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Constant Combat
This veteran-led podcast highlights the experiences of Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, starting with their harrowing 2004 deployment to Ramadi; a 9 month combat tour which resulted in the highest casualties in a single deployment - a deployment that most Americans have never heard about. Through candid conversations surrounding these events, the series also explores earlier experiences that shaped the Marines, emphasizing their grit, humor, and humanity while aiming to honor their stories authentically.
Constant Combat
Running Down Alleyways - Jamie Rocha (part 2 of 2)
Part two with Jamie Rocha and his raw, unscripted memories from 2004: the streets of Ramadi can turn from quiet to chaos in a breath. He details everyday texture of deployment: spades games in the hooch, bootleg DVDs, a gas alarm when no one has a mask ready... and set it against the heaviest moments: responding after sniper teams were killed and meeting the family of your fallen brother and roommate.
Jamie also shares the living legacy: the 2/4 Association, reunions that bridge Vietnam to Iraq and beyond, and the families who keep names alive.
• outer cordon roles and early bug hunts
• split-second decisions with the runaway wrecker
• rooftop ambush and returning fire
• downtime rituals, gas alarms, and hooch life
• losses, medevac support, and transporting the fallen
• OP Library fight and media embeds
• training memories, missing footage, and unit culture
• 2-4 Association reunions and intergenerational bonds
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If you like what you heard, please subscribe on your favorite podcast service or follow our webpage for direct downloads @ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2525088
If you are a member of Weapons Company or someone with a story about Weapons Company 2/4 in 2004, please come tell some stories with us - 20 mins or 20 hours! Help paint the canvas of an archival story for others to know what it was like. Contact us @ RamadiPodcast@gmail.com, or via the podcast website above.
All music used with permission by soundbay: https://www.youtube.com/@soundbay_RFM
This is part two of our conversation with Jamie Rocha. 81 millimeter mortars sledgehammer platoon.
SPEAKER_01:So let's see here. Some of the uh later stuff we would have gotten again, you wouldn't have done much with the Battle of Ramadi. Um you would have gotten pulled out properly with Rainmaker, like you said, you uh I'm not feeling very comfortable with that.
SPEAKER_04:With one of the map map platoons, I don't know which one it was.
SPEAKER_01:But then we were but then we were outer cordon for um that first major bug hunt uh then on the 10th, right, Nylon? That was the 10th. Operation bug hunt?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, the first official bug hunt was then uh Operation County Fair was April 8th. That was the first small scale coordinate search, and then April 10th was the first bug hunt in the Sophia district. That was the only time that there was if you remember it, that was the only time that helicopters ever flew over Ramadi and did any shooting.
SPEAKER_01:And uh we were we were doing an outer cordon on that one, and that's the time that we shot that poor guy up because he ran our he ran our channel.
SPEAKER_04:Are you talking about the guy who's driving a wrecker or some bullshit? Yeah, man, tell the story. There you go, tell it, tell it. Well, I remember being I didn't shoot at the guy, so I'm proud of myself because I was on the 50 cal I mean I probably would have demolished him, right? You know, with the 50 cal, but we see uh some guy turn the corner and we had that Constantine wire. Yeah, and then we had people there trying like to stop him and he wouldn't stop. And then and then you see him like hold on to like the steering wheel and put his head down, or like, oh fuck, I mean that's a suicide bomber. That's why you could think, yeah, shit suicide bomber. So everyone just starts throwing rounds at this fucking truck. Bam, bam, bam, it sounds like fucking we should have just fucking killed the dude, like you know, and he just rolls off the ditch. There's smoke coming out of the dude, like, what the fuck's going on, right? And I think he survived because I don't think I think he only got hit once, and it was like in the hand where we're some of the worst shooting motherfuckers that damn team. And he comes out and I think it was Rocco. Was it Rocco or like a different uh interpreter? He's yelling at him, getting at my if I'm if I'm if I remember correctly, that they're saying that he didn't have no brakes or some shit, driving a fucking wrecker. Yep, I'm like, driving a fucking record with no brakes.
SPEAKER_01:That's a hundred percent. That's a hundred percent what happened. No, uh so so in my in my defense as far as the uh the shooting goes and why he didn't get hit, is I was shooting at the engine. I was trying to get the truck to stop. I wasn't shooting at the guy, to be fair.
SPEAKER_04:We could we could uh we can go ahead and we'll say that about you. So I mean, it wasn't like I could just throw down range with a 50, and then we're doing that, you know, one of the bug hunts, you know, that shit would have gone through all sorts of shit. So, you know, I was never smart enough to know not to lay down.
SPEAKER_01:No, he did he did get hit a couple times. He had some pretty he uh very survivable, but um no, he got that was some nasty hits, actually. I remember I was helping patch him.
SPEAKER_04:I was on I was part of the contact. And I want to say even Doc took out his nine bell and started throwing around with his nine bell shooting.
