Greetings from the City of Fallujah.

This is my sixth letter to you, published on the Anniversary of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. We are in the sixth month of our deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. As you are probably well aware from the headlines, the Thundering Third has continued to perform its duties in Iraq with a high degree of combat efficiency in accordance with the legacy of valor and professionalism we inherited from our distinguished Veteran forebears. There is a popular phrase that you may have heard in the past that describes our recent actions in the City of Fallujah. It goes something like this, "There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second opinion."

As most of you now know, "Your" Battalion was the 1st Marine Division's main effort for two weeks of high intensity combat operations to rid the City of Fallujah of international terrorists and Iraqi insurgents. Known as Operation "AL FAJR" or "New Dawn", this operation was successful in killing or capturing thousands of terrorists and insurgents, denying them sanctuary, and destroying thousands of weapons and ordnance items.

The fighting experienced in Fallujah was some of the most violent I have observed over my career in the US Marine Corps. We were up against determined adversaries who were well armed, and had prepared defensive fighting positions in complex urban terrain. The 1st Marine Regiment (RCT-1) advanced into the western half of Fallujah with the Thundering Third, 3d Bn., 5th Marines, and the 2d Bn, 7th Cavalry, armed with M1A2 tanks and Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Fully supported with all the combined arms resonant in the Marine Air Ground Task Force to include USAF AC-130 Gunships, your Marines, Sailors and Soldiers aggressively attacked the enemy and maintained relentless pressure on him until he was reduced to operating in small isolated groups, hiding in homes.

As I mentioned above, the fighting was extremely fierce. During our advance we uncovered enemy from many different neighboring Arab countries, large quantities of weapons and ordnance of every type, sensitive items such as passports of murdered hostages, torture rooms, propaganda studios, military skills training centers, etc. As we had long suspected, Fallujah proved to be a massive sanctuary and cache site for the enemies of peace. Indeed, the extent of the ordnance located in this city is such that the city continues to experience daily explosions, as our Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams destroy newly discovered explosives and munitions.

Shortly before Operation AL FAJR began, we pulled the entire Thundering Third in for only the second time we'd all been together since we began our Operation Iraqi Freedom II deployment in June. It was a blessed if not expectant time together.

You may have seen the article published on our "First Annual Thundering Third Ben Hur Memorial Chariot Race." This race actually proved to be a number of timed heats due to uncooperative horses. These horses had been impounded temporarily when suspected infiltrators brought them around our base under the guise of scrapping. A number of men in the Battalion with horse handling experience cared for them in the weeks preceding the horse race. All of our horses had fresh hay every day and their own little stable inside Camp Abu Ghurayb.

	They actually gained weight and appeared content until race day, when nearly every one of them decided he'd had enough cart pulling in his lifetime!
Needless to say, the event was a morale raiser, replete with uncooperative horses, Marine actors in costume, race music and starter's trumpets piped in over our loudspeaker, our Battalion Color Guard and National Anthem, Chaplain's Prayer, a couple of short speeches, and the singing of the Marines' Hymn as a Battalion.

24-hours later the Thundering Third was in the attack into N Fallujah. Our opening gambit included the seizure of the Fallujah Train Station. You may recall my description of our Iraqi National Guard Brothers from India Company in Nasser Wa Salaam. Well, these fine men joined our Marines from the Battalion's Combined Action Platoon (CAP) and aggressively attacked and seized this train station, with support from Company L (the ING continued its superb performance throughout the operation in support of Lima Company). This began our Regiment's assault from this portion of the city. After that we conducted a forward passage of lines with our Army Brothers from the 2d of the 7th Cavalry, and followed them into Fallujah for the first day of combat.

The morning of the 2nd day saw the Thundering Third out in front, assigned as the RCT-1 main effort through the most dense and complex portion of Fallujah, known as the Jolan. Indeed, we remained RCT-1's main effort all the way through to the end of high intensity combat operations 12 days later.

After this, we had another week or so of hunting down isolated pockets of resistance - insurgents and terrorists that moved from other parts of the city into our zone. We systematically eliminated these pockets over the subsequent days. Today a calm has descended over our portion of the city, broken only by the sound of controlled detonations as described above. We are busy hardening up our firm bases, conducting joint patrols with Iraqi Soldiers from the new Iraqi Army, creating humanitarian assistance sites and entry control points into the city, and clearing up rubble.

