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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| Don't piss off Marines - You will be dead. | |
| 2004-04-22 | |
Marine Sgt. Kenneth Conde Jr. didn't even realize he had been shot until someone told him.
Conde knew the Marines couldn't defeat an unseen enemy. He needed to locate the enemy forces before destroying them. Rifle in hand, he headed down the street to do just that. "The insurgents are like ghosts," he said. "They have the element of surprise because they can hide. They see us, but we can't see them. I knew we had to get out to see where they were shooting from." The sergeant called upon Cpl. Jared H. McKenzie and Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Cox to leave their vehicles and follow him to the front of the convoy. "Wherever Sergeant Conde goes, that's where we go," said Cox, of Saint Peters, Mo. "No questions asked. We just follow him." The three of them darted past the trucks looking for enemy positions on the rooftops. "We walked up to the third block past the vehicles and spotted a guy shooting at us from one of the rooftops," Conde said. "One of the gunners, Lance Corporal Matthew Brown, took that building out with his machine gun." Conde, McKenzie and Cox kept searching for the enemy. They exposed themselves to fire because it was the only way they could get a good look at enemy's firing positions. As they pushed forward, Conde was able to take out two shooters, but then things took a turn for the worse. "I was running, and I watched as I got shot in the left shoulder," Conde said. "I remember seeing a red mist coming from my back." Even though he saw himself get shot, it didn't occur to Conde to quit fighting. "I didn't really realize I had been shot until one of the Marines said something," he added. According to McKenzie, Conde fired several shots, killing a combatant, before falling to the ground. He then managed to get back to his feet and fire a few more rounds at the enemy before falling again. "We helped him up so he could get to the corpsman to get bandaged up," McKenzie, a 22 year old from Bonaqua, Tenn. "We made sure to kill the guys who shot him." The corpsman treated Conde, who only wanted to get his gear and get back to the fight. Conde's Marines were out there and he knew his place was alongside them. "We stayed and fought until every one of the insurgents was dead," Conde said. Before the day was through, 3rd MAP also raided the house of a former Baath Party member and seized a large weapons cache. Over the next few days, Conde's unit participated in several other firefights until the violence died down. All the while, he nursed his wound, not giving into the pain and refusing to leave his Marines. Only when his arm went numb, making it difficult to hold his rifle steady, did he finally give in and step out of the fight. Back at the camp here, Marines asked Conde why he chose to stay and fight even after being shot. "I told them that I couldn't just leave the fight when I still could keep going," he told them. But his actions didn't surprise his fellow Marines. "He always told us that he would lead us from the front, and that we would never do anything if he wasn't doing it too," Cox explained. "After being in that firefight with him, I will always know that he is true to his word." | |
| Posted by:Rawsnacks |
| #20 Yep! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-04-22 9:52:01 PM |
| #19 I'll tell you how we could lose.....If john fucking kerry were president....that's how! Only BUSH has the balls to see this through. It takes a man who KNOWS what's right, and what's wrong. kerry doesn't have this quality. Things ARE black and white ......there is no gray. kerry lives in the gray area, BUSH lives in the black and white area. |
| Posted by: Halfass Pete 2004-04-22 9:45:28 PM |
| #18 Mac, as I have said repeatedly on this site, how can we lose with soldiers and Marines like that? |
| Posted by: Tibor 2004-04-22 7:14:34 PM |
| #17 Takes a fine country to produce men who fight like that. |
| Posted by: mac 2004-04-22 7:02:29 PM |
| #16 "We helped him up so he could get to the corpsman to get bandaged up," McKenzie, a 22 year old from Bonaqua, Tenn. "We made sure to kill the guys who shot him." The corpsman treated Conde, who only wanted to get his gear and get back to the fight. Conde's Marines were out there and he knew his place was alongside them. "We stayed and fought until every one of the insurgents was dead," Conde said. Before the day was through, 3rd MAP also raided the house of a former Baath Party member and seized a large weapons cache. Gotta love a story with a happy ending. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-04-22 6:34:17 PM |