SPEAKER_00:Just in case. Just in case.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I want to say I we went to the hospital a few times. I don't remember why though, but we went in.
SPEAKER_01:No, we we we had I remember there was a couple missions that we went because we had to go um like check or something like that. Maybe Nylon would know better because he would have probably done some of the similar missions where we had to go talk with people, like we weren't dropping anybody off, but yeah, I remember I remember two or three times we were because I think it was you, Rocha, you and I went up on the roof to to provide Overwatch because we were gonna be there for a while.
SPEAKER_04:Um, yes, I remember that. And I don't remember why or what we were doing. Yeah, I don't I don't remember. I mean, and then and and and it goes with the I was a last corporate at the time, so it's just more of a you know, just do what I say, kind of go to the rooftop and you know make sure no one started shooting at us, you know, whatever. So it's just kind of like all right, yes sir, I'll just do what you want me to do, folks. Be up there with mustard while they're together. Yeah, most of the time. It seems like me and you are always paired, mustard. Like even at the government center, I have a picture of you, you know, pointing it, you know, towards the street. I don't know what we're doing, but I have a picture of you doing that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I uh I like I like uh especially early on before we got the combat replacements and I started pulling Martinez and Adams with me a lot. Um I like bringing you along because I could you're you're one of the few guys that I could tell what needed to be done and I could trust that you would do what needed to be done while I went and because I got pulled away a lot. And so I could give you I could give you tasks, kind of knowing that it was gonna get done.
SPEAKER_04:It's gonna get done. Yeah, I remember when they came to us, Adams, like because he took over my team leader's position since he was a corporal, and that's a corporal billet. So he took it over, but he was still like, hey, this is your team, so you just tell me what you want them to do, and I'll tell them to do it, or whatever. I'm like, that's cool, whatever. You know, because he already did his first combat deployment, and he didn't, I don't, I mean, they were volunteers to come back, but he had told me that his first stunt wasn't, you know, as intense as ours was. So he was just like, hey, you've been, you know, fighting with these guys already for months or whatever, just go ahead and we'll just I'll I'll I'll go to the you know the debriefings or whatever, and I'll just let you know what's going on and help me out with the team or whatever. That's fine. That's close, no big deal. That's fine. I wasn't one of these guys that got pissed off because oh, he took my position. I don't give a fuck. I didn't really give a shit about positions, I just want to come home alive. I just like dying.
SPEAKER_01:You know, good good priorities.
SPEAKER_04:I do remember me and Adams being on a rooftop and getting fucking ambushed. That was fucking ugly. I don't even know when it was, but it was one of the operation buggers. It might have been the last one. And because we're on top of a rooftop, and it was fucking we're there all day. And we're sitting there, like, you know how you first you start off, you're like, oh, you know, watching every little piece of fucking crass that moves, and and then after a while, I was like, bam, nothing, nothing. That's a while. You're just like walking around, scratching your ass, like not reading, like fucking whatever, right? And then there was a it was like a traffic jam at first, right in front of where's where we're at. And I remember uh looking down and I was like, What's this fucking trick car doing? And I was like, I don't know. So I kind of turned around and I saw a car in the eye. Two guys get out of the car and just start fucking laying down the fire on us. And we dropped so fast, I was like, what the fuck? We dropped so fast, and I'd hear on the radio, like, y'all shoot back, y'all shoot back, and we're like, fuck no, because it felt like because it felt like as the lower they were to the to the to the rooftop, like the ground, and felt like the bullets were like coming through the fucking wall, and we couldn't get up. And I was like, man, I want to get fucking shot on top of the head. Like, how the fuck you get shot on top of the head, right? Like, fuck. And then finally it it kind of dies out. And and we get up and we return fire and we hit the car like a few times. I'm sure we did. I mean, I wasn't a bad shot, fuck, you know. And uh, we hit the car a little bit, it kind of swerves, and I want to say someone else got that car a couple blocks, blocks down and killed him or something. You know, I can't I can't remember the actual details or whatever, but I I remember I was so scared because I was like, I think we're I think we're close to going home. And I was like, You're gonna pick my head up right now, like because these these users are just laying down rounds on us. So I was like, fuck. And and it was me and Adams. And it's funny because uh Martinez told that story to uh that first book that was written on us, and he had said in that book, I thought Roach and Adam just got hit. I thought when we're going up to the rooftop that we're gonna just pick up their bodies off the floor because they went down so fast. And he's like, But then I saw them get up, return fire, and he's like, Okay, so they're good. I was worried about that, you know, and I was like, fuck. I do remember like that, I do remember that because I that was scary as shit. Because I I don't remember ever being really targeted like that, like of course, pop shots here, blah blah blah, but it's just being pinned down like that, like you don't get pinned down a lot over there because you have help people are there, you know, guys here, guys over there, you know, guys overwatch, whatever. But they be up be and I felt so helpless just laying on the floor getting shot at, and I can't shoot back because I can't even move to pick my head up because I'm scared I'm gonna get shot. Because the routes were coming so close, and you could see like debris and the brick just flying everywhere, and I'm like, I'm I'm there ain't no way I'm getting up. I'm gonna I tell fucking Adam I was like, you get up if you want. I ain't getting up. So so we just laid there for like it felt like it was a long fucking time, but I'm pretty sure they probably just switched two magazines on us, you know what I mean? But I mean, when that's when they case got shit like that, that that you know, it's pretty loud first off, and then and then they were really close to us because we're we weren't like we're fucking 100 yards away. We're they must have been about 20, 25 feet from us. Because they're just in the bottom on the road. They just jumped out, had the balls to jump out, they're shooting at us. But I mean, we got laxed, you know. Of course, I got like I said, we we probably been there like six hours already, seven hours, nothing, nothing over the radio. So we just figured actually gonna happen. And then not complacent. Almost took my face off, you know what I mean? So uh Yeah. So I do remember that story about Adams all the time. He was a good guy.
