Marine Moms and Dads: From Lt. Col. Jerry Smith in Iraq www.MarineParents.com

25 April '03

Dear Key Volunteers, Spouses, Family & Friends of 5/11,

First of all, thanks for all of the cards, letters, packages and unending support...YOU HAVE MADE A PHENOMENAL IMPACT ON OUR LIVES THROUGHOUT THIS DEPLOYMENT!!! We received mail on 16 March just before we left Kuwait and then only one time (letters only) during the war. When we drove back to Baghdad on April 19, we had nine truck/trailer loads of mail and boxes...a big boost to morale. We should get fairly regular mail from now on.

What a trip so far! Everyone has done so well that it is hard to describe their level of performance. At some point in the future, we'll have hundreds of photos, some video and a whole lotta stories to tell. In the meantime, I'll try to recap the highlights. Keep in mind that each of you know much more about the entire war than any of us. It has amazed me just how little we know about the current overall situation. Our knowledge basically extends to what happened within 20-30 kilometers of us and what we can pick up on sporadic BBC/Voice of America broadcasts.

We departed Camp Matilda (central Kuwait) on 18 March and moved to northern Kuwait just outside of the range of about 50-60 Iraqi artillery tubes. When we woke up on 20 March, we were surprised to hear about missiles hitting Baghdad as we sat in yet another sandstorm. Twice during the day we donned gas masks when Iraqi missiles were being shot down by Patriot missiles. We moved up and began firing later in the day and through the night as the ground attack was sped up to secure the southern oil fields.

As we started to move through the berm into Iraq, I put a grid coordinate in my GPS for Baghdad...only 452 kilometers (as the crow flies) to go!

Surprisingly, by the end of the day we were 60 kilometers inside Iraq (west of Basra) and on our plan...the 51st Mechanized Division was gone. On the 22nd we captured our first prisoners and then got on the road until 3 a.m. to an assembly area that was one-third of the way to Baghdad. We got back on the highway and drove all day (another third of the way towards Baghdad); we crossed the Euphrates River late afternoon. While it sounds easy, you have to remember that the Division has about 10,000 vehicles and 21,000 men. The highway was similar to interstate, three lanes on each side...we used both sides with two columns on each side. It looked like a strange road race of tanks, HMVEES, trucks, etc. heading north at 45mph...we're lucky we didn't have any vehicle accidents along the way! Our Explosive Ordnance Disposal guys found four culverts spread out over 700 meters loaded with 1,500 pounds of TNT ready to go...fortunately another unit found/detained the three guys with the detonator just before we crossed.

As we consolidated on the highway for a day, the next sandstorm started to blow in and we made little progress just south of Ad Diwinayah.

The sky turned orange and visibility dropped to less than five feet. We had a bunch of Fedeyeen (special forces knuckleheads) in our positions throughout the night...we captured about 8-10. As we moved forward on the 26th, mortars shot at our convoy, but it was okay...the tanks make the enemy position disappear after a couple of rounds. We stayed in this position for a few days so we could refuel, rearm and get a little rest - this was the "quagmire" that you heard so much about. Most of us were averaging about three to four hours sleep per night (or less) for the first week...coffee was important!!!

We started north again on the 30th. We moved a couple of times each day towards Baghdad...the infantry had several big firefights where we shot artillery within 500 meters of their positions. At one point we had all 12 of the firing batteries in the regiment in a very small area...just before dawn we shot about 1600 rounds in a 25-minute period...almost all of the gun trucks lost their windshields due to the overpressure...the drivers now wear goggles on the road. As we got closer to the city, we would send out patrols and within 1,000 meters of every position we found hundreds of ammo/arms caches with RPGs, mortars, ammo, rifles, etc. This entire country is one big ammo dump.

By 11 April, Baghdad was pretty much secure and we stopped firing.

We received orders to roll north with 3,500 of our closest friends to Tikrit and secure Saddam's hometown. We had to drive the entire Bn from the SE side to the NW side of Baghdad through refugee traffic...15 kilometers (10 miles) took eight hours. The locals were friendly but we didn't want to bet against 100,000 hungry, thirsty, tired and displaced Iraqis...a tough day!

At dusk we rolled through a date palm grove with a huge cemetery in it...the Republican Guard had placed tanks in the cemetery and used the above ground tombs for cover from attack...fortunately no enemy was left. We camped in an open ammo storage area (about 20 square kilometers of enemy ammo everywhere). We headed north to Tikrit at dusk on the 12th. The bridge was a small pontoon bridge that could only hold one vehicle at a time.

