Ten years ago, today, on 19 July 2009, our nation lost 20 year-old Marine Lance Corporal Brandon Lara, of New Braunfels, TX, who turned out to be the last Marine killed due to hostile fire before the formal end of the Iraq War, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Brandon was assigned to my 26-man Iraqi Police advisor team, which I had been leading in Iraq for four-and-a-half months.
Just after 1 p.m. (or 2 a.m. EST), as we were leaving the District Police HQ in a three-vehicle convoy in downtown Husaybah in al Anbar Province, where the Eurphrates River crosses the Syrian border, we were attacked in a complex ambush by several al Qaeda of Iraq-affiliated insurgents. Brandon was riding in the machinegun turret of the third vehicle when his vehicle was struck with two hand-thrown RKG-3 shape charged armor-piercing grenades. The first grenade disabled the vehicle engine and wounded the driver in the face, neck, and arm; and the second grenade knocked out the driver and vehicle commander in the seat next to him, sending a shape charge through the turrret and through Brandon Lara, creating a one inch hole near his heart.
After the force of the blast knocked Brandon's rifle from his hands, he drew his chest-mounted pistol and began laying down fire on several elevated enemy positions, which had begun engaging us with AK-47 fire. Brandon kept firing, covering the rest of our team's movements as we dismounted from our vehicles and maneuvered on the enemy to return fire, finally collapsing into the seat of the turret after he could no longer stand. Once our team had overwhelmed the enemy with fire, we spent the next 40 minutes attempting to MEDEVAC Brandon by vehicle 26 kilometers back to our camp's shock trauma platoon, where a MEDEVAC helicopter was being routed to take him to surgical care, an hour's flight away.
The last thing Brandon said on this earth was as he was looking at our U.S. Navy medical corpsman, who had the head of his stretcher on his lap as we rolled through the gates of our camp just next to the shock trauma platoon, telliing his close friend, "Don't worry, I'll be all right." Brandon succombed to his wounds aboard Combat Outpost Ubaydi on a shock trauma platoon stretcher at 1:40 p.m., with a doctor and two tramau nurses working desparately to stabilize him, and with me and one other member of our team standing five feet away, urging him to keep fighting.
After Brandon passed, I released the MEDEVAC helicopter to depart with our other wounded Marine and the next helicopter to arrive redesignated its call sign as "Angel Flight One," in recognition of it's solemn mission to transport a Marine killed in a combat zone. I held the helicopter with its blades turning on the ground at the camp for an additional 30 minutes, waiting for the rest of my team to return to the camp so they could could say goodbye to Brandon. Once each member of the team had paid their respects, we carried Brandon as a team to the helicopter with the rest of the small camp lining both sides of the 200-foot path to the landing zone. And then we saluted as the helicopter lifted off in a dust cloud, starting Brandon's long journey back to his final resting place at Ft. Sam Houston, in San Antonio, TX.
Brandon was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device (for valor), the Purple Heart, and the Combat Action Ribbon. He is survived by his loving parents and sister.
Thank you for reading this far and for taking time with me today to remember Brandon's sacrifice for our nation and for the Marines of Police Transition Team 4 on his left and right, who would have done the same for him.
Semper fi, Lance Corporal Branon T. Lara., USMC.
Major Aron Axe, USMC (retired)
Team Leader, Police Transition Team 4, 23 Feb 09-1 Sep 09
Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, al Anbar Provice, Iraq
OIF call sign: "Beaver 6"
Just after 1 p.m. (or 2 a.m. EST), as we were leaving the District Police HQ in a three-vehicle convoy in downtown Husaybah in al Anbar Province, where the Eurphrates River crosses the Syrian border, we were attacked in a complex ambush by several al Qaeda of Iraq-affiliated insurgents. Brandon was riding in the machinegun turret of the third vehicle when his vehicle was struck with two hand-thrown RKG-3 shape charged armor-piercing grenades. The first grenade disabled the vehicle engine and wounded the driver in the face, neck, and arm; and the second grenade knocked out the driver and vehicle commander in the seat next to him, sending a shape charge through the turrret and through Brandon Lara, creating a one inch hole near his heart.
After the force of the blast knocked Brandon's rifle from his hands, he drew his chest-mounted pistol and began laying down fire on several elevated enemy positions, which had begun engaging us with AK-47 fire. Brandon kept firing, covering the rest of our team's movements as we dismounted from our vehicles and maneuvered on the enemy to return fire, finally collapsing into the seat of the turret after he could no longer stand. Once our team had overwhelmed the enemy with fire, we spent the next 40 minutes attempting to MEDEVAC Brandon by vehicle 26 kilometers back to our camp's shock trauma platoon, where a MEDEVAC helicopter was being routed to take him to surgical care, an hour's flight away.
The last thing Brandon said on this earth was as he was looking at our U.S. Navy medical corpsman, who had the head of his stretcher on his lap as we rolled through the gates of our camp just next to the shock trauma platoon, telliing his close friend, "Don't worry, I'll be all right." Brandon succombed to his wounds aboard Combat Outpost Ubaydi on a shock trauma platoon stretcher at 1:40 p.m., with a doctor and two tramau nurses working desparately to stabilize him, and with me and one other member of our team standing five feet away, urging him to keep fighting.
After Brandon passed, I released the MEDEVAC helicopter to depart with our other wounded Marine and the next helicopter to arrive redesignated its call sign as "Angel Flight One," in recognition of it's solemn mission to transport a Marine killed in a combat zone. I held the helicopter with its blades turning on the ground at the camp for an additional 30 minutes, waiting for the rest of my team to return to the camp so they could could say goodbye to Brandon. Once each member of the team had paid their respects, we carried Brandon as a team to the helicopter with the rest of the small camp lining both sides of the 200-foot path to the landing zone. And then we saluted as the helicopter lifted off in a dust cloud, starting Brandon's long journey back to his final resting place at Ft. Sam Houston, in San Antonio, TX.
Brandon was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device (for valor), the Purple Heart, and the Combat Action Ribbon. He is survived by his loving parents and sister.
Thank you for reading this far and for taking time with me today to remember Brandon's sacrifice for our nation and for the Marines of Police Transition Team 4 on his left and right, who would have done the same for him.
Semper fi, Lance Corporal Branon T. Lara., USMC.
Major Aron Axe, USMC (retired)
Team Leader, Police Transition Team 4, 23 Feb 09-1 Sep 09
Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, al Anbar Provice, Iraq
OIF call sign: "Beaver 6"
