I remember thinking to myself, “this is it.†Marines sat there before going in, listening to music, and preparing themselves mentally. The Marines were ready to go—we don’t like to sit around and wait. Once word came down that we were actually going into the city, morale went through the roof. You could see the houses, and you could just tell it was going to be an ugly fight. You got a very eerie feeling when you drove into that city. Jeremiah Workman: For me, when I got to Iraq it was not a question of if we were going into Fallujah, it was when we were going into Fallujah. It gave us great hope that they would be able to take over and assume the lead in many regards. They really performed their duties very well. We also integrated a large amount of Iraqi security forces that were shoulder-to-shoulder with us in the city. It was a joint operation and took far more than the six battalions that actually physically assaulted it. We had four Marine infantry battalions and two Army cavalry battalions that composed the assault force, and a whole host of others who ensured that we could cordon the city effectively and not allow anyone to escape as well as to cover the other lines of communication into Baghdad. But it became clear to us that Fallujah had become a sanctuary for insurgents and terrorists, and our mission was to remove them from the city by force. We came to Iraq to rebuild it, to stabilize it and to return it to the people of Iraq to allow them to have democracy and to enjoy some of the blessings and liberty that we’re so privileged to have. Our mission was the ultimate mission for an infantryman. It was not a friendly place to be as we tried to stabilize the country after removing Saddam’s regime. Fallujah is in the heart of Sunni Iraq, so many of these folks were empowered and enriched by the regime of Saddam Hussein. The city was very concentrated it was an old city with narrow streets, two to three story homes built like fortresses with large walls around it and heavy metal gates. Everything that came from Syria and beyond went past Fallujah. Fallujah is a big concentrated city, just under 300,000 people. It is one of the last major cities before Baghdad. Willy Buhl: The importance of Fallujah is that it lies along the supply route from the Syrian-Jordanian border. Willy Buhl, and featured Marine Sergeant and recipient of the Navy Cross Jeremiah Workman, and Army Staff Sergeant and recipient of the Silver Star David Bellavia. On November 10, 2007, just over three years since the launch of Operation Phantom Fury, three of the warriors of Fallujah came together to share their experiences at the American Veterans Center’s 10th Annual Conference. By early fall of 2004, it was clear that U.S. Hopes that local forces could provide security while quelling the insurgency—which at the time was centered in Fallujah—were not realized, and the city fell further into the hands of insurgents and violent jihadists who barricaded themselves in what was essentially a terrorist base. Despite successes on the ground, the offensive was called off before its completion following a request by the Iraqi government. These violent actions prompted the United States to launch Operation Vigilant Resolve, an action intended to capture or kill those insurgent elements responsible for the murder of the American contractors. They were beaten, set on fire, and drug through the streets before their bodies were hung from a bridge crossing the Euphrates River. On March 31, 2004, a group of American contractors working in Iraq were attacked and dragged from their vehicles in Fallujah, a city in the Al Anbar province, located about 43 miles west of Baghdad.
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