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Pendleton Marines to host Battle of Fallujah reunion

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By on Battle Rattle, Iraq, Marines, Veterans

Update: This event is open to all Marines, not just ones who fought in the Battle of Fallujah. A decade after the Battle of Fallujah, California-based Marines are holding a reunion and ceremony to honor those who were a part of one of the most significant fights in Iraq and some of the heaviest urban warfare in the Corps’ history. Members of  1st Marine Division is will host the Nov. 7 event for veterans ranging from privates to general officers at Camp Pendleton, California. Now-retired Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski, the commander of 1st MARDIV during the battle, is attending. By…

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Marine sergeant major starts dance-off at Marine Corps ball

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By on Battle Rattle

Anyone who has ever doubted a Marine’s skills on the dance floor hasn’t met Sgt. Maj. Michael Miller. The top enlisted member of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, out of Marine Corps Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., took to to the dance floor to show off some pretty sweet movies during a recent Marine Corps birthday ball. The worm, the moonwalk and the Roger Rabbit were all on display during Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean.” And like a true sergeant major, Miller clearly motivated his Marines. Others quickly joined in — one Marine even broke into the splits on the dance floor.…

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One-handed MMA fighter visits Marine amputees

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By on Battle Rattle

A mixed martial arts fighter who was born with an underdeveloped left arm checked in with a group of Marines and other troops who lost limbs in combat. Nick Newell, a World Series of Fighting lightweight star, visited with members of “Operation Warrior Reconnect,” the Los Angeles Times reported. He met with the troops last Wednesday in Camp Pendleton, Calif., and was humbled by their appreciation of him. “What they’ve done is way more fantastic, more brave, than anything I’ve ever done,” Newell told the LA Times. “Sacrificing your life for our country, that’s something.” The 27-year-old MMA fighter was born…

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Remembering Cpl. Tick, four-legged war hero

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By on Afghanistan, Animals, Deployments

Cpl. Tick was a two-year-old, friendly black lab. She was a decorated Marine. And she was a hero. Last year Cpl. Tick and her handler, Lance Cpl. Bryan Utrilla were  attached to Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines at Combat Outpost Shir Ghazay near the town of Musa Qala in Helmand province Afghanistan, assigned to patrol the region for Improvised Explosive Devices. Utrilla told me by email that Cpl. Tick was a natural when it came to getting the job done. “Cpl. Tick was an awesome friend/Marine, and when she wanted to work, she worked,” he wrote. “She knew the…

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Navy Cross recipient gets Father’s Day surprise

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By on Battle Rattle

Cpl. Christopher Farias received a Father’s Day surprise after he threw out the first pitch at the Dodgers game on Sunday — his dad was behind the catcher’s mask. Farias thought he was throwing out the first pitch as “veteran of the game,” but there was a bigger plan in action. According to his dad, this was the first Father’s Day in eight years that the 11th Marines Field Artillery School instructor wasn’t called away on duty. So he hid behind the catcher’s gear and got behind the plate to catch his son’s ceremonial first pitch. Farias, based in Dodger-territory at Camp…

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Marine’s cheeky Sarah Palin tattoo the butt of jokes

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By on Afghanistan, Battle Rattle, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Marjah

MARJAH, Afghanistan – When I came to Afghanistan, I expected to find many strange and unusual sights. A gunnery sergeant with a tattoo of Sarah Palin on his buttocks wasn’t one of them. So it is, however. Within minutes of meeting Marines who patrol this former Taliban stronghold from the Yellow Schoolhouse, a rundown former Afghan school here, I was asked my opinion about Palin, a hero to many politically conservative Americans. Before I had a chance to answer, however, I was introduced to fun-loving Gunnery Sgt. Benjamin Lepping’s left butt cheek. Sure enough, there’s a realistic caricature of Palin…

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