Category: Marine Corps

Stars & Stripes reports that a Marine, Donavan Macura, collapsed on a three-mile run in Okinawa, barely a week into his new assignment;

Donavan Macura, 19, of Kalispell, Mont., was on a 3-mile run when he suddenly dropped to one knee, had a seizure and collapsed, according to the Daily Inter Lake newspaper of Kalispell. Family members were unaware of any previous medical conditions that could have caused his death.

Macura — whose rank was not immediately available — had left Camp Pendleton for Okinawa on May 19, the Marine’s friends said on social media.

Macura enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school, according to the Flathead Beacon. His high school wrestling coach told the Montana newspaper that Macura “stood for what the Marines stand for: doing the right things, working hard, being disciplined, watching out for each other.”

The Marine Corps Times tells the story of former Marine Sgt. Sean-Paul Donovan who was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for rescuing one of his Marines from his attempt at suicide;

The young Marine told Donovan — his acting platoon sergeant at the time with 2nd Radio Battalion — that he had “reached a point in his life that he felt he needed to take his own life,” Donovan said, recounting the phone conversation. “It took me by surprise.”

Donovan tried to calm the Marine down, and convinced him to return to his house, where Donovan headed out to meet him.

As Donovan left for the house he phoned his chain of command and the Jacksonville, North Carolina, police department.

The junior Marine was holding two pistols in his hands when Donovan entered the house.

And once inside the house with the armed Marine, Donovan kept his phone on and the line open with the police, so they could hear everything that was going on.

Eventually, Donovan and another Marine wrestled the pistols from the distraught Marine. The pistols misfired when the Marine tried to shoot Donovan;

After leaving the Corps in 2017 after five years, including two six-month combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Donovan received a call from his chain of command informing him that the unit was considering him for the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

“It blew my mind I was even being put in for such an award,” he told Marine Corps Times. “At the end of the day, what transpired that day, is what I would expect anyone to do.”

Thanks to AW1Ed for the link.

Military.com reports that Navy Cross recipient Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bradley Kasal has retired after 34 years of faithful service. He is best known from this photo taken in Fallujah in 2004 by Lucian Read – that’s him supported by two of his Lance Corporals;

He earned his Navy Cross that day;

For extraordinary heroism while serving as First Sergeant, Weapons Company, 3d Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 13 November 2004. First Sergeant Kasal was assisting 1st Section, Combined Anti-Armor Platoon as they provided a traveling over watch for 3d Platoon when he heard a large volume of fire erupt to his immediate front, shortly followed by Marines rapidly exiting a structure. When First Sergeant Kasal learned that Marines were pinned down inside the house by an unknown number of enemy personnel, he joined a squad making entry to clear the structure and rescue the Marines inside. He made entry into the first room, immediately encountering and eliminating an enemy insurgent, as he spotted a wounded Marine in the next room. While moving towards the wounded Marine, First Sergeant Kasal and another Marine came under heavy rifle fire from an elevated enemy firing position and were both severely wounded in the legs, immobilizing them. When insurgents threw grenades in an attempt to eliminate the wounded Marines, he rolled on top of his fellow Marine and absorbed the shrapnel with his own body. When First Sergeant Kasal was offered medical attention and extraction, he refused until the other Marines were given medical attention. Although severely wounded himself, he shouted encouragement to his fellow Marines as they continued to clear the structure. By his bold leadership, wise judgment, and complete dedication to duty, First Sergeant Kasal reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

When Kasal surrendered his sword of office to conclude a 34-year career May 18, he kept his message simple.

“I want every Marine and sailor to understand they enlisted for a reason and a purpose,” Kasal said, according to a Marine Corps news release. “That purpose was to do something better, to swear to support and defend the constitution, and to be a part of something greater. I ask the Marines and sailors to always be proud of that.”

A choir director charged Marine Colonel Joseph Murray with using his “I will kill you face” and knife hands in an encounter near Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia, according to USA Today;

An inspector general’s inquiry found merit in DeSilva’s complaint that Murray had intimidated her when he confronted her in a rage, but could not determine if he had broken the law. The Marines also found “no probable cause supporting any misconduct” by Murray or the investigators in the case of Father Kieran Mandato, according to a Marine Corps spokesman.

The church flap joins a growing list of problems at Quantico, known as the “Crossroads of the Marine Corps,” involving allegations of sexual harassment and a toxic work environment. The base is about 30 miles south of Washington.

DeSilva and Mandato, a retired Navy chaplain and former contract priest at Quantico, said in interviews that Murray’s actions had terrified them. The incidents arose from disputes about payments to Mandato, a roster of parishioners he had at his home and perceived personal slights from the pulpit.

DeSilva in her complaint to the inspector general said, “While it may be appropriate for every Marine to have an ‘I will kill you face,’ it is not appropriate to use that face on a 52-year-old female choir director in church.”

“I feared for my life,” Mandato said.

So, apparently, folks can construe facial expressions as assault. The investigators found “No probable cause supporting any misconduct” by Colonel Murray.

Mick sends us a link to the story of Lt. Col. Marcus J. Mainz, commander of Battalion Landing Team, 2d Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit who lost his job;

Lt. Col. Marcus J. Mainz, commander of Battalion Landing Team, 2d Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was relieved of his command May 19, 2018, by the commander of Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to continue to lead the battalion, according to a media advisory released by Lt. Col. Mike Armistead, USMC director, II MEF CommStrat & Ops.

According to the release, Mainz assumed command on June 28, 2016. His replacement is Lt. Col. Christopher Bopp, formerly assigned as commander, 2d Reconnaissance Battalion, 2d Marine Division.

From Military.com;

While 2/6 typically falls under the purview of II MEF, based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the unit has been deployed since February as the ground element of the 26th MEU. A spokesman for II MEF, Lt. Col. Michael Armistead, confirmed to Military.com that Mainz had been deployed with his unit in the 5th Fleet, a region that encompasses the Middle East, when he was relieved.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Mainz would be sent home to the states or remain with the unit on deployment.

Stars & Stripes reports that the US Marine Corps is strengthening presence of embassy guards at “several U.S. embassies” in reaction to President Trump’s decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

The controversial move Monday of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem sparked bloody clashes between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces along Gaza’s border. Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital. The Associated Press reported more than 50 Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli soldiers and some 2,400 others were wounded in the exchanges, which included firebombs lobbed at Israeli troops by protestors.

Rebarich said the Pentagon could not say how many Marines were deployed or to which embassies, citing security concerns. The Marines were deployed from the Marine Security Guard Augmentation Unit from Quantico, Va., a unit designed specifically to respond to such security threats worldwide at the State Department’s request, a Marine official said.

NBC News reported the additional Marines were sent to embassies in Israel, Jordan and Turkey, citing five unnamed defense officials. They reported only modest increases of more than 10 but less than several dozen Marines at each location, according to three of the unnamed officials.

I hope Hillary is taking notes.

Marine Corporal Michael Hainline was on terminal leave back on September 19, 1989 when Fred Hopkins gunned down two employees at Hainline’s new job at a plastic manufacturing plant in Macomb, Illinois. After shooting a female employee, Hopkins turned his gun on Jim Cobb. His first shot missed Cobb. From the Marine Corps Times;

Hopkins pulled the trigger again, but this time Cobb fell to the ground. The shooter then stood over his injured co-worker and shot him in the head, according to Hainline.

As Hopkins tried to reload, Hainline and other employees, including a former Navy seabee, tackled the shooter.

“These are all great people and they didn’t have to do what they did,” Hainline said.

The corporal had provided first aid to the mortally wounded Cobb, but his injuries were far too severe.

“I was a basic infantry guy and had basic first aid skills,” Haineline explained. “I would have done anything for a Navy corpsman that day.”

Hopkins freed himself from the chair where he had been restrained and dashed out of the building with Hainline in hot pursuit. He gave a description of Hopkins and his get away vehicle to police who finally captured the gunman.

A tragic accident prevented his unit from recognizing the young corporal for his heroism and quick reactions, until 25 years later when he received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, from his former commander last weekend.

Thanks to AW1Ed for the link.

KUSI tells the story of Marine LT Philip H. Sauer who was killed in Vietnam 51 years ago.

In 1967, then 25-year-old First Lieutenant Sauer was leading a group of four other marines up a hill to get a better vantage point when he was ambushed by a larger North Vietnamese army unit. He told the other Marines to run as he stayed back and fired at the other unit with only a pistol.

Sauer and three of the other Marines died that day…Between the day Sauer died and today, his story was essentially forgotten until roughly two years ago when Sauer’s brother Tom ran into a man named Lieutenant David Little while surfing in La Jolla Cove.

The two discussed Sauer’s bravery and then began working to have him properly recognized and remembered as the American hero he was.

This week their efforts came to fruition and LT Sauer was awarded the Silver Star and his headstone will be altered to reflect this latest honor.