Urgent Letter From Christopher Ruddy
Publisher, Newsmax.com
Dear Reader:
Two Marines need your help . . . again.
Last year, I wrote to you about the plight of three American heroes, Lance
Cpl. Stephen Tatum, Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, and Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich.
The three were under investigation for allegations that they committed
atrocities in Haditha, Iraq, in November 2005.
When I first wrote to you about these courageous men, they were under Article
32 investigation — the military equivalent of a grand jury hearing.
The hysteria against these Marines was set off by a Time magazine reporter
whose only sources were known insurgent propagandists, civilian supporters of
al-Qaida, or civilians intimidated by al-Qaida thugs.
On the basis of the Time story alone, and despite the fact that Time was
forced to retract parts of the initial story four times, the media across the
world reported that the Kilo Company Marines had gone on a rampage.
The Time report claimed Marines had massacred 24 innocent civilians on Nov.
19, 2005, in retaliation for the death of one of their fellow Marines. The
Marine was killed by a roadside bomb.
In response to the media charges and those echoed by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.,
and a badly bungled investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS),
the three heroes were falsely charged with multiple counts of murder.
When we alerted you to this grave injustice, Newsmax readers rose to the
occasion. You donated more than $250,000 for the legal defense funds of these
Marines.
And your help made a big difference.
At the end of the Article 32 hearings, the presiding military officer
recommended strongly that all charges be dropped against the three Marines.
Sharratt was fully exonerated.
But suddenly the Pentagon ignored the findings of the military tribunal
relating to Tatum and Wuterich and recommended that these Marines should face
courts-martial.
Both are scheduled to go to court in March, with long jail sentences looming.
As you can imagine, the legal defense costs for these Marines have placed an
enormous burden on them and their families, and have well exceeded even the
$250,000 our readers have donated to their cause.
We have been informed that these Marines are in desperate need of financial
resources to continue their legal struggle.
You can help these Marines —
Go Here Now.
In a letter to Newsmax, John and Stephanie Tatum, the parents of Lance Cpl.
Tatum, expressed their extreme frustration: The government “put on its best case
including hearsay written statements from Iraqi civilians and others. The
investigating officer Lt. Col. Paul Ware (a tough combat veteran and a felony
level military judge) who reviewed all of the evidence against Stephen at the
article 32 hearing recommended that all charges be DROPPED! He stated that the
key government witnesses’ testimony was not credible.”
In the report on the Wuterich case, Ware wrote: "The evidence is
contradictory, the forensic analysis is limited and almost all the witnesses
have an obvious bias or prejudice."
Gen. James Mattis, the Marines’ commanding general, agreed and dismissed all
seven original allegations, including murder charges.
But the Pentagon is continuing to press charges, including manslaughter. As a
result, both families face costly trials and the very real possibility their
sons will be railroaded on the flimsiest of evidence.
"It is very disheartening and frustrating," Mrs. Tatum writes. "Stephen has
not dishonored his country or the Marine uniform that he wears with great pride,
dedication, and respect . . . We don’t have enough money in our retirement
account and equity in our home to come close to covering all these new trial
expenses."
Truthfully, these Marine families should not have to pay for political show
trials.
But the lengths to which the Pentagon is going to prosecute these Marines is
shocking.
You can help these Marines —
Go Here Now.
Military prosecutors even sought to keep Wuterich’s attorneys from calling a
key exonerating witness, Maj. Jeffrey Dinsmore.
One of the reasons the Article 32 hearings had cleared the Marines was the
very compelling testimony of Dinsmore, an intelligence officer who had carefully
monitored the engagement in Haditha.
Dinsmore kept a narrative complete with photos from an unmanned aerial
vehicle, transcripts of radio transmissions from the scene of action, and
reports from some of the participants all the way up the command ladder.
Dinsmore's reports proved conclusively that the actions of the Marines were
proper and justified in clearing out areas with terrorists.
Nevertheless, a Pentagon prosecutor filed a motion to prevent Dinsmore from
testifying. Fortunately, a military judge denied this motion, but the
Pentagon's attempt shows how awful the treatment of these Marines has been.
Back to Haditha
We at Newsmax have reported the truth about this case for nearly two years
with comprehensive coverage from our correspondent Phil Brennan. We believe a
grave injustice has been committed against these hero Marines.
Here is some background on these courageous young men, Lance Cpl. Stephen
Tatum and Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich.
In his first tour of duty in Iraq, Tatum fought fearlessly in the second
battle of Fallujah, a small city in al Anbar province north of Baghdad in what
is known as the Sunni Triangle.
