- Joined
- Apr 18, 2005
- Messages
- 350
- Points
- 93
A friend gave me a loan of his copy of this TV documentary, which was aired on US TV Channel A&E in May. Much of it was filmed by the Marines themselves, many of whom carried digital camcorders.
“Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company,” gives viewers a window into their world, largely through video and photos shot by the Marines themselves. As Sgt. Steve Hicks, platoon sergeant for Lima’s 3rd Platoon, puts it at the start of the documentary: “Everybody had a camera.”
And the Marines photographed everything. From pizza-eating contests in their barracks at Iraq’s Haditha Dam to the aftermath of the Aug. 3 explosion that destroyed the tracked assault vehicle, the Marines saw — and filmed — it all. The amphibious assault vehicle hit a roadside IED so massive that the 23-ton vehicle flipped onto its back and all 11 Lima Company Marines inside were killed.
The company from 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, a Reserve outfit out of Columbus, Ohio, deployed to Iraq in March 2005 with 184 Marines, the last of nine Marine Corps Reserve infantry battalions to be called up for war.
By the end of its seven-month tour, about one in three Marines with the company had been killed or wounded.
In all, 59 Purple Hearts were awarded to Lima Marines, 23 of them posthumously.
Follow-up interviews after the battalion’s return from Iraq and interviews with the parents and spouses of Marines killed in combat help bring richness and depth to the combat footage.
I found it very powerful and very moving. sal;
“Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company,” gives viewers a window into their world, largely through video and photos shot by the Marines themselves. As Sgt. Steve Hicks, platoon sergeant for Lima’s 3rd Platoon, puts it at the start of the documentary: “Everybody had a camera.”
And the Marines photographed everything. From pizza-eating contests in their barracks at Iraq’s Haditha Dam to the aftermath of the Aug. 3 explosion that destroyed the tracked assault vehicle, the Marines saw — and filmed — it all. The amphibious assault vehicle hit a roadside IED so massive that the 23-ton vehicle flipped onto its back and all 11 Lima Company Marines inside were killed.
The company from 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, a Reserve outfit out of Columbus, Ohio, deployed to Iraq in March 2005 with 184 Marines, the last of nine Marine Corps Reserve infantry battalions to be called up for war.
By the end of its seven-month tour, about one in three Marines with the company had been killed or wounded.
In all, 59 Purple Hearts were awarded to Lima Marines, 23 of them posthumously.
Follow-up interviews after the battalion’s return from Iraq and interviews with the parents and spouses of Marines killed in combat help bring richness and depth to the combat footage.
I found it very powerful and very moving. sal;