SPEAKER_01:We did do a lot of uh standing around Overwatch work uh as uh other things were going on. You telling that story reminded me of it's uh there's a picture in Oliver North's book. It's when we had um I can't remember what happened, but we had a bunch of guys lined up and we were we were holding a corner, and uh it was another time that we had been there for forever and then a car just came screaming up really quick. I thought we were done for, but it was uh just a guy they drive like maniacs.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So uh I thought that we were done for, but nope. It was just somebody driving really fast.
SPEAKER_04:And uh fortunately we didn't shoot, but yeah, no, we uh we probably should have shot a lot more people than for doing stuff like that, but I mean glad we didn't and shit, you know what I mean? But you know, when you're in that type of situation environment, a lot of times you shoot first and ask questions later. You know what I mean? It's just hard to determine. I mean, it's it's like that little saying goes like, I don't want to die for my country, I'll let him die for his. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, like so I don't I I don't wanna I didn't want to come home with a box, so it was just you can kind of have to determine on your own what the level of uh you know force that you have to use. You know, because your your squad leader, team leader gun ain't always gonna be around, you know what I mean to tell you. So, you know, but it was a good experience that I don't know if I missed and I would want to go back or wouldn't ever want to go back. I don't know. I have mixed feelings for that all the time.
SPEAKER_00:Well, now that you're thinking about it, what do you think?
SPEAKER_04:If would I if I had to go back, I definitely would have 100%. I mean, I might have to get drop a few pounds, you know what I mean? But I mean Yeah, sure. Yeah, we're not young men anymore. Yeah, but uh if if I needed to, of course, I would go back in a heartbeat. I would have heard it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean and I guess along that same vein, any regrets or are you good with everything?
SPEAKER_04:No, no, I'm I'm good. I mean, I'm we didn't do nothing too crazy to where I'm like, man, we killed 45 people just because no, we didn't do nothing like that. So, you know, right. I mean, we just did things that we needed to do and what had to be done. Simple as that. It was nothing to where too crazy. I mean, it was crazy, don't get me wrong. We did, you know, some shit that you know you only see in fucking war movies and stuff like that. But I mean, we did them because we needed to protect each other, and you know, I was with Blake, you know. I I'd rather check a you know, bullet for Blake than you know, him for me. So, you know, so you know, I'm alright with the things we did over there. Good. I'm at peace. Nice.
SPEAKER_00:So thinking about now, you probably didn't have a ton of downtime, but when you did have downtime, what'd you do in the hooch, man?
SPEAKER_04:Oh fuck, you know what we did, but we just played cards all damn day. We played like uh uh what was it? Um spades 31 a lot. We played uh uh um spades. Of course we're fucking mortarmen, we had to play spades, you know. So we played spades a lot, and I remember it was me, uh me, McCloud, Jonathan. Jonathan remember John, right? John and and and our doc. But I can't remember our doc's name for the life of me.
SPEAKER_01:Doc Hinkle.
SPEAKER_04:There, that's yes, him. We used to play Brian Hinkle. Yes, Brian. We played spades a lot, and we just uh hung out in the route, man. We just I mean, I had a little DVD player, so we just watched you know movies on a damn thing. Everyone watched the family guy for some fucking reason. Had like DVs are like uh burnt copies of the family guy, and we just sit there and watch and chill out, you know. I do remember one time we're trying to chill out, do that, and we got uh hit by uh what was it? Like a little rocket, but it had gas in it. Do you remember that blade? It had like gas and all this smoke fluor, and people started running around saying gas, gas, gas. My dumb ass didn't have my fucking gas mask because it's in the bottom of my fucking seabag. You know, do I need a gas mask for? I'm not gonna put on mop gear. And I remember like just started coughing and coughing, freaking myself out. I ran out the back of the hoops and I took off running by myself down the fucking pretty much next to the river. And then as I was walking back, I see people yelling at me and screaming and laughing, they had their gas mask on and they're taking it off. And I'm like, the fuck y'all laughing about me for? Like, and I'm in my fucking little fucking shorts with no shirt on, just ran outside. You know, I was like, I mean, I never to this day even though what kind of gas it was. It it tasted like CS gas, but yeah, I mean, yeah, yeah. Why would it hit us with CS gas and we fucking trained with that? They didn't, but they didn't know what they were doing. Yeah, they didn't know. Yeah, yeah, and I remember because like it peppered right in front of our door. And I was like, well, I'm fucking glad it peppered there and not on our paper thin ceiling that we had up there.
