Read Thunder Run Online

Authors: David Zucchino

Thunder Run (47 page)

SFC

REDMOND, MORRIS A.

CPT

REGENNITTER, CHRISTOPHER

CPT

REYNNELLS, STEVEN R.

MAJ

RICE, PHILLIP D.

SSG

RICHARDSON, MARCUS

SPC

RICKS, BENJAMIN

MAJ

RIDEOUT, KENT

SSG

RIVERA, EDDIE

CSM

RIVERA, FRANCIS

SSG

ROBB, IAN

SSG

ROBINSON, LANCEY L.

1SG

RODGERS, JOSEPH B.

LTC

ROTH, ROBERT

CPT

SABATINI, JEFFERY J.

MAJ

SANDERS, TERRANCE

SFC

SANTEE, JOE S.

SSG

SANTIAGO, JOSE

SSG

SARGENT, DELL L.

SSG

SAUCEDO, JOSE

CPT

SCARBERRY, TOM

1SG

SCHEHL, KEVIN S.

CPT

SCHOBITZ, ERIK

CPT

SCHONBERG, EARL B. JR.

LTC

SCHWARTZ, ERIC

1LT

SCHWIMMER, EVAN W.

SSG

SCOTT, DARYL

SSG

SCRUGGS, SOLOMON

1LT

SELLERS, CHRISTINE

MAJ

SHUCK, ROGER L.

SSG

SLAUGHTER, DERRICK

CPT

SMITH, MICHAEL S.

CSM

SMITH, OTIS JR.

SSG

SMITH, ROBERT E.

CPT

SMITH, WILLIAM T.

SSG

SNELL, JOSEPH

CPT

SOMERS, DEAN

CPT

SPONSLER, WARREN E.

SFC

STANZIOLA, FELIX

CPT

STEINHOFF, ROBERT H.

1LT

STEPHENSON, TIMOTHY

SSG

STEVER, ROBERT

MSG

SWEITZER, JUDD R.

1LT

SZYDLIK, BRIAN D.

SFC

TAYLOR, ROBERT JR.

SFC

TERRELL, XAVIER D.

SGT

THOMPSON, DANIEL R.

CPT

THOMSOM, SCOTT K.

1SG

TOLBERT, ROBERT

1LT

TOMLINSON, MARK S.

SGT

TORRES, LUIS

SSG

TOUCHET, CHAD D.

SFC

TROUTMAN, MICHAEL A.

CPT

TUCKER, JOHN T. III

LTC

TWITTY, STEPHEN M.

SFC

VAN ESS, DANIEL

SSG

VANDEGRIFT, JASON F.

1SG

VANORMER, DALE B.

CW3

VICENTE, FELIPE B.

1SG

VOGEL, BRIAN

CPT

WALDEN, FOY S.

SFC

WALKER, ROBERT J.

CW2

WALKER, STEVEN K. JR.

CPT

WALKER, WILLIAM M.

SFC

WATERHOUSE, DONALD B.

CSM

WATKINS, GREGORY

MAJ

WATSON, CHARLES

CPT

WATTENBARGER, JACOB A.

SSG

WATTS, COREY

SSG

WEAVER, CHARLES

SGT

WEBB, DAVID B.

1LT

WEBER, AMY

MAJ

WEBER, MICHAEL A.

MAJ

WEINERTH, MARK

SFC

WELCH, DARRELL

SSG

WELLS, JAMIE

LTC

WESLEY, ERIC J.

1SG

WEST, DONALD K.

SFC

WETTSTEIN, STEPHEN J.

SGT

WHITLOCK, JOHN A.

SFC

WILCOX, JOHN A.

SFC

WILDER, JACK

CPT

WILES, TODD A.

1LT

WILLIAMS, SHANE

MAJ

WILLIAMS, STANLEY T.

LTC

WILLIAMS, WILLIE JR.

SFC

WILSON, KENNETH

SSG

WILSON, ROBERT

CPT

WOLFORD, PHILLIP E.