This battle, in November 2004, was one of the fiercest and bloodiest
engagements in the long and proud history of the Marine Corps, and it earned
Tatum the admiration and respect of his fellow Marines in the 3rd battalion, 1st
Marine Regiment — the storied "Thundering Third."
Tatum was at the infamous "Hell House" fight at Fallujah immortalized in Nat
Helms’ book "My Men Are My Heroes: The Brad Kasal Story." In this vicious
battle, wounded Marines fended off a fierce guerilla attack for almost 24 hours.
In the days before and after that bloody incident, Tatum fought in the
terrifying street-by-street, house-by-house fight to cleanse Fallujah of the al-Qaida
thugs terrorizing the city.
In his second tour of duty, this time in insurgent-controlled Haditha,
Tatum's unit faced an enemy lurking in the shadows among the civilian
population, on the lookout for a chance to ambush Marines or kill them with
hidden IEDs (roadside bombs) or sniper fire.
On Nov. 19, 2005, an IED exploded under a Humvee, killing driver Lance Cpl.
Miguel Terrazas and wounding two other members of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion
1st Marines, Lance Cpls. James Crossan and Salvador Guzman.
The surviving Marines then came under fire from two houses near the site of
the explosion.
Almost immediately, a white sedan came on the scene and Sgt. Frank Wuterich,
mindful of an intelligence briefing that had warned of an impending ambush
involving a white car, killed the occupants as they came out of the vehicle and
refused to stop when ordered to do so.
A rapid response team arrived on the scene 15 minutes after the IED explosion
and the officer in command ordered Wuterich and his men to clear the two houses.
In the course of what became a fierce door-to-door, full-day battle, 24
Iraqis were killed. At least eight insurgent terrorists were believed to be
among them. But some civilians were clearly killed in the crossfire.
Despite the loss of civilian life, the military was satisfied that the
Marines had acted properly because of Dinsmore's meticulous work in chronicling
the engagement with video and radio reports.
Dinsmore's reports proved conclusively that the actions of the Marines were
proper and justified.
Months later, in March of the next year, wild allegations began to surface
that these Marines knowingly massacred innocent Iraqi civilians. Time magazine
followed with its report.
Since then, these Marine heroes and their parents have been living a life of
total hell.
You can help these Marines —
Go Here Now.
Of course, the legal defense costs for these Marines have placed an enormous
burden on them and their families.
One defense lawyer estimated that by the time the courts-martial are over,
the Marines — defenders of freedom, who have limited incomes and resources —
will have incurred legal expenses amounting to $500,000 each.
That's why we are asking our readers to help these brave young
Marines with their legal defense costs. You can do so by
Going Here Now.
We will be forever indebted to the heroic young men and women who serve to
protect us in Iraq. They do not deserve to be tortured with criminal allegations
and overwhelming financial burdens.
Heroic Americans
Let me tell you about these young men whose extraordinary heroism and
exceptional service to their country have been rewarded with totally unjustified
charges of murder.
Lance Cpl. Tatum hails from Oklahoma City, Okla. He graduated from the Putnam
City public schools, playing sports in grade school followed by football in high
school.
His parents say Stephen has always had a positive attitude, and was well
liked by his teachers and friends.
Stephen, they told Newsmax, is a religious young man who enjoys going to
church with family and friends. He always wanted to be a Marine and has served
his country with great pride, honor, and dedication.
Staff Sgt. Wuterich was an honor student in Meriden, Conn., an active
sportsman who played the trumpet in the school band, and performed with the
drama club.
While still in his senior year of high school, Frank enlisted in the United
States Marine Corps.
For the past eight years, he has been an outstanding leader with many
decorations and commendations.
Ironically, before being charged with murder, he had been recommended for the
Bronze Star for the very actions at Haditha that resulted in the charges.
Frank is married to Marisol, a nursing student. They have three children.
They Need Your Help
These courageous Marines need your help and they need it now. They've earned
it and deserve it.
You can show your support for these great Americans by
Going Here Now.
We are so strongly behind these Marines that Newsmax has made $15,000 in
donations to help their legal defense funds.
To make a donation, send your gift to the Haditha Heroes Fund at
Newsmax or
Go Here Now, and we will divide your donations between these two funds
equally.
Newsmax will send all donations — every penny — to the aid of the Marines.
Newsmax will even pay all the credit card processing costs that will incur.
Help us show America's appreciation for these fine young Marines and
their selfless service to our country —
Go Here Now.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