SPEAKER_01:No, I think that's the one that they uh it did hit a truck. Uh Martinez was reminding me of that one. Um, but uh yeah, they they would just they would knock a fin. They didn't even know what they were doing. They would knock a fin off of one of the side of the mortars and stuff like that, just so it would be more erratic because they didn't know they were just trying to lob it kind of towards us. They couldn't target.
SPEAKER_04:And so as a mortarman, I'm very offended by that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:But that's what we're doing.
SPEAKER_01:So what else do you remember? Do you remember any of the so we we did some other bigger operations? Um, going back to the end of the end of uh April, uh, we would have you were just doing patrols in the first part of May is when we lost Savage, but yeah.
SPEAKER_04:I I remember that uh we we weren't out with them. No. But when when they came back, they told us that he was halo flighted, and then they brought us back. Because I do remember uh I think it was Lieutenant Dobb at the time. He tried to tell us and he couldn't, he broke down. And then I I want to say Cook started breaking down too, and he went inside. So Garcia had to tell us. And I remember kind of the speech was like, hey guys, this sucks. I'm sorry. But we we could cry for our father later. Right now, we have to, you know, get back and you know, take care of business per se, I guess. And you know, we'll you know, we'll come back to this whenever we can get home or whatever. So I mean, he wasn't being an ass or anything, he's just trying to motivate, you know, you to you know, this is what's gonna happen. And um just keep us going from you know the loss of Savage, because Savage was he was a very unique guy. I was I was his roommate in Okinawa. Oh yeah, he was fun. He was fun to be with, I guess.
SPEAKER_01:I love Jeremiah. Yeah, he was uh he was uh he was definitely a guy that uh you weren't you weren't gonna have a dull time if he was there, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. That that was uh that was a good thing about him, though. He never took anything serious whenever you would tell us something, and he was just all around, just fantastic, you know. I finally met Mama Savage last year, and she's very, very nice. She was very humble, talked to everybody, her kids, her son. I just hate that she went through the same thing with her other son. Like he wanted to join because of Savage, and well, of course, his brother, he he's a Savage together, and uh he got injured in Afghanistan. He got really fucking screwed up. I mean, and he was close to death, and I could just only imagine losing both sons like that. But he pulled through and you know, he survived. And so, you know, she told us his story. He went with us last year and he was there and gotta met them, you know, Savage's sister, they're a very, very nice family, trying to get them because we're having another two-floor association reunion. We have them every year, yeah. And uh we're having this one in September, late September in Corpus Christi. Uh, so this past year was past it was uh October 3rd, this past year, like October last month or a few months ago, whatever. We went uh to Willisford, Texas, and that's where uh the Unraman, the guy who wrote it, Greg uh Greg's the royal. Yeah, yeah, he was there, and I talked to him and we took a picture with him, and then the next night we went to a World War, I mean, uh World War II museum or Vietnam Museum, I can't remember. And you know, they took us to the tour and then We went to a celebrity softball tournament where we got to go down there and meet the players and meet the celebrities and you know get on the field. We got honored on the field. I encourage anyone who listens to this cat this podcast. Hey, if you're in 2-4, it's a 2-4 association. So it's anyone who's ever been in 2-4. So you meet, you know, Vietnam vets, like you meet guys from the 80s, like I mean Odoman, you know, and and of course you meet like junior Marines too. There was like 15 junior Marines that when we got out, they were just getting into 2-4. And so that's how they knew Worth and you know, uh Forky. You remember Forky? They knew who Forky was, you know, it just so it was like pretty cool. Like, you know, I kind of want to just spread the word about this 2-4 association. Just you know, maybe y'all might want to join. A lot of people are actually in it that we know they just don't go to the to the reunions. But Hodges is in it, Late uh Latham's in it. He comes down to Texas every so often. We we met up with Sergeant Major Booker at one of them. You know, this past year the guest speaker was uh General Livingston, the medal honor winner. Yeah, and it was pretty cool because he actually got to swear in Marine recruits on the softball field, and they got to read, yeah, yeah, on the field. He got to read on him and uh Hernandez were there. So that was pretty cool. So if anybody wants to link, just let me know. If you ever want to meet up with guys who were with you two in your platoon, or you know, they'll be there if y'all just coordinate together, have a good time. It's always a good time to reminisce and hang out, I guess. Talk.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, just out of curiosity, how many how many guys from 2004 do you think were there?