1LT

WOODRUFF, JOSHUA

1LT

WOODRUFF, ROBERT

CPT

WOODWARD, SCOTT

CPT

WRIGHT, JOSHUA D.

SFC

YEATTS, GARY M.

CPT

YOUNG, CHRISTOPHER T.

1LT

ZEIBER, KEITH A.

1SG

ZITO, WILLIAM JR.

PURPLE HEART

RANK

NAME

CW3

ACEVEDO, ANGEL R.

SPC

ADAMS, PETER

CPT

ALMAGUER, FELIX J.

SPC

ATTKINSON, STEVEN

SPC

BEAMAN, STEVE A.

CW2

BISCHOFF, RAY M.

SSG

BOOKER, STEVON A.

SGT

BOWEN, RANDOLPH

PFC

BOXLEY, CHARLES

SPC

BRANCHE, ONICA P.

PFC

BRONS, KENNETH C.

SPC

BROWN, BENJAMIN

CPL

BROWN, HENRY

PFC

BROWN, JEREMY

PFC

CALIFANO, JOSEPH

PFC

CAMP, CONRAD

SPC

CARSON, DANIEL

SPC

CARSON, JOSEPH

SSG

CHANDLER, DON E.

1LT

CHEN, DAVID

SPC

CLARK, KENNETH R.

CPT

COOPER, DAVID E.

SFC

CORNELL, PHILLIP

SSG

DAVIS, WILBERT

SFC

DEAS, WILLIAM R. JR.

SGT

DEWITT, MATTHEW

PFC

EPPINETTE, CHAD

1SG

EYNON, DONALD

PFC

FOOR, CRAIG

CSM

GALLAGHER, ROBERT

SPC

GARRETT, JOCOBY L.

SSG

GILLIAM, WILLIAM

PFC

GOGGIN, CHRISTOPHER

SGM

GONGORA, ALEXANDER

PFC

GRAY, JOSHUA

SSG

HALL, JASON S.

CPT

HENDERSON, MCKELLE L.

CPT

HIBNER, DAVID

PV2

HO, VAN

SPC

HORTON, MATTHEW

SPC

HORTON, PATRICK C.

SPC

HUTH, ERIC

SGT

JOASSAINT, ANTHONY

SGT

JOHNSON, KEVIN

CPT

KORN, EDWARD

SPC

LEDFORD, CHARLES

SGT

LUCAS, DUSTIN

SSG

MAO, CHHAY

SFC

MARSHALL, JOHN

SGT

MATHIS, JEROME R.

SPC

MCDANIEL, BRIAN C.

SSG

MIDDLETON, JAMES

CPT

MILLER, AARON

PV2

MILLER, ANTHONY

SPC

MITCHELL, GEORGE

SGT

MITCHELL, MICHAEL

SFC

MORALES, JOHN N.

PFC

MORRIS, DAVID M.

MAJ

MULLEN, SEAN F.

PV2

NAUMAN, CHRISTOPHER

SPC

NERIO, JOSE M.

SPC

NOCK, JAMES A.

PFC

NORTHCUTT, ADAM

SPC

NORTHROP, CHRISTOPHER

SGT

PERDUE, JOHNNY

SPC

PHIMMASING, RATTANA

CPT

REGENNITTER, CHRISTOPHER

SPC

ROBICHEAU, MOUNTAIN S.

SPC

SANDERS, GREGORY

SPC

SCHAFER, DONALD

CPT

SCHOBITZ, ERIK

PFC

SCIRIA, ROBERT F.

PFC

SHIPLEY, CHRIS L.

MAJ

SHUCK, ROGER L.

SSG

SLAGO, THOMAS W.

PFC

SMITH, SYNQUOIRY

SSG

STEVER, ROBERT

PV2

STONE, DANIEL

SPC

STRATON, PAUL N.

PFC

SUNDAY, SEAN P.

MSG

SWEITZER, JUDD

PFC

TANIGUCHI, DAVIN K.

PFC

TATE, BENJAMIN

SPC

TECHUR, GARY M.

SGT

TYLER, DALOME

PFC

WEST, SHAWN

SGT

WHITAKER, JESSIE L.

