[antimedia] antimedia: I hate quoting the LA Times....

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Posted by antimedia:
I hate quoting the LA Times....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1179194288.shtml


   ....but this is [1]someone you should know.

     Maj. Douglas Zembiec, a Marine Corps officer profiled in the Los
     Angeles Times magazine in 2004, was killed while leading a raid on
     insurgents in Baghdad, officials reported Friday.
     Details of his death on Thursday were sketchy.
     In an age when many prefer military personnel to be diffident and
     reluctant to engage in violence, Zembiec was proudly a throwback.
     "One of the most noble things you can do is kill the enemy," he
     once said.
     Zembiec, 34, received a Bronze Star with a V for valor for leading
     an infantry company in repeated assaults against insurgents in the
     Sunni Triangle city of Fallouja in 2004.
     Bloodied by shrapnel, Zembiec led his troops in combat so close
     that the two sides were hurling grenades from 20 feet apart. He
     later was part of low-profile missions in Afghanistan to thwart the
     resurging Taliban.
     Zembiec seemed to revel in the experience of combat. In the
     magazine article, he was quoted as calling a firefight in Fallouja
     "the greatest day of my life."
     "I never felt so alive, so exhilarated, so purposeful," he said the
     day after a battle in which two of his troops were killed and 18
     wounded. "There is nothing equal to combat and there is no greater
     honor than to lead men into combat."
     Zembiec was widely admired among Marines.

   I'm sure he was. Zembiec was a member of the warrior class, that
   unique and rare band of men whose purpose in life is to protect the
   lives of others, at all costs -- men who will enter the lions' den, if
   necessary, to defeat evil.
   As [2]John would say, now is when [3]we dance. (Hat tip to my friend,
   Phil.)
   Tags: [4]warrior [5]hero [6]Marines

References

   1. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-death12may12,0,2944830.story?track=ntothtml
   2. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/006583.html
   3. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/echo%20taps.mp3
   4. http://technorati.com/tag/warrior
   5. http://technorati.com/tag/hero
   6. http://technorati.com/tag/Marines