We also took time to truck out a fine Thanksgiving Feast to our Lads in the field. Vat cans of turkey, steak, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables, gravy and cake were brought to every Marine, Sailor and Soldier in the field. All hands rejoiced in the special brotherhood of a Combat Veteran Marine Infantry Battalion. All hands were simply thankful to be together to share a meal at the end of one of the greatest bonding events any will experience in their lives. As I have said in every letter since we hit the deck in Iraq, whether in contact with the enemy or with friendly people seeking a better life, your Marines, Soldiers, and Sailors are doing great things out here every day.

Weather Report: As you may have heard from your loved ones out here, daily temperatures have now become down right chilly. After a blistering summer in the Al Anbar Province, all hands have donned their polypro undershirts and Polartec Fleece shirts. My thoughts turn back 54 years ago, when this Battalion was at Hagaru, North Korea. A few remarks are inevitably made referencing the chill, often followed by mention of our Korean Veterans... "How'd they do it up at the Chosin Reservoir?" For a more recent example, last year the Thundering Third was up in Bridgeport, CA, for cold weather mountain warfare training. This year, despite the drop in the mercury, we have it a bit more comfortable. The Thundering Third was in the attack against our Nation's foes on our Marine Corps 229th Birthday, though many a "Happy Birthday Marine", or "Happy Birthday Doc" was passed on that special day. After the dust settled a bit, as described above, in accordance with tradition, we trucked out another holiday meal to every company in the field in Vat Cans. "Every meal a feast" and "every formation a family reunion" describe this day best. I must also mention that there were many smiles across the Battalion as we were granted a I MEF special ration of two beers per Marine, and one small bottle of rum. This special ration, combined with another superb dinner and birthday cake - should solidify the memory of our 229th Birthday in Fallujah, Iraq for the rest of our lives.

Ladies and Gentlemen, large quantities of mail and packages continue to arrive and are greatly appreciated. At this point, I would ask those who desire to send packages to limit the contents to food and tobacco items which can be consumed. Of course, reading materials and DVDs are also welcome and will be used. Thanks to the generous folks back home, most hygiene items are in large supply out here. All of the thoughtful donors who have sent things to our Marines are too vast to mention here, but the members of G-3-1 Korea have been particularly generous to their Battalion. I will also mention Marine Corps League Detachments from Ventura and Mount Diablo, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Rear Admiral King, USN (Ret.), Rusty's Chips from Balboa Island, CA, the great people from Coorstec in Golden Colorado and the good people from the Jefferson County Colorado Government Center there.

SgtMajor Ed Sax continues to experience flash backs to his company gunnery sergeant days and never gets tired of distributing these items for delivery to our Marines, and sometimes to Iraqi children. I want to repeat that I cannot tell you how good it feels to know how many people are behind us back home. These packages and the inspiring messages contained within really make a great difference to our Marines and Sailors... all are deeply, deeply appreciated. This month, in an effort to reduce the length of my portion of the newsletter I will not mention all of our meritorious Marines by name.

As you can well imagine, we have an incredible group of heroes in the Thundering Third (as an example, I invite your attention to the article attached below our Family Newsletter on Cpl Robert Mitchell, a superlative NCO and hero from Company K).

We also have standouts in a reinforced infantry battalion full of standouts. Sergeant Major Sax and I share the great personal and professional privilege and pleasure as career Marines to see our men earn combat promotions, NCO and Marine of the Quarter honors, and earn additional qualifications while participating in combat operations.

I can well imagine the pride felt by the families of these outstanding Marines as they write and phone home to relate the good news - superlative Marines and Sailors, who are serving their country most honorably in a time of war. Like their forebears in the Thundering Third from WWII (15 Feb 42) to present, our Marines and Sailors have continued to serve with fortitude in the face of adversity.

