BlackFive

Ok there are rules to the Dead Tango game, bits like yesterday where there are jihadis in frame and then disintegrating are a no no on YouTube, but OK on Break.com. YouTube has deals with major record companies that allow the use of music in videos, so this is a compilation of quality destruction of buildings and one unfortunate car to "Bullet the Blue Sky" a U2 anti US War machine song. I do that for my own enjoyment on both musical and ironically aggravating to the left levels.

Some tales of good news from interesting places on an Easter Sunday and a beatdown to a foul beastie, Rosie O' Donnell. Stop at the good which ends with our snow today, or carry on to a rebuke of a sorry swine who misuses the images of our dead and injured warriors for her sad anti agenda. I do invite claims of my hypocrisy and crassness for being the King of Dead Tangos and yet calling Rosie out. If you need schooling pipe up. Profane verbiage in the Jabba the nut segment.

During my Christmas embed, Major Kirk Luedeke gave me this release which apparently never made it out. I had said I would post it, but kept looking for the right time. Today, Easter Sunday, seems to me to be the proper time to showcase this photo release and another that went out about the same time. What news will come from this day? I don't know, but I look forward to finding out.

BAGHDAD – Two young Christian girls pray during Christmas Morning mass at the St. George’s East Assyrian Church in Doura, Dec. 25. The church was heavily damaged by two vehicle borne explosive devices in Aug. 2004 but three years later, more than 300 worshippers filled the sanctuary to celebrate the holiday.
(U.S. Army photo by Maj. Kirk Luedeke, 4IBCT, 1ID)

I asked Marcus Lutrell to say a few words about Mike Monsoor now that his well-deserved Medal of Honor has been approved. Mike's sacrifice cannot be surpassed and we are all thankful for men like him, and Marcus reminds that anyone in that room would have done the same.

More Someone You Should Know coverage on Mike Monsoor.

The Gods of War have smiled down upon us and presented a bounty of almost indescribable proportions. It's a well-known fact that the Dead Tangos dance is a favorite around here, but in order to do it we need footage. Well the treasure trove they have bestowed is far beyond anything that has come before. The God's footage is so clear and so close you can literally smell the bastard's rancid breath when his last Allahu Akhbar is cut short as he is cut in half. Man I love dead tangos. This is just a tease, there is so much more to come.

Dead Tangos Teaser - Watch more free videos

A few days ago, Mr. Wolf brought us the story of a Make A Wish kid who used his one wish to be a soldier. Now, Michelle Malkin brings us the story of another -- a five-year-old cancer patient -- who used his one wish to to be a soldier. Careful, it is easy for dust to get in your eyes reading this one...

LW

The "celebrity" site TMZ regards the search for the remains of the fallen as "BS." That's right, the effort to find and return the remains of the fallen is nothing but b******t to them. They have a poll there so that readers can vote on if this is a "Ridiculous Waste" or not.

Go vote. I did. Tell your friends and let them vote as well. It is a lot closer than it should be.

Also, you can leave a polite, well-reasoned comment there on the searches and why they are not BS no matter the war. And, you can also send a message to them here as well. Maybe if enough of us point out to them the why, they might get a clue. I doubt it, as this is Hollyweird, but one can hope.

Remember, class rules and polite and well-reasoned makes the point far better than barracks language -- after all, these are the emotionally delicate types of extreme sensitivity -- at least their readers most likely are. As far as I can tell, TMZ is just a bunch of glorified papparazzi or however you spell it and have the intellect of a cherrystone clam and sensitivity of the fictional Ferengi.

LW
HT to Capt. Ed at Hot Air

NOTE: Since some don't get it, leave threats, intimidation, barracks language (no matter how well deserved) and such to the enemy. Invective in lieu of thought, along with gratuitous threats and intimidation, are their stock-in-trade, not ours.

Believe me, the story of Mike Monsoor is not lost upon us.  Many of you have emailed and left Comments about his pending posthumous award.  Jimbo will have an interview with Marcus Luttrell about Mike Monsoor posted this weekend.

Froggy wrote this about Mike's sacrifice in October of 2006:

Last Friday in Ramadi, Iraq SEAL Team THREE lost its second SEAL in combat, SO2 Michael A. Monsoor.  Mike was from Garden Grove, CA and having failed to complete BUD/S training his first time around, Mike was undeterred.  He came back through and made it this time.  Details of the operation he was involved in have yet to be released by the Navy, but all of the verbal reports that I have received from friends still on active duty indicate that it is probably time to rename the Galley at NAB Coronado and stand by for a Medal of Honor nomination.

