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| Iraq-Jordan |
| DAMN.....Michael Yon deserves a Pulitzer |
| 2005-08-26 |
Mosul, Iraq Combat comes unexpectedly, even in war. On Monday, while conducting operations in west Mosul, a voice came over the radio saying troops from our brother unit, the 3-21, were fighting with the enemy in east Mosul on the opposite side of the Tigris River. Moments later, SSG Will Shockley relayed word to us that an American soldier was dead. We began searching for the shooters near one of the bridges on our side of the Tigris, but they got away. Jose L. Ruiz was killed in action. Although the situation in Mosul is better, our troops still fight here every day. This may not be the war some folks had in mind a few years ago. But once the shooting starts, a plan is just a guess in a party dress. The only mission I've seen unfold close to what was planned was a B Company raid a few months back. It actually went so close to perfect that we could hardly believe it. The sole glitch occurred when a Stryker hit an IED, but since nobody was hurt, we just continued the mission. In retrospect, it's hard to imagine why I didn't write about it. But times are busy, and, apart from it going nearly perfectly according to plan, it just seemed like any other old raid. |
| Posted by:anymouse |
| #15 Lol, Ship... coming from you, well, that was nigh unto pointless, lol. I absolutely agree with OS's comment. Yon deserves to be treated with total respect. Go to his site. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-26 23:55 |
| #14 MODS: Please respect Micheal Yon's copyright. A link is sufficent after a summary. The above complete reposts is egregious violation. I make allowances for when content is locked into a place that requees personal info (Like NYT), but Yon's blog is FREE - and he should get al the traffic there. Lets not screw our friends. EDIT THIS ARTICLE betores its archived. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2005-08-26 23:39 |
| #13 Fine post Valli, don't worry about .com he's going through a "phase". He's mostly normal, usually or at least often. I understand he open to bribery. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-08-26 18:59 |
| #12 Umm... this is Yon's work product. He'd rather not have it reprinted in full like this. His guidelines say 75 words, a bit short, but I would suggest this is a bit long. It's difficult to sell a product that's being taken for free. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2005-08-26 18:35 |
| #11 Yon is a pro. You can and should support him by hitting his tip jar (after hitting Fred's first of course). |
| Posted by: Remoteman 2005-08-26 17:22 |
| #10 HughHewitt.com has an address for LTC Kurilla and SGT Lama. You will have to scroll down. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2005-08-26 17:05 |
| #9 "So how come this guy's not employed by a major MSM outfit again?" Because he tells the entire truth about what's going on over there. |
| Posted by: BillH 2005-08-26 15:28 |
| #8 Amazing piece of work by the journalist and the soldiers. Hey folks, here's what the hell "bravery" really is. |
| Posted by: MunkarKat 2005-08-26 14:51 |
| #7 An excellent story, well written and affecting. So how come this guy's not employed by a major MSM outfit again? |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-08-26 14:15 |
| #6 To hell with the Pulitzer Prize. It was in memory of the king of the yellow journalists, anyway. Michael Yon's latest dispatch on the raid where LTC Kurilla was shot was a masterpiece for several reasons: *Content. He brought to life the issues and situations that the troops face over there. *Style. His writing is superb. Draws you in paints vivid word pictures of what he sees. *Pictures. His pictures he posts compliment the prose and rounds out the story. *Makes you think. Issues like the terrorist catch and release program hit home. Kurilla was probably seriously injured by one of these guys. One reads Michael Yon's dispatches and one gets a feeling of the stakes involved in this war for the survival of civilization. Yon's writing is up there with the best of WW2, IMHO. We should make a Rantburg Prize for reporting like Michael's. Any ideas? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-08-26 12:09 |
| #5 Man, a long read, but another GREAT one by Yon! I have no problem (personally) with him picking up the weapon in that situation. I understand the need to separate troops from reporters, but when the enemy doesn't care if you're troop or reporter, you defend yourself. PR is right, Valli, back up your assertions with facts/links and 99% of the posters here will back off. Of course, we all have our own opinions, but when confronted by facts (and true facts, not just MSM whitewash crap), most of us are very reasonable. Of course, reading .com tearing someone up can be scary, but they usually deserve it by getting personal. Of course, that's when he shines! |
| Posted by: BA 2005-08-26 12:04 |
| #4 Welcome Valli..good comment! Those old folks get smarter ever year. ;) |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-08-26 12:00 |
| #3 Valli, It's really not all that difficult to remember. Attack the commment with facts, don't attack the person. Retarted started attacking .com from his initial post, not his comments. Give us links to back up your cause then I will certainly back down. If you still have doubts, keep an eye on Steve White. He is a good blog role model at RB. He challenged me the other day on a theory of mine concerning Chavez and I have gave him a sensible and educated response and I heard nothing else from him. RB is rated MA for "mature subject matter/some nudity/language/humor." Why nudity? As a rule, we have to sometimes cater to Fred's fantasies. Other than that, there are plenty of Britney Spears type blogs out there. BTW, I already made my point on this article yesterday. So, I won't repeat. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-08-26 11:25 |
| #2 Valli - Sheesh. You didn't blindly attack a simple inline comment, completely misconstruing it and slurring me personally for your lack of comprehension, so why would you be worried? You did imply an untruth - that I attack without cause. For that, say 27,000 Hail Marys, or their equivalent in your flavor, heh. Good comment, BTW, lol. Yon rocks - and rolls when he has to, as well. Welcome to RB. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-26 10:43 |
| #1 Hi, I've been lurking here in the Rantburg city limits for only a short while. I'm usually a firm believer in keeping your yap shut until you get to know and understand your new citys' natives. One of the last articles I read contained the lively, er, debate? between .com and retired and I have to admit, I'm typing scared! I think I picked a pretty safe article to pop my --- I mean, break the barrier of lurking and becoming a commenter. I think we all can agree that Michael Yon not only deserves a Pulitzer, his blog is a virtual masterpiece. LTC Kurilla is the stuff legends are made of. I know his unit will be missing him, but Kurilla taught them well. Hearing that the scum who shot him had already been arrested and released to terrorize again made me more angry than I have been in a long while. Heads need to roll. It is so frustrating to hear that this happens a lot. Why??? Is it lack of holding facilities, do the released have friends in high places? Also, what in the world happened to the soldiers accompanying Kurilla? Lack of training? too young? I know, too many ???'s. I am ashamed to admit that I am one of many, many Americans who have paid way too little attention to world events until now. So, the depth of my ignorance is great. To my eternal shame, I've not paid attention to my grandfathers' 3rd life rule and spent way too much time dwelling on myself. Yons' blog sure widens your point of view. For anyone interested, my grandfather has tried to drill into us 3 simple rules for as long as I can remember. As long as you keep your life focused on just 3 things, you'll be alright-- 1. God 2. Family 3. Country And if something does go wrong in the world, knowing that you have the might of the United States military behind you, can sure make you feel better. Grandaddy was a WW2 vet, so he may be a little biased. But, I don't think so. |
| Posted by: Valli 2005-08-26 10:31 |