New to the Blogroll: US Central CommandI am pleased to put a link to the
US Central Command on the blogroll at the left. CentCom is the US Military group in command of forces from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia, which means it's responsible for both Iraq and Afghanistan.
CentCom
has photos,
stories of heroism, and
5-10 news releases a day. If you want to get the story straight from the military and unfiltered by the antiwar media, CentCom is the place to go.
And because I can never resist a good story about heroes, here's the
tale of the Marine who wouldn't quit fighting.
On the last night of his life, Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin joined a prayer session with other Marines hunkered down in a bullet-riddled neighborhood in Fallouja, Iraq.
Austin, a 21-year-old machine-gunner, asked God for protection not for himself but for his fellow Marines of Echo Company of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton.
The next morning, insurgents attacked from three directions, firing thousands of rounds from AK-47s and other firearms and hurling dozens of grenades.
With the Marines in danger of being overrun, Austin exposed himself to enemy fire in order to throw a grenade at their position 20 meters away. The grenade helped repel the attack, but Austin was mortally wounded.
For those who knew Austin, his action was no surprise. Today, in a simple ceremony at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial in Amarillo, Austin's parents will receive the Silver Star, awarded posthumously to their son.
