Not many people hear the real news about what happens overseas with our military. Let me assure you that when a Sailor, Marine, Airman or Soldier is deployed in a hostile area, especially in a time of war, there are so many things that happen that will stick with the servicemen for the rest of their lives. Some incidents we may not share because it may trigger something and we don’t want to be reminded of that event and some stories we are able to share.
Servicemen come home with things they wish they had never seen before, but once they have seen it, it may be too late.
I am going to share with everyone of a time where the threat against the US was very real. In this case, it involved a US Navy Vessel and the enemy.
My ship, the USS Denver (LPD-9), was on a six-month deployment transporting Marines into the Persian Gulf. We had been moored pier side (or tied up to the pier) in Kuwait. The Marines had finished doing their training and exercises but were attacked on land by Al-Qaeda.
I was on the watch team and was tasked to be the Petty Officer of the Watch and was issued a 9mm from the armory. I’m not sure who the Officer of the Deck and Messenger were during that time. The watch team was there to basically keep a look out of anything that seems suspicious.
As we were leaving the channel, the watch team noticed six small, 2-man boats exiting from the shoreline some two miles away. They were in a single line formation heading straight for the Denver.
The ship blasted its horns to warn the boats to stay away from the ship. They did not listen and were still getting closer. The word must have gotten to the Marines inside the ship because there were Marines that flew out of one of the watertight doors with their guns. They all lined up on the flight deck, got into a prone position and aimed their guns at the six boats. The Denver continued to blast the horns.
After a few moments, the six boats all gathered together. They were there for about five minutes before making their way back to shore.
The Marines stood up and stayed on the flight deck. Before we knew it, there were helicopters in the sky and small Navy boats that had come to us to escort us out of the channel.
The attack on land saw two Marines shot by Al-Qaeda. One Marine suffered a gunshot wound to the arm while the other was killed. Fortunately, fellow Marines were able to gun down the two Al-Qaeda members.
We are still in a Global War on Terrorisn and must always be aware of the enemy whether it is at home or overseas. We must look out for each other. If it doesn’t look right or doesn’t seem to make sense, report it.
The threat is real. God bless you!