My understanding thus far is that during some sort of combat engagement a terrorist was able to toss a grenade into a room occupied by Mike and at least two other SEALs.  Recognizing the danger to his fellow SEALs, Mike selflessly placed himself in a position to block the blast of the grenade with his own body and saved the lives of his platoonmates...

And he asked you to send letters and cards of condolences and support to the Monsoors...AND.YOU.DID.  Froggy wrapped up his post with this:

Editorial time:  I have been consistently frustrated with the Navy and the NSW leadership's seeming unwillingness to adequately award and nominate enlisted SEALs for their consistent valorous conduct.  I do not want to go into any specifics here, but suffice it to say that the enlisted SEAL community and this blog in particular will be watching what happens with Michael Monsoor.

I spoke with Froggy earlier this week and he asked me to write up a post about Mike. Suffice it to say that he is very proud of Mike and it is a very good thing that the Navy has recognized his valor.

Froggy attended the memorial service where the surviving members of Mike's team, alive because of his actions, thanked the family:

...On the rostrum, all three SEALs whose lives Mike personally saved hobbled up together to thank Michael and his family for their very existence and to show their family's gratitude for sparing them the grief that Michael's family is now experiencing.  I have never witnessed something as special and inspiring in my entire life-I have never even heard of such a thing happening before.  Michael's sister Sara told of a vision that she had upon hearing the news that her brother had died a hero's death saving his brothers.  She said that she saw a puzzle missing its final piece being completed by an unseen hand and that its visage was that of her brother.  His actions, his deeds, his sacrifice were the culmination of a lifetime of preparation to go forth into combat and distinguish himself above and beyond the call of duty... 

When Froggy called I was getting on a plane for a family vacation in Florida so I've been a bit slow to post.  We will post a definitive piece about Mike later, closer to the date of the award, in typical Blackfive manner.  In the meantime, here is a YouTube tribute to US Navy SEAL Mike Monsoor:

Today we enjoyed the beautiful weather and the inspiring words of some patriots on the steps of the TX Capitol. Gov. Rick Perry, David Bellavia, Marcus Lutrell and Pete Hegseth speak. I am a big fan of Texas.

I've got multiple items to cover in this post, so I hope you'll bear with me... after 5 years, I have some more things to cover.

I just finished reading a couple of books that I thought I'd review for you- On Call in Hell by Richard Jadick, and We Were One by Patrick O'Donnell.  Both were excellent reads, and I recommend them both.  What is becoming more interesting is how these books both cover the same battles in Fallujah (On Call more so Fallujah I) but seem to be very separate battles; very different perspectives, and this is why I enjoyed reading them back-to-back.

On Call can best be described as a 'Battlefield Surgeons Guide to War'.  It details how the good doctor was able to convince his superiors that bringing the aide station into the battle was the best way to save lives.  Given the urban combat environment, and the close-order of the conflict, this was indeed a fortuitous decision to implement.  But even more so, it gave a ring-side view of what the Marines were facing, and how this type of battle was impacting them.  As any one of them can attest to, some of the most fearless and selfless acts were performed by the 'docs' in the units- I can't see a medic from the Marines ever having to buy a meal again :). 

What was especially touching was how he described the care given both the wounded and the mortally wounded Marines and Soldiers fighting in Fallujah.  Sometimes, this type of care even extended to the enemy as well as civilians in the area.  Anyone that thinks we are cold, heartless killers needs to read this book.  Again, a recommend.

Now, We Were One has a different perspective on Fallujah, one far closer to the heat of the barrel.  The author, embedded starting with the 509th, then to the 2d RECON Battalion, and finally the 3/1 Marines, describes in excruciating personal detail the dangers faced by the Marines sent in as the point of the spear for Fallujah.  While the book starts out, in my mind, somewhat stilted and disjointed in the narrative, it finishes quite well, and has some marked passages:

"How many of you are veterans from OIF I [the push into Baghdad]?"  Over half the Marines raised their hands.  "How does this compare to OIF I?"  "It doesn't- this is the shit," responded the tired Marines in unison.

One entry refers to intel reports that said ''over half of Fallujah's 99 mosques were used as arsenals and fighting positions.''  My personal experience there reflects that there were 89 identified mosques, and all but 10 had been found to contain weapons by mid-December of '04.  A far greater percentage than the author states.
The experiences of these men were grueling, costly, and courageous to a man.  One squad lost all but one man, and better than 40% of one, Lima, had become casualties.  It compares to Bing West's book, but details Fallujah II better than West.  It details what Marines do best: take care of each other, and kill bad guys.  But not indiscriminately- even given their youth and experience prior to the battle, they react and adjust very well to the conditions they were facing.  I actually wish the book were longer, covering the unit's follow-on exploits in western Anbar along the Syrian border.