As you must know, we continue to sustain casualties here in Iraq. The recent period of high intensity combat in Fallujah was particularly rough in this regard. Due to great combat leadership and training, protective equipment, and the best Surgeons and Corpsmen in the 1st Marine Division, a high percentage of our wounded are returning to duty. Unfortunately, as noted in previous letters home and the comments above, we have had a few men hurt enough to be medevaced back to the USA. On this note, our Marines and Sailors continue to be blessed with visits by a number of the Battalion's Distinguished Veterans and the Families and Friends of our Battalion. These visits mean the world to our men and their families, and mean the world to the rest of us in Iraq, knowing that our Lads are being well cared for in the rear. Since I last wrote to you, it is also my sad duty to report to you that we have lost 23 of our brother Marines and one Iraqi Special Forces Soldier killed in action here in Iraq. All of these men gave their lives for their brother Marines and Sailors here, and for all Americans in defense of the freedoms we are all privileged to enjoy. America owes these Marines and their families an endless debt of gratitude. They are greatly missed by their brothers here and by their families back home. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families. We continue the mission we began here together, as they would have wanted.

I will conclude this letter with all of our best wishes for Happy Holidays to you at home, especially to the great Ladies who continue to do great things in our Thundering Third Key Volunteer Network. You who have sacrificed at home over the past six months to enable your loved ones to serve our Nation overseas in a time of war - our men couldn't accomplish the things that they have without you behind them. I recently read a book by Steven Pressfield entitled, "Gates of Fire." Ostensibly it is the story about the Spartan defense of the pass at Thermopoly. What the book is really about is the commitment and sacrifice of a people for their nation. Although we have a different form of government and live in a different time, there is much to admire about the Spartans and indeed the ancient Greeks, where Western democracy was born. To bring you back to my main point, one of the greatest parts of this book described how Leonidas, the King of the Spartans, selected the 300 Soldiers he brought with him to Thermopoly, a mission that all realized would mean the deaths of those defending the entrance to Greece from Persian hordes under King Darius. Leonidas relates that the way he chose the men who would accompany him to Thermopoly was by an evaluation of their women - wives and mothers. Please don't misread my intent with this story, we all deployed to Iraq with the full intention of bringing everyone home. That intention continues in earnest, especially after all this Battalion has been through.

My final point is that we have an incredible group of supportive family members led by our Key Volunteers behind us out here. We are a volunteer force of committed professionals who serve our Nation, Navy, and Marine Corps with happy hearts. Throughout the rigors of OIF II, our Key Volunteers have been there for our Battalion Families in EVERY circumstance. Ladies, I do not have the words to express how important the compassionate work you are doing means to all of us out here, and to our Marines and Sailors and their families back home. Ladies, THANK YOU from all of us forward deployed for the continued superlative support - we all cannot wait to be home with you again soon.

As time permits, I will write again. I hope that this update has provided you with an insight into the Battalion's recent accomplishments and progress. In addition to your support for your Marines and Sailors over here, I also respectfully ask that you keep the families of our lost and wounded Marines and Sailors in your thoughts and prayers. Since I last wrote to you, it is also my sad duty to report to you that we have lost a number of our brother Marines and one Iraqi Special Forces Soldier killed in action here in Iraq. All of these men gave their lives for their brother Marines and Sailors here, and for all Americans in defense of the freedoms we are all privileged to enjoy. America owes these Marines and their families an endless debt of gratitude. They are greatly missed by their brothers here and by their families back home. We continue the mission we began here together, as they would have wanted. The 3d Bn, 1st Marines forever honors the sacrifice of Staff Sergeant Russell Slay (2d AAV Bn), Sergeant Christopher Heflin, Sergeant William James, Sergeant Byron Norwood, Sergeant Morgan Strader, Corporal Theodore Bowling, Corporal Dale Burger, Corporal Brian Oliveira, Lance Corporal Jeramy Ailes, Lance Corporal Bradley Arms, Lance Corporal Benjamin Bryan, Lance Corporal Luis Figueroa, Lance Corporal Michael Hanks, Lance Corporal Justin McCleese, Lance Corporal Andres Perez, Lance Corporal Juan Segura, Lance Corporal Abraham Simpson, Lance Corporal James Swain, Lance Corporal Nathan Wood, Lance Corporal Louis Qualls, Lance Corporal Joseph Welke, Lance Corporal Philip West, and Private First Class Nicholas Larson, and Jundi Majeed, Iraqi Special Forces, who are gone but never forgotten. John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
LtCol Willy Buhl
CO, 3d Bn, 1st Marines