While we waited to cross we were in this little town of mud huts with thousands of Iraqis cheering and clapping and giving the "thumbs up" yelling "GO BUSH" or "BUSH GOOD." The Marines bought cigarettes from the locals and threw candy and MREs to the kids. It was something like a scene from a WWII movie when Patton went though liberating southern Europe...the Marines needed that motivational lift. The trip to Tikrit was an "all-nighter," we arrived 18 hours after we started...the drivers were incredible! It was slow because the Light Armored Recon guys had to make sure the route was safe...we had no idea of what enemy threat was left along the 200-kilometer route.

We found the enemy as we pulled into our position about 12 Km south of town. At this point in the war, we were just about the only engaged force in the entire country. Almost every Marine, Navy and USAF airplane was available to us. They bombed a bunch of tanks and personnel carriers about four to five Km to our west as we set up. We started firing artillery immediately and our HQ Battery used machine guns against a few guys about 200 meters in front of the position. Everything quieted down pretty quick and the city was secured in less than 24 hours. The local farmers pointed out and brought some injured guys into our position on the second morning. They were they the soldiers that our guys had shot the previous day. We patched them up and sent them to the POW camp. We also captured an Iraqi Air Force Brigadier General...I'll bet he's been unemployed for a while!!!! We fired the last artillery rounds of the war from here on the third day (16 April).

After that we were given a patrol zone south of the city. Our area had a bunch of palaces, Saddam's residence (what was left of it after a cruise missile rearranged the furniture a little), and the homes of his close family, mistresses, and a bunch of regime leaders...we found some interesting things to say the least. Then we were allowed to occupy one of the palace areas...it had garages that we could use as maintenance bays to fix the trucks...my boss bought the story and off we went. It was about five acres with 20-25 buildings. The main palace had to be 50-60,000 square feet with marble everything.

On Good Friday we held a church service in the main dining room...we had about 75 Marines attend...it's a service we'll never forget.

On the 19th we headed back to Baghdad...only 668 KM back to our camp in Kuwait! We got packages for the first time after we got back with 11th Marines at Rasheed airfield. We slept on the runway that night and left at dawn for a town south of Baghdad. The trip took about four hours and we covered the same ground that took us 10 days to fight for on the way north...it was nice not to have to worry about being shot at while on the road. Every time we pass through a town now, we have to slow down for the men and kids along the road who are begging or trying to sell cigarettes, whiskey or their daughter (no kidding...one old guy offered his daughter to one of the Marines when we gave him an old generator that the Iraqi military had left behind)...it is a strange land.

So here we sit, halfway back to Kuwait, in an old military camp that looks like some of those terrorist training camp film clips that you see on the news...what a dump!!! We are working on our weight gain program from the boxes of junk food that we've received...yes, keep those items coming!

I'd say the average Marine has lost between 10-15 pounds. We also had a "tray ration" meal this morning...while that means nothing to most of you, it was significant to us. It was the first hot meal that we've had since 18 March. It wasn't a Denny's Grand Slam but it was a treat nonetheless...MREs all taste the same after the first week! Since we won the war in about 26 days (about nine days faster than the best case estimate), the powers that be are scrambling to "catch up" and figure out what's next. I think we'll be home in about 60 days, but a lot depends on how the Army does in Baghdad and a lot of other potential trouble spots over here.

All in all, our battalion fired nearly 5,500 artillery rounds, we supported every major combat element of the Division, we ended the war, AND we got the bonus guided palace tour in Tikrit (we were the only artillery unit to go that far north)...the lads have done extremely well and I have been blessed beyond belief with great Marines and sailors! If there was ever any doubt about whether or not we (the USA) really needed to fight this war (I still don't know if we've found huge chemical weapons caches), all doubt has been removed. After that night in the village waiting to cross the bridge, I knew we were right on the mark. Having dozens of complete strangers reaching into your HMVEE window to shake your hand as they say, "Thank you, we are free" or "Freedom good!" is beyond description. What the regime didn't spend on ammunition and arms, they spent on palaces while they tortured the mud hut dwellers. The Republican Guard told the civilians that the Marines were coming to rape the women, kill the children, enslave the men and steal the oil. We had a 50-year-old guy (looked like he was 70) come to our position and ask for medical aid for a gunshot wound to his forearm. He claimed to be "lucky" because the others that disagreed with the Republican Guard's opinion of the Marines were hung...he was thankful for just being shot in the arm by them before they ran out of Tikrit. This country is going to need a lot of help for a long time just to get a moral, civilized frame of reference back in balance.

That's our story to this point. Thanks for all of the prayers, packages and thoughts. The family support has been magnificent and made a huge difference throughout the deployment. We are ready to get headed towards home...this is the toughest part.

Please keep the prayers and support headed in our direction. We'll be home as soon as we can.

God's Speed and Semper Fidelis,

Lt. Col. Jerry Smith