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In Memoriam |
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In Memoriam |
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LCpl. Ruben Valdez Jr., U.S.M.C (KIA)
Ruben Valdez Jr. found himself in 'a full-blown war'
Lance Cpl. Ruben Valdez Jr. of San Diego and two other Marines were trying to clear a building Saturday in Husaybah, Iraq, when they were ambushed and one of them was shot. Valdez and another Marine grabbed the wounded man and tried to pull him to safety, said St. Louis Post Dispatch reporter Ron Harris.
That safe place was the worst place to be.
"They pulled him into another room, but unfortunately, when they pulled him into that other room, that's where the Iraqis were hiding," Harris said.
Valdez and four other Marines were cut down by small arms fire, Harris said. He believes they died instantly.
"Their bodies were in the building, and the Marines could see their bodies in the building while they were trying to kill the Iraqis who had killed them," Harris said. "They ultimately did kill the Iraqis who killed them. There were eight of them."
Well-coordinated attack
Harris is embedded with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment - Valdez's battalion - for the past three months. It is his second stint as a journalist in Iraq. Harris gave KRIS 6 News an exclusive telephone interview Tuesday from western Iraq, near the Syrian border.
What happened early Saturday was a well-coordinated attack by hundreds of Iraqi Mujahedeen fighters, Harris said. Reports stated that nearly 300 fighters from Ramadi and Fallujah slipped into the city just 300 yards east of the Syrian border and launched the attack.
'A full-blown war'
The fighters reportedly set off a roadside bomb, luring Marines from their base, and then fired 24 mortars at them. Valdez and his unit came under fire around 8:30 a.m., when his unit answered the first unit's call for help, Harris said. When they arrived, it was "a full-blown war," he said.
At least nine Marines were wounded in the 14-hour battle. More than 20 Iraqi fighters were captured. Five of the insurgents died in the building and three others were killed as they ran out. Harris says the battle raged on throughout the day, but no other Marines were killed. He says the five Marines died in the first 90 minutes of fighting.
After the bodies were recovered, Harris rode in the truck that was bringing the dead Marines - including Valdez - back to their main base near Syriah.
The deaths of Valdez and the other Marines have had a major impact on the 3rd Battalion, Harris said.
Meaner and tougher
"The mood is a lot meaner and a lot tougher. It's personal now."
Harris said some Marines are also drawing comparisons to Vietnam. "They're saying this must be like what it was in Vietnam because you'll see a guy, he'll wave at you and he'll smile one day and at night he's planting the roadside bomb that'll kill you the next morning."
Harris said he too has been affected by the deaths of these Marines whom he considered friends.
'The real war'
"I saw Ruben a couple of days before he was killed. He was playing cards. It's so odd to see a guy at one point and then he's not there a couple of days later."
Harris said he's much more afraid for his personal safety.
"This is the real war. What happened last March and April - that was nothing. That was a cakewalk."
One Marine told Harris, "I need two days not to go out just to get my courage back."
Despite the dangers they face and the losses they've suffered, Harris said, the Marines aren't ready to come home.
'Finish the mission'
"They want to finish the mission and take care of the guys who killed their friends," he said.
And they want to send a message to the San Diego family of Lance Cpl. Ruben Valdez Jr.
"They were proud to serve with him. He was a special person to them. He inspired them. He motivated them. He helped them when they were down and they were fortunate to have known him."