SSG

WOOTEN, CHARLES L.

SGT

YAW, DANA

NOTES ON SOURCES

J
ust before dawn on April 4, 2003, a troop transport truck assigned to the 101st Airborne Division plunged into a canal outside the Iraqi holy city of Karbala. The truck sank to the bottom, taking with it weapons, food, and equipment. All twenty-four soldiers aboard, plus a lone embedded reporter, were fished out of the canal alive. That reporter was me.

The wreck of the truck robbed me of everything I owned at that moment—two satellite phones, a laptop computer, notebooks, cash, a tape recorder, and clothing. Soaking wet, I was tossed into the back of another 101st Airborne troop truck bound for Baghdad. More than twenty hours later, we arrived at Baghdad's international airport, which had been seized the day before by the Third Infantry Division (Mechanized).

This book is the indirect result of that truck plunge, which in turn resulted in my chance encounter the morning of April 5 with the officers and soldiers of the Third Infantry's Second Brigade. I was on the airport tarmac, trying to dry out in the morning sun, when the tanks and Bradleys of the Desert Rogues battalion rolled in at the close of their thunder run through the southwestern corner of the capital. The armored vehicles were smoking and streaked with blood, and the crews inside were drenched in sweat and covered with a fine gray dust.

The first soldier I encountered was Staff Sergeant Jason Diaz, whose tank had been burned and abandoned on the highway into Baghdad. Diaz and his crewmen described a seventeen-kilometer armored charge and firefight along the highway—the first American incursion into the capital after more than two weeks of war. It was a remarkable story, and it intrigued me. Over the next several months, I interviewed more than a hundred men from the Second Brigade, whose accounts form the core of this book.

Thunder Run
is a work of nonfiction. The events described in these pages represent my best professional attempt to produce a thorough and accurate account of the battle for Baghdad. My interviews with the men who fought and directed the battle were buttressed by combat histories of the units involved; the contemporaneous notes and journals of soldiers; written logs of combat radio conversations; photographs and videos taken by soldiers during the battle; and my own experiences and observations while embedded with Cyclone Company of Task Force 4-64 for the duration of the battle and the “postcombat” period. In cases where these sources produced conflicting versions of events, I reinterviewed soldiers involved to obtain a more precise understanding of what had transpired. Many officers and men were interviewed several times, and these sessions served to enrich and sharpen the book's narrative.

The descriptions of actions taken by Iraqi commanders, soldiers, and civilians were based on my detailed interviews of these sources, conducted in Baghdad with the aid of interpreters. For the descriptions of Iraqi civilians killed during the battle, I relied on my interviews with their survivors.

In certain instances, I have relied on the work of others to supplement my own reporting. The account of television interviews of Colonel David Perkins and other commanders on April 7 are taken from a Fox News videotape of the interviews. Some descriptions of events at the Fourteenth of July Bridge on April 7 were graciously provided by my colleague at the
Los Angeles Times
Geoffrey Mohan, who was embedded with Cyclone Company. The description of the wounding of two Rogue battalion crewmen near the airport on April 5 is based on my interviews of the two wounded soldiers, with additional details taken from a first-person account in
Embedded: The Media at War in Iraq—An Oral History,
by Bill Katovsky and Timothy Carlson, with permission granted by Katovsky. The description of the April 14 discovery of the body of Sergeant First Class John W. Marshall is based on my interviews of officers from the Second Brigade, with several details also provided by a
Kansas City Star
account of a postwar speech by Rick Atkinson, an author and
Washington Post
reporter who was embedded with the 101st Airborne. The account of the technician at the Baghdad airport who insisted that the army's combat computer system was accurately depicting Second Brigade units in downtown Baghdad was provided by Major Dane Childs, a U.S. Army historian who is perhaps the world's leading authority on the battle for Baghdad.

