Deuce Four Rules

Just finished Michael Yon's Gates of Fire report on the Deuce Four firefight in Mosul in which LTC Eric Kurilla was injured. It was masterful, powerfully masterful.

Yon strolls us gently into the story ... as gently as combat can be. Shots being fired, Strykers hitting IEDs, but somehow it seems normal enough. It is the quiet bravery of the troops that make it normal. If it was me experiencing what goes down early in the post, I'd be tied in knots and writing up a storm. But the men of Deuce Four just go about the business of ridding Iraq of bad guys.

When the action does break, my heart surged forward, racing, and as it started racing, I realized how masterfully Yon had paced his post. But as much as I admire his writing, I admire who he is writing about more. Hugh gave a lot of very well deserved time to LTC Kurilla today. I caught the last 25 minutes ... did he give him the whole three hours? He should have.

I liked this section the best, the phone call Kurilla made from the hospital to his wife, after taking three bullets, just before going into surgery:

The Commander and the terrorist were both being prepped for surgery, when LTC Kurilla said, "Tell Major Bieger to call my wife so she doesn't get a call from the Army first." But someone gave the Commander a cell phone, and I heard Kurilla talking to his wife, Mary Paige, saying something like, "Honey, there has been a little shooting here. I got hit and there was some minor soft tissue damage." The X-ray on the board nearby showed his femur snapped in half. "I'll be fine. Just some minor stuff." That poor woman.

Who are these guys? Decent, honorable, fierce warriors. Our guys, fighting for our side. Thank God.

p.s., if you didn't catch it at Hugh's site, here's the address for Kurilla and SGT Daniel Lama, who was also injured on the day of Yon's post, so you can drop them a card:

LTC Erik Kurilla or SGT Daniel Lama
Patient
9040 Jackson Avenue
Madigan Army Medical Center
Tacoma WA 98431