SPEAKER_04:Oh well, this past time there was only uh well this past year, it was only uh me and Fern. Fern or uh the guy Scott Hastings, the he wrote that book, uh Echoes of her body. Yeah, he's the one who hosted it. Yeah, but he was in 06, I believe.
SPEAKER_00:He was in 06, yeah. He was the echo company commander in 06.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, and but uh like previous times that there's been like I've been with one with Eccles and Latham and Booker. Oh, cool, you know, so yeah, so it's I mean, and Accles was like just randomly there. So I'm like, what the fuck are you doing here? You know, and this was in San Antonio, yeah, and he's like from fucking somewhere up north, like way, different country, different state, or whatever. And he just showed up to one of them, you know what I mean? So I mean, you'll be surprised who you see there and who you don't. And then if you don't see the one that you know, it's it's actually really good because then you get to hear these Vietnam War stories, and then you're like, man, so I I don't feel so bad because fuck y'all, y'all did some shit over there, like you know, you're in a jungle and we're running around the street. But I mean, you know, so you get the you you get to give and take y'all's you know, experiences, and it's a bond that you know happens. Now, gentlemen, you know, and it's pretty cool. Like, I want to say, what's his name? Oh Lord, he fought with golf company, he's a president now.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, Joe Hayes.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, Hayes, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a president, he got sworn in this past October.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I saw that. I saw that video. Yeah, that was it's good.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, so you know what I mean. So it's I mean, you you see random folks like that, because I seen them before they're years back at one reunion, and then uh he got sworn in as a president. So I wouldn't, you know, like for some of y'all guys that show up and come, you know, you know, kind of reminisce and talk. I don't go.
SPEAKER_01:No, I appreciate that. No, it's it was it, I mean that part of what created all of this is uh you know, when we went to the reunion last year, and that's kind of what we're doing here too, is that kind of make connections, reminisce, remember some stuff, talk shit to one another.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I mean, I didn't get to do that much with you this past year because you took off, I guess. No, no hug or kiss or nothing. So I was like, fuck, you just took off on a way.
SPEAKER_01:You just brought up so many feelings, man. I didn't know what to do with all this.
SPEAKER_04:I said, That's muster. She's like, he keeps on staring at you, and I was like, Yeah, that was the love of my life back then. I don't tell you. This is like us four, and you're just staring right at me, smiling in the word. I'm looking at the camera. I think I sent it to you. You know, I was like, look, I was going back in love again.
SPEAKER_01:You're my boy, man. You had my six, and I appreciated it.
SPEAKER_04:Oh yeah, I still do, buddy. Don't worry.
SPEAKER_01:But uh so bringing it back to uh Ramadi in 2004. Um you remember any other specific missions? I I know that you're you're thinking a lot of the I know you were thinking a lot about the raids that we did and a lot of the door kicks. We did a lot of that. Um yeah.
SPEAKER_04:But uh trying to I remember we were escorting a box troke. And I do remember we're uh I think we had that not that new guy, but he was there with us, but he was a younger Marine. I think we got him for like I think it was a machine gunner because uh we started getting machine gunners with us for you know right and uh we were just going to box truck, and I remember getting ambly like shot at those like contact left for what a round something whatever. And I remember getting out of the truck and everyone's shooting at this one house. And I I try to cross the street, so I'm running across the street, but I hide behind a fucking chain line fence, like I remember what the fuck I was thinking, right? And then like everyone's yelling at me, so like I push forward and then Escabel grabs me from behind, he's pushing forward with me, and then we get to the house and we try to kick the fucking door in, and it's it's chained up from the inside, you know, like what the fuck? You know, and and then we finally get in, and then we uh we kick down this this door, and there's the guy just sitting there, like fucking laughing at us. So we're like, oh, is that right? So we kind of kind of rough them up a little bit, not not in serious, and we handcuff them, right? We like, you know, for zips on him, I guess. And if we go up to the rooftop, and there's all these fucking shell cases everywhere. And there's like a little bit of blood on one corner or whatever, and we're like, dude, how much people were here? So, but I don't think we ever found out what happened. We'll just I guess it was just a regular, hey, shooting scooter or some bullshit, and but we caught one of them inside the house fucking sitting there laughing at us. And that I want to say that he had a tattoo of like the Iraqi regime on his arm or something like that. So he was an Iraqi guy or something, like you know, like an Iraqi army did that, you know, so surrendered, buddy. Well, Thailand, I guess, surrendered, but didn't really.
SPEAKER_01:No, I but I actually very much remember when he took cover behind that chain link fence.
SPEAKER_04:See, that's what I forgot about that. You know what? Those are funny memories of mine. I I I try to push them way in the back, you know what I mean? Like trying to be like I was hardcore over there. I did some dumbass shit, you know. Oh, we all did.