INTERVIEWS IN IRAQ AND THE UNITED STATES

Specialist Benjamin Agee

Captain J. O. Bailey

Lieutenant Robert Ball

Captain Edward Ballanco

Captain Steven Barry

Staff Sergeant John Beck

Staff Sergeant Joe Bell

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Birmingham

Major General Buford C. Blount III

Marine Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Brown

Lieutenant Mark Brzozowksi

Captain Larry Burris

Captain Anthony Butler

Captain Christopher Carter

Major Rod Coffey

Captain Jason Conroy

Marine Captain David Cooper

Sergeant First Class Phillip Cornell

Private First Class Angel Cruz

Sergeant Walter Daniel

Sergeant Robert Davis

Marine Gunnery Sergeant William (Butch) Deas

Lieutenant Colonel Philip deCamp

Sergeant Jason Deming

Staff Sergeant Jason Diaz

Major Michael Donovan

Sergeant Jeffrey Ellis

Air Force Major Jim Ewald

Sergeant First Class Robert Ford

Sergeant First Class Ronald Gaines

Command Sergeant Major Robert Gallagher

Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Gantt

Sergeant David Gibbons

Staff Sergeant Shawn Gibson

Private Joseph Gilliam

Captain William Glaser

Private First Class Adam Gregory

Lieutenant Roger Gruneisen

Sergeant Eric Gubler

Staff Sergeant Eric Guzman

Lieutenant Matthew Hanks

Marine Corporal Trevor Havens

First Sergeant Robert Hay

Sergeant John Heath

Sergeant Carlos Hernandez

Specialist Joe Hill

Captain Andy Hilmes

Specialist Shaun Holland

Captain Stephen Hommel

Captain Harry (Zan) Hornbuckle

Captain Daniel Hubbard

Captain Shannon Hume

Marine Major Mark Jewell

Captain Ronny Johnson

Special Joseph Kalinowski

Sergeant Shawn Kemmer

Major Everett Denton Knapp

Specialist Kenneth Krofta

Specialist Mason Lowery

Staff Sergeant Michael Lucas

Sergeant First Class Jonathan Lustig

Captain Philip Xuan Luu

Lieutenant Jeffrey McFarland

Private First Class Jacob McLaughlin

Private First Class Jarred Metz

Lieutenant Maurice Middleton

Lieutenant Matthew Miletich

First Sergeant Jeff Moser

Captain Christopher Nixon

Major Ricky Nussio

Staff Sergeant Matthew Oliver

Sergeant Quincy Oree

Private Chad Ortz

Sergeant Steve Oslin

Lieutenant Edward Panetta

Marine Sergeant Dennis Parks

Staff Sergeant Jamus Patrick

Colonel David Perkins

Sergeant First Class Vincent Phillips

Captain Aaron Polsgrove

Captain Sherman Powell

Sergeant Tony Rankin

Major Mark Rasins

Major Patrick Ratigan

Lieutenant Jason Redmon

Major Kent Rideout

Lieutenant Colonel Scott E. Rutter

Private First Class Don Schafer

Captain Erik Schobitz

Lieutenant Colonel Eric Schwartz

Private First Class Chris Shipley

Major Roger Shuck

Staff Sergeant Thomas Slago

Sergeant Michael Smith

Captain William Todd Smith

Specialist Gary Techur

Sergeant First Class Timothy Terpack

Staff Sergeant Joe Todd

Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press

Staff Sergeant Chad Touchet

Staff Sergeant Christopher Turner

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Twitty

First Sergeant Dale Vanormer

Major Charles Watson

Lieutenant Colonel Eric Wesley

Captain Phillip Wolford

Captain Josh Wright

INTERVIEWS IN IRAQ

General Ahmed Rahal

Brigadier Baha Ali Nasr

General Omar Abdul Karim

Colonel Raid Raik

General Juawad al Dayni

Jaffer Sadiq

Nabil al Qaisy

Ahmed Sardar

Harith Ahmed Uraibi

Talal Ahmed al Doori

Hashim Mahmood

Faleh Khaiber

Mohammed Neaimi

Zubida Rida

Mervet Jawad

Salar Jaff

Ahmed Jaffer

Hassan Issam

Ziad Taha

Yusef Taha

Thafar al Kassab

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