| #15 Ima loving a good Lou Diamond Story. "Hi Dick: I was on Tulagi in August '42 where Lou Diamond attempted to sink a Jap sub with his 81mm mortar. The tube was setup and range estimated mortar drops in and does not clear the top of tube. Crew checks for obstacle and dumps out Lou's Stach of beer in cans. Crew setup again and the mortar shell makes a high trac missing sub on right side about ten feet. The sub was rising to the surface when first mortar round misses, then before another round is firedthe sub is descending. The second round hits sub amid shiponly there is about 20 feet of water above ship. The second round hits sub amid ship only there is about 20 feet of water above ship. No smokestack, not Guadalcanal. I would ask what month that story was suppose to have taken place. There was an incident that Edson told at one our "Smoker Party." Edson told about a shavetail Lt. that bitched because Diamond had failed to salut, Edson remarked, hell he doesn't salute me. C L Noring (1st Raider Bn) Reno Nv" |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-22 6:16:57 PM |
| #14 Wait'll they get a load of ME! |
| Posted by: Lou Diamond 2004-04-22 6:14:19 PM |
| #13 This is not a surprise to anyone who has ever spent any time around Marines. It starts in boot camp. The amount of drive and determination it takes to finish recruit training turns these young men into something special. They believe they have been called to stand between America and those that would do her harm. They don't say much but they know that, in these perilous times, they are the pride of the nation. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-04-22 4:56:29 PM |
| #12 OOO-FUCKING-RAH!!! Semper Fi Marines. I've got a lot of buddies in the Marine Corp, most are still State-side, but itching to go over there and support their comrades! |
| Posted by: AllahHateMe 2004-04-22 4:28:41 PM |
| #11 The word about Sgt. Conde will get back to Fallujah Australopithecae HQ, with the question, "If God is so great, how come the infidels are such good fighters?" |
| Posted by: Anonymous4052 2004-04-22 4:13:44 PM |
#10 "We stayed and fought until every one of the insurgents was dead," Conde said.Think Al-Jizz will publicize that? Me neither. Semper fi, Marines - you rule! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-04-22 4:07:04 PM |
| #9 I hope a few bad guys escape Fallujah alive to spread the word about the Marines and the American soldiers and how its a bad idea to underestimate them. Its sad that the US has to prove this every once in a while because everyone thinks were soft, life would be much easier if the bad guys realized that the last poor bastards thought we were soft two and look what happened to them. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-04-22 3:36:58 PM |
| #8 I think I saw Sgt Conde and his squad on the news last night. They were showing a firefight with a Sgt who had pink blood smears from his left shoulder to elbow. He was still fighting and patrolling. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-04-22 3:11:27 PM |
| #7 "Ok, Mahmoud... here's yer AK-47, yer ammo clips, and yer bandanna. Yer all set. Oh, and don't shoot at Sgt Conde." "I thought you said this was a jihad against the evil US-Zionist oppressor-invaders?" "Yeah, but Conde will take it personal if you shoot him." |
| Posted by: Cthulhu Akbar 2004-04-22 2:59:48 PM |
| #6 Makes ya proud don't it :) |
| Posted by: djohn66 2004-04-22 2:46:51 PM |
| #5 Bravo Zulu, Sgt. Conde! How can these Idiots with AKs hope to win against esprit and leadership like that?!!! All the bad guys have accompplished is slowly removing a Marine from the line. Thus creating a platoon of Marines looking for Payback! OUTSTANDING! |
| Posted by: Jack Deth 2004-04-22 2:45:38 PM |
| #4 A bonified Hero. Awesome! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-04-22 2:05:44 PM |
| #3 Truely Impressive. I hope he gets recognized for his valor. A real American Hero. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2004-04-22 2:01:50 PM |
| #2 The asshats in Fallujah just do not have a chance against guys like this. God are they good! |
| Posted by: remote man 2004-04-22 1:49:54 PM |
| #1 Yup, our Marines, Gotta love 'em! |
| Posted by: Anonymous4052 2004-04-22 1:45:51 PM |