The Death of the Marine Corps, Chapter 4

A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his Country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.
- Teddy Roosevelt

To Stand

The story of the Innocent 8 is one that many people don’t even know. People tend to know bits and pieces, or they’re not aware of the full ramifications of the situation. The truth is that this case affects us all, for it signifies a new low in our nation.

When those who defend our freedoms are not even given the benefit of the rights we all enjoy, then there has been a failure in our justice system; a failure so completely basic that many may ignore it. They assume it can’t happen here. This is the United States of America, a place where pedophiles have the ACLU to defend their “rights” and terrorists in Gitmo are given Geneva Convention protections. It is unfathomable that American citizens would be treated worse than those who have conspired to kill us.

The even sadder part of this is that many of us are forced into a position where we have to condemn an institution that we love and support. The Marine Corps is an icon of the United States; it has given birth to many generations of proud warriors who have kept us free. As a Marine’s wife, I know that it could have just as easily been my husband sitting in a cell at Camp Pendleton, falsely accused. The cold knowledge that some of the Marines who wear the uniform of a devil dog are actually spineless and political and willing to sacrifice their own men to score political points is anathema; it is nauseating and heartbreaking.

But here we are, just the same, and unless we do something eight men stand to lose their lives for no other reason than the Marine Corps feels as though it needs to kowtow to the same people who would call them “paid assassins.” In all honesty, regardless of our best efforts, these men may die anyway. That fact should not stop us from acting; to the contrary, it should spur us to greater fortitude. One does not stop fighting because the fight may be lost.

So what can we do to stop this machine from crushing the Innocent 8?

• Call your Congressmen and Senators. Start with the Armed Services Committee (the HASC is here). This is perhaps the most important. Email them. Fax them. Tell them that you demand an independent congressional hearing into the rights violations that the Innocent 8 are being subjected to. The men did not give up their Constitutional rights when they raised their right hands, and even the UCMJ has provisions built into it to give accused servicemembers basic rights during an investigation, Article 32, and subsequent court-martial. These rights are being ignored.

• Tell your family and friends about the case. I cannot stress this enough. Inform people. Let them know. Talk about it. Post the story on your websites, or send it out to your email list. If you can send forwards about flowers and hugs and an occasional warning about kidnappers, then you can send this. This is a life or death fight, and it affects you.

• Talk to the media. Little towns all over America have local papers. The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post are beyond help, but there are hundreds of thousands of publications in this country, many of them run by good, American citizens who love their country and would be amazed and appalled to see the treatment these men are receiving. Submit letters to the editor. Write a guest column. Start a blog. Something.

• Organize a rally. Even a few people can make a difference. There have been rallies held outside Camp Pendleton for the last six weeks, every Saturday.

• Call into talk radio shows. Rush, Hannity, Beck, all of them. Call in, email them. Talk to them about this. Make sure they cover it.

Those are some of the things we can do to help their case on a grand scale. But what can we do for these men personally?

• Send them letters. One of the things that lifts their spirits more than anything while confined in the brig is to hear from Americans who believe in them, who honor them and pray for them and support them. It costs a few cents to send a letter and it means the world to them. Please, if you do nothing else, do this.

• Contribute to their defense fund. Civilian attorneys, even at discounted rates, cost money. Experts cost money. These men are literally fighting for their lives, and can use everything you can possibly give. Their families are cleaning out retirement funds, refinancing homes, and doing everything they possibly can to scrape enough money so their sons and husbands get a fair trial, but this dog-and-pony show looks like it will go on a while.

• Send them books. What if you were in an 8×8 cell for 23 hours a day and were innocent? Sending these guys things to read can at the very least keep time moving for them. PFC John Jodka likes conservative political books, like Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity. He just finished reading Ilario Pantano’s Warlord. Keep in mind that if you do send books, they need to come directly from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc., so you’ll need to send them as a gift. They can share books, as well, so sending one of them a book means that the other men will probably be able to read it as well.

The Innocent 8, at this moment while you read this, are sitting in cells about the same size as your bathroom. They have been there for weeks