SPEAKER_01:I was gonna say everybody did something stupid. Yeah, no, I I have I have the time that I fell off the top of that that wall trying to get into it, trying to to do the raid, and Martinez gave me too much of a boost and it threw and I flipped over. And I I fell like 12 feet and landed on my back, knocked the wind out of me. No, we all did.
SPEAKER_04:But that was like the man, I was like, dude, I remember Eskimo just grabbing me and dragging me. I'm like, I feel like a little kid and my feet like dangling on the floor. I do remember that. I don't remember what we were doing though. I well, I remember that we're escorting a box truck because I remember when we got shot, they took off and we stayed behind.
SPEAKER_01:No, we were doing a child, we were doing a child run out to uh combat outpost. Yep, we were doing a child run to combat outpost, and the uh the SOP at the time was we'd stay behind while they pushed on and yeah, but I do remember, I just don't remember who were fucking protecting.
SPEAKER_04:I just know that we got we started getting shot at and we just dismounted and they kept pushing forward. And then my dumbass decided to hide behind a little bit of brush, like hey, that was like fucking a forest field to me, I guess. You know, like at the time he can't see me, so he can't shoot me type of deal. But no.
SPEAKER_01:I remember I remember standing behind a wall with you one time too, where it was just nothing but trash inside that place. And uh you couldn't see. I'm a I'm a little bit taller than you and I could see over the wall, but you couldn't. And so I remember I kicked a bunch of trash up underneath me and I was like, stand on this. You're so you're so pissed at me because I made you stand on a pile of trash. And I was like, I don't give a fuck. I need you to see.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, but that's pretty much. I mean, don't have a lot more memories. Wish I did. There's there's a few of them that when we're smoking in a smoke pit, of course, we get you know mortared, and everyone's just jumping on the ground until we the mortar stop and then just get up and keep on smoking a cigarette, you know, like you know what I mean. I remember, yeah, I want to say Lelong got got like a uh hold of like one of those hookah tobacco things.
SPEAKER_01:Right, I forgot about that.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, and like his mom would send them because Lalong likes to roll his own cigarettes as the fucking most ugliest thing. I smoke cigarettes, right? And my mom used to send me a carton of cigarettes, but those those Iraqi cigarettes, man, it's like smoking four reds in one, so I was like, no, but Lalon would just roll his own cigarettes, so it looked like he had a bunch of just weed joints just in a fucking bag, you know, he just rolled his own cigarettes, you know. But then he got a hold of those hookah things and he was out batches sucking on that thing fucking all the time. I was like, Who the fuck did you get this from? You know, I don't remember him ever telling me how he got it or why he even got it, but I'm assuming it might have been that. Remember that guy used to come in and sell all this crazy stuff, you know? Yeah, the DVD guy. Yeah. Yeah, oh yeah, the DVD guy. Yep. All the poor party guys liked him.
SPEAKER_01:A lot of bootlegged uh movies from that guy and a lot of other contraband for sure.
SPEAKER_00:He he had all kinds of crap. He had candy bars, he had Fanta, he had all kinds of shit.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I never I never trusted in that shit.
SPEAKER_00:Well, we ended up killing him in a raid, so it didn't matter. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I mean, that that he was probably checking out our our cat. He definitely was.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that was that was what the uh assertion was. Gunny Maraki swore up and down, he saw him pacing off uh the camp and measuring it out for you know what maybe indirect fire. I guess if you could find somebody who could who could read a plot, but so yeah, that was I'm I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_04:That's uh awesome, I guess. Yeah. Suck for him, good for us, I guess.
SPEAKER_01:I don't trying to trying to remember some of the other bigger operations that we would have been a part of. Nile, do you have a couple of those?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, the things that I know that you guys were a part of, there was the uh engineers that were killed by the IED on the dam. That was late May May 29th.
SPEAKER_04:On the levee, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yep.
SPEAKER_04:I remember that shit because when it happened, we we just saw bodies flying in the air. Like, what the because it was he kind of like circled around, and then uh it was me and what was this the uh our first SRNA, Mac? Yeah, and he was walking with us, and he goes, He goes, Go look at that bike right there. And I said, Did you see what happened over there? Like, fucking no, like that's the first time I was like, He goes, You're scared? And he's like, and this was after we got hit by that bike bomb, too. So I'm like, and then they started searching the the water, and there's nobody out there, no one, no fishermen. So that bike is by itself. So I'm like, Oh, this motherfucker wants me to get killed. Like, oh fuck, so I'm going real slow. He's like, you know what? I'll just do it, stand behind me. And I'm fairly certain. I mean, I he probably would protect me how big he was.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and then uh last year kicks the bike over, and he's like, Oh, there's no bomb in it, and he walks away.
SPEAKER_00:I remember that. Yeah, he carried a shotgun most of the time. Yeah, see, I remember that.
SPEAKER_04:So I was like, What the fuck? I'm I was like, Yeah, I'm not gonna go check that bike. I was like, uh, can we get I mean there is no one around in the water in the bank by itself. So I'm like, why? And he's like, I'll just do it myself, and he just walked past me. You know how his big ass was like down here's 6'6 and shit, like you know, and I was like, okay, dude, he's a big that is the biggest man I've ever seen in person.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, I know there's bigger. I mean, I've seen basketball players and shit, but like that's the biggest like non-professional sports man, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, and I was like, oh fuck, you know, I was like, Well, if it blows up, I might have some protection behind him. I don't know. But I I do remember that that levy got killed two engineers, right?
SPEAKER_00:They're we're uh I think we're doing ID sweeps, right? Or something. Yeah, and they were they were standing on top of it when it went off. To my understanding, they survived.
SPEAKER_01:I was just gonna say, I I the last I knew that they had certain trap.
SPEAKER_04:I mean, those were horrendous injuries, but yes, I think um I want to say I heard that both of them lost at least one leg and an arm, or you know, someone lost two arms and a leg or something like that. But yeah, but I mean they just survived. So I never got their names, or because of course you weren't with our platoon, or you're not gonna be able to do it. Yeah, they're engineers.
SPEAKER_01:No, yeah, I mean their names are written down, we can find them, but they're yeah. Um but then the other big one I I don't know if this is the next one you're gonna talk about, Nyland is either. Uh when Condi got killed, which we weren't out for, we did respond to it. But then also when uh we were the ones that transported the bodies after uh the snipers got killed.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, basically, right you were you were talking about the gas shell attack at Hurricane Point, but not long after that, like a week after that was when the snipers got killed.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, it was uh if I'm correct, it was Conteas, Ote, Parker. I can't remember the fourth one. I see his face. I can't remember his name. But I remember Conteras because uh he's from Houston. And I remember being on a uh seven time, and it was like days before that. I guess they were leaving and I don't know why, but I was a fucking fat guy in the platoon, and I wasn't even being but whatever. Fuck all the alright, and uh he was on there and he was yelling at me, hey, watch out, you fat ass, I'll see you later, blah blah talking shit, whatever. And then that's the last interaction that I had with him, and then you know he got killed. I I see that guy's face. I don't remember, but it was I remember Otay, Parker, and Conderas, right? Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, and then I came up the other guys.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, and then we we uh we were we were the ones that transported them up to Al Assad.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, they're in my truck, they're laying down. They were in my truck, and I was standing up because I didn't know what to do. And it it was the ugliest feeling in the world because when when we're transferring them, like you could tell that their bodies were hitting up, like you know, the home fee, you know, bed or whatever, you know. It felt it felt ugly because I'm gonna do this. I wanted to hold their heads just because fuck, I mean, you know, so I sat down with one of them because I think Adams was with me back there too, Adams and Martinez. Yeah, and we just kind of like cradled some of them so that way, you know. I mean, of course they weren't, you know, they're with us anymore, but just it was just wanted to do.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, well, not only that, I mean, their families are gonna see them eventually. There's no reason for things to be worse, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:You know, and we were going pretty quick. I I want to say, Muster, we got shot at too, right? On the way up there.
SPEAKER_01:We did.
SPEAKER_04:And we couldn't stop because uh well, I don't think we wanted to stop.
SPEAKER_01:That's right.
SPEAKER_04:So we just flew through it.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Right?
SPEAKER_01:You know, no, we got engaged just north of the city, but we didn't stop.
SPEAKER_04:So yeah, that's what I'm saying. Because we wanted to take them, you know. So yeah, I do remember that. I do. No, that mission.
SPEAKER_01:That was that was a rough mission. That wasn't fun.
SPEAKER_04:No, I remember that. That was what we uh yeah, yeah. That was not too good.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and so and then shortly thereafter, uh June 30th was when uh Matt 3 was out all night and then Condi was killed on the morning of July 1st. Uh shortly thereafter, the police station got blown up. Let's see, OP Library got blown up on July 21st.
SPEAKER_01:We went to that one.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah, I think almost everybody did, and that was the one that was kind of sort of famous uh on uh the Oliver North War Story show. There was you know Humvees bounding and shooting it and all that stuff, taking taking fire next to Saddam's mosque. So there's a lot of people.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I think was uh was that like the government was it the government center?
SPEAKER_00:So it was right next to the government center.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, so I I I remember that.
SPEAKER_00:Yep. And then August, August was Operation Traveler, that was when we were going after Zerkawi, and we ended up getting his driver, and that was it. Because his mom, his mom or grandma or something like that, aunt, uncle, something lived in Ramadi.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, actually, he was bringing up uh Oliver North. Uh, do you he rode he rode with us a lot? Um, yeah. And so and so did a lot of other reporters for whatever reason. I know we took him around. Uh, do you have any specific memories of uh trying to deal with the reporters and or Oliver North?
