so did the rest of my comrades.
Chapter 4:1
It was the day of the attack, and I was even more nervous. I tried and tried to call my girlfriend but no answer. Finally, with three minutes left before we were suppose to deploy out to Baghdad, I got through to her.
“Hey baby!” I said.
“Hi” she replied back.
“I won’t be able to call or write for a little bit, because we are going to do a heavy attack on Baghdad, but don’t worry I’ll be okay.
“And you tell me not to be worried! I’m going to be worried. I don’t want to lose you babe.”
“I know, and I don’t want to lose you either. Just pray for me and the other guys and girls in my unit alright babe?”
“Alright” she replied back.
And then I had to go so I told her I loved her, and she said she loved me too, and I hung up the phone. I knew she was crying when we hung up, and I was crying too. No one asked me what was wrong. They probably already knew, I always talked about my girlfriend, just like all the rest of the guys. It was normal. That’s just the way we got through times when we were in Iraq, and the women we loved were back home worrying about us.
Chapter 4:2
We reached Baghdad not to long after we left. Like I said, Badrah wasn’t to far from Baghdad. All you really had to do was walk a few miles, and you’d be in Baghdad. Of course, that part of Baghdad was all desert and no one was around.
We still had to be careful though. Insurgents could still be around, and they could of put roadside bombs anywhere. Something, my unit was used too.
We drove on for what seemed forever, unit we heard a loud explosion a short distance from us. All we could see was part of a U.S. Humvee flying everywhere, and body parts flying everywhere too. The Humvee had run over an Anti-Tank Mind, and those things are deadly. Sometimes, you are lucky and your truck will hold up, but this Marine unit wasn’t. Nobody from that unit survived either. Fifteen Marines lost their lives, and now I was so ticked off it wasn’t funny.
I might not of known those Marines, but they helped my unit out by keeping the Insurgents from coming our way somehow.
And like that saying goes. “PAY BACK IS SATAN’S WORST ENEMY!”
Chapter 4:3
We entered the main part of Baghdad after a while and boy was it crowded with citizens. I really didn’t see any Insurgents, but I’m sure they passed us.
We still had about four minutes left before we were suppose to take action with the rest of the one hundred or so units, when something came over the radio.
“This is Echo 6 to any unit in Baghdad. We’ve been hit!” said the pilot.
Staff Sergeant Johnson ordered me to get on the radio.
“Echo 6 this is Specialist Duvall of the 1544th Transportation Company. Do you copy?” I asked.
“Echo 6 copies. We are falling fast.”
“Do you have any parachutes?” I asked.
“Positive, but don’t think I’ll have enough time to get out.”
“Over. Can you jump out when you get close enough to the ground or are you falling to fast?”
“Not….”
The radio got all silent. All you could hear was a little bit of static off and on. Then a ground unit of the U.S. Navy came on the radio.
“This is 899th Infantry Division of the U.S. Navy. We are at the location of Echo 6. Doesn’t look like the pilot has survived” replied the leader.
“899th this is 1st Calvary Marines. Look to see if the pilot has survived if not move out. A UH-60 Chinook Helicopter is on its way.”
“Over.”
The sad story is the pilot didn’t make it. He was still in the seat of the plane. I’d say that he was scared and knew he had a possibility of dieing, and he died of shock. Most people do that. I know I would.
Chapter 4:4
Finally we were able to get the attack under way. After we heard the first gunshot we were rolling. Brian and I had to drag a 20 year old kid out of the Humvee. He didn’t want to be apart of this, and he was just in the unit for college.
We kept moving positions, which got annoying after a while but it was worth it. You saw a lot of action at every position.
I figured I would’ve froze when I had to shoot someone but I didn’t. It was pretty fun to hear them scream, as they were lying there dieing. They deserved every inch of what they got after they killed a family member of mine. (Ivory Phipps)
Brian and I did a technique we had practiced a thousand times. Tyler and Charlie were involved too. The technique is called Leap Frog. Incase you aren’t familiar with the technique I’ll explain it to you.
Leap Frog is when a group of people line up in a row. The person on the end is supposed to run in front of the guy in front, and you keep doing it until you get to a particular place that you want to go. The whole point of Leap Frog is to cover the other members of your unit, and take out any “bad guys” that get in your way.
Anyways, the Leap Frog didn’t really work. Our position was given away to easily. There were to many Insurgents around and everywhere we went we were easily seen, even if we were as quite as could be.
Chapter 5:1
“Lets move out!” ordered Staff Sergeant Johnson once again.
We all lined up ready to go. He pointed with his gun where we were suppose to go, and that was the worst place we could have went to at that time.
He told us to go to a building that was supposed to be clear, but instead three Insurgents were in it. It didn’t take long to clear it out, cause they never saw us coming. Brian, without aim, shot the last Insurgent in the head, and his brains went everywhere.
We put soldiers in the building, around the building, and on top of the building. I was equipped with an M16-A2, and sent to the roof with our sniper, Jeremy Ridlen. He was also equipped with an M16-A2, just incase his sniper rifle ran out of ammo.
At first, we had no action, until Brian, out of boredom, yelled “Iraqi!!” I jumped up ready to fire, and then everyone started laughing at me so I knew it was a joke.
“What?!” I asked
“Get down! Here they come!” whispered Specialist Ridlen.
A group of about twenty Insurgents started walking towards us. We waited until they got into range for an M16-A2 to kill before Ridlen started sniping.
Chapter 5:2
Ridlen had killed five of the twenty Insurgents before they realized what was happening. AND THEY CALL AMERICAN’S DUMB!!
“Stupid Insurgents!” I whispered.
Ridlen had to do everything to stop himself from laughing.
They still couldn’t find us though. I guess after all, our camo really does hide us good.
There was one Insurgent left before they found out where we were shooting from, but he was shot down before he could shoot at us.
“Tango down!” said Ridlen in the CB.
Chapter 6:1
“1st Calvary Division to any units that can hear our traffic! We are under heavy fire. Position is Foxtrot.”
That’s all that was heard. Static then came over the radio, and that usually means bad news.
We raced to Foxtrot as fast as we could. Entering small gunfire off and on.
When we got there, the Marine Division had only lost four soldiers, and had held off at least forty Insurgents.
It took us two hours to defeat all of the Insurgents with that Marine Division.
Then the U.S. Military pulled us out of Baghdad. It was time for the bombs again. This should help us win over Baghdad for sure.
Oh, and just to let you know. While this attack was going on with us, the Army and Marines had taken over all of Saddam’s palaces in Baghdad. We now had some new camps, with some pretty good materials we could use, eat, and drink.
Chapter 6:2
As a transportation unit, we had to go to our regular base and get all the supplies we had there and move them to a palace of Saddam’s. One palace had a lot of Army units in it, and they helped us out a lot too. They went with us to help move the stuff, even though we did have 119 people in our unit.
On our last trip back to the regular base, we entered heavy gunfire.
More to come…