America's Battalion: Marines in the First Gulf War

24 Parting Shots

Captain Leon Pappa, CO, Kilo Company I thought at ¤rst that maybe there was something wrong with me at Kuwait International Airport. I was actually a little disappointed that it was all over. I think this is typical of what the troops think of an of¤cer, that all he wants to see is the ¤ghts and the recognition. It wasn’t that. For one, I knew I’m glad we’re going home, because we’ve been gone a long, long time, plus the Okinawa thing. But I knew that for Kilo Company it was the beginning of the end for me. It was a sel¤sh motive when I realized I was going to lose the company. I was thinking, “We’re never going to be this close-knit again, never have this sense of urgency.” Captain Mark Davis, Battalion Logistics Officer The war is something I will never forget. The emotional roller coaster you were on. The Oh, shit, we’re doing it, someone is shooting at me. I’ll never forget when we were in Al Mishab and went into Khafji listening on the radio for the guys who came out of Khafji with their turrets turned to the rear. The Saudi guys were just sitting there. They were going to handle it. Then the liaison of¤cer said, “This has turned sour. They’re shooting at us.” I’ll never forget the feeling that these guys were not playing fair. War ain’t a game. Lieutenant Ivan Wray, Artillery FO, with India Company These kids, these are post–Vietnam generation guys. They grew up disenchanted with a lot of things. They weren’t there for the country, in my 24 / Parting Shots opinion. They weren’t there even for the Marine Corps. What I saw, what really got me in the heart, was that camaraderie, that—for lack of a better word—love. It really sunk in when the assistant division commander came to talk before the January deadline. He came to talk to us about combat. He had been in Vietnam, and he talked about feelings. He said, “I know you’re going to do well.” He goes, “What does a man ¤ght for?” The ¤rst answer was by Lieutenant Jimenez, who said, “Love.” That’s incredible. Most of the things I hear are “anger.” The Marines were real professionals. You could see it in their eyes. They had to take care of the Marines that affected their immediate world. The biggest thing was to see these kids I cared so much about and have this self-doubt, thinking, What will I do if I see these men I care so much about . . . get killed? I’d get teary-eyed when I’d see these guys; they’d be working and just smiling, laughing, twenty hours a day—literally, at some points. I’d say, “My God, it’s not the pay, it’s not the food, and it’s not the girls back home who broke the hearts of a lot of these guys. It wasn’t for the Marine Corps; it was for that man next to you.” I said, “Good God! I’m just proud to be here.” That was probably some of my best days in the Marine Corps in my career; I’ve changed in that sense. I do believe in love again. It changed me. 1st Sergeant Wylie R. McIntosh, Weapons Company The war’s over and they stopped short of Baghdad. That’s disappointing. Everybody had planned to have lunch or dinner or something in Baghdad city. I was truly disappointed and most of my company was. Really disappointed . Staff Sergeant Don Gallagher, Platoon Sergeant, Weapons Company I wish we wouldn’t have stopped. Probably Marines, and other servicemen, would have lost their lives, but I think as long as Saddam is over there in power, he’s laughing at us. He never lost power. As long as that madman is over there and he’s got the capabilities, it might take another ten years, he’ll be back into full strength and he won’t be stupid next time. He won’t wait. I feel the young Marines did an outstanding job. Once the red ®ag went up and they realized they were going to do this mission, I never once saw a Parting Shots 213 Marine who was scared or a coward. They...