Battle cries and reflections

FALLOUJA, Iraq â€”  For three weeks straight, the Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division faced daily combat. Seven were killed, more than 100 were wounded and all came away changed forever. In those days of fighting, more than one-third of the 150 Marines of Echo Company were wounded. Purple Hearts could not be ordered fast enough.

The voices of those in the battalion during and after the fighting speak of pain, loss and fellowship -- and, sometimes, of frustration:

On combat

“He had plans for the future. We’d talk about his plans, but now it’s different, for all of us.�

-- Marine Cpl. Howard Lee Hampton, about his friend, Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin, one of the seven killed in combat

“There’s no place I’d rather be than here with my Marines. I’ll always remember this time.�

-- Austin, two days before his death

“With men like the Marines of Echo Company, we’ll never be defeated. America will always be free.�

-- Capt. Douglas Zembiec, commander of Echo Company

“There were times when I thought to myself, ‘This is really bad. This is reality, not a movie.’ That’s what it was: reality.�

-- Pfc. Tyson Pennock

“I’ll remember that screaming the rest of my life. It wasn’t a loud scream like a scary movie, more like a long moan full of pain. I knew he was hurt but I thought he might live. Then the screaming stopped and I saw him with a peaceful look on his face. It was the worst day of my life.�

-- 1st Sgt. William Skiles, on attempts to evacuate a dying Marine during a firefight

“The younger Marines used to laugh at me when they saw how fast I jumped into a hole when I heard a mortar coming in. Then one day a round landed 5 meters away from us. After that, they didn’t laugh.�

-- Gunnery Sgt. Timothy Baldwin

“Their tactics weren’t as high-speed as ours. They pretty much didn’t know what they were doing. They got some lucky shots, though.�

-- Lance Cpl. Jerod Brown

“Let’s see: two arms, two legs, one head, all still connected. It’s been a good day.�

-- Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis, commanding general of 1st Marine Division, after completion of the first peaceful foray into Fallouja

On abuses at Abu Ghraib

“It’s going to make a big flat tire on our 18-wheeler. It affects everybody and hurts all the good we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to make a future for these people, but we can’t if they think we’re bad people like that.�

-- Lance Cpl. John Hannam

“It’s such a delicate thing here, and this is definitely going to hurt things. How stupid could [the prison guards] be? We’re Americans, we don’t do those things. A lot of Iraqis are mad at us now that shouldn’t be.�

-- Pfc. Corey McGriff

“Overall I think the Iraqis are going to realize we’re here to help them and get them free. But in the short run, this hurts, bad.�

-- Lance Cpl. Michael Jacobs

On being Marines in Iraq

“We are men of violence, but we are not violent men.�

-- Lt. Col. Gregg Olson, commanding officer, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division

“If we have contact, do not spray and pray. We are not Navy SEALs. Be selective in your targets and use an appropriate amount of fire.�

-- Staff Sgt. Frank Ortega

“Keep talking, lieutenant, we’ll get you out of there.�

-- An enlisted Marine after another enlisted Marine broke wind loudly

“We knew we were going to stir up a beehive, we just didn’t know how many bees there were going to be.�

-- Master Sgt. Isaac Sanchez

“It’s like sausage: ugly to watch being made. We’ll see how it tastes when it’s over.�

-- Mattis on the chances for peace in Fallouja