Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about a day in the life for Marines in Iraq, through the experiences of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion,
Bova and Tice say there have been tougher battles in Iraq in the last few years, and tougher battles being fought in Afghanistan now.
If this had happened in 2006, it might not have attracted as much notice, Bova said.
But their battle happened in 2008, a relatively quiet year in Iraq. And in the first four months of their seven-month deployment they had little interaction with the enemy, the two said. Stumbling on to an enemy cell like they did — and losing Ferschke — are what make this battle stand out, Tice and Bova said.
But every servicemember knows that no matter how quiet it seems, it’s still a war zone, Bova said.
“At every building, the adrenaline still goes up. You go from yellow to red. If you’re ever at green, you’re wrong,” he asserted, leaning forward to make his point.
Nine Marines were awarded Navy Commendations or Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medals with “V” devices, one without the “V”; Blanton received a Silver Star, and Lazzo and Callum were each awarded a Bronze Star with a “V”; device for valor. Ferschke was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star with “V”.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.