SPEAKER_04:I I remember getting shot at, and Oliver North is like just jumping out of the truck like he had his own fucking weapon, and he's like, They're over there, shoot that way. And we're like, get the fuck back, get back. You know, you're behind us, old man. What's wrong with you? He was just like that tough old man, he didn't give a shit. His reporter would always stay in a truck, like he wouldn't get out. Now man, I'm sorry, he's reported. His uh, his his cameraman. Yeah, he'd always stay in a truck, he wouldn't get out once once he heard any kind of scuffle or round or just anything. He uh that's that was his cue to stay his ass in the truck and he wouldn't get off. Oliver North would get off. He didn't give a shit. He used to get off, and I mean, of course, that's good old Ollie, right? So I mean, yeah, and what can't you tell him either? Like, you know, it's fucking he's been here and done that. You don't want to. Like, get in the truck, he'd probably tell you, go fuck yourself, you know, do it himself. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01:So I remember early on when he was with us, he it was after a scuffle, and he said something about it reminding him about Vietnam. He had a little bit of a grin on his face when he said it. He's like, good chick, gents, or something. I can't remember what he said. But I was like, all right, yeah.
SPEAKER_04:You're living your dream and you're he was in your truck a lot with with because I was in there a few times with him with you.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Oh, yeah, because I think Gunny had an up-armored vehicle at the time.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we we got it. I ended up having an up-armor vehicle a little bit more often. But that was mostly because he was well, it was because they would give us I think it was. I mean, Gunny even said to me, he's like, he wanted to give me the reporters and Oliver because he knew that I out of anybody I was probably the least likely to say something stupid. And so he always gave me the special package to deal with.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, and so pretty much where you went, I was with you, so fell. Yeah. So yeah, I do remember him being there. I I've never I've seen uh because I want to say when we went, uh when we got back, he had made uh what was it like a battle of Vermonty something or whatever? Like it was a whole not just one specific battle was like you know, a generalized of what we did and the training part of what we did to go over there, but I think that got cut from the DVD because that's not on there. And I was hoping it would be because fuck I'm I was on the fucking training party, at least shit, right? But but uh you know, uh that uh that got cut for some reason. And I've I've been always trying to look for it because they show us that remember when we did that uh that CQB training and we went to some fucking town and we had like those vests. Someone in the backyard. Well, I don't know where we're at, stage two, but I mean, and we had like that little, you know, where if you get shot, it it'll tell you on a chest, leg, arm, or whatever.
SPEAKER_00:That train that sounds like you were wearing miles gear, and that would be March Air Force Base. That was March Air Force Base in the old abandoned officers' housing.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. There you go. There, there you go. And so I mean, and then he had footage of us doing that, yeah, and then going off and then doing other things, you know, just just I like to see the training aspect before and then see what we went through, and then when we came back 80 years older and shit, you know, yeah, for sure. You know, so that was that that that would have been cool to see. But I mean, I think because I want to say he had showed it to us when we had our like pretty much first Marine Corps ball, like when we got back. We didn't really have one, yeah. You know, and then he had it on the big screen, you know.
SPEAKER_01:But of course, no one really cares. I I forgot about that, but I think you're I I you're I'm remembering that now. There was a lot more, there was a lot more footage. Yeah, I wonder what happened to that.
SPEAKER_04:That's a really good point. Yeah, you know, that's what I'm saying. So I wish you would have kept it in in some kind of like outtake real or just something, just something so that way we could look back and see all the guys because they showed actual the faces, like it's hard to see when he's doing like real life, you know, real-time, you know, warfare and who's doing what because you're moving so fast, you don't see what faces that they are, you know, who's doing what or what, but just to show their training of what you did leading up to it. And there, I think he talked to a lot of people, they you know, you know, kind of like interviews and shit. So, you know, I wish he did some interviews. Yeah, right. I wish we had that, but we didn't. And then I remember Dan Rathers did a piece on us too.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I have that. I have a copy of that. Yeah, yeah. I think a lot of people do.
SPEAKER_04:Well, Blake's stone last year, you fucking hit for me, I guess.
SPEAKER_00:I guess I think I I was gonna say in my head, I was like, I know I saw you, but I don't think we talked at all. Yeah, that's my fault, I guess. I don't know.
SPEAKER_04:I mustard shows up and just abandons me again for a whole fucking year.
SPEAKER_01:So I have an insecure attachment style, Rocha. Give me a break. I don't know how to love you.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I appreciate you sharing, man. I hope I don't have fucking nightmares tonight. Yeah, I'm gonna blame you, Blake. Bringing up all this shit. Uh uh, yeah, it's fun though.
SPEAKER_01:That was good. Awesome. Well, I appreciate your time, man. Thank you.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, any time, bro.
SPEAKER_01:If you like what you heard, make sure you subscribe for future episodes on your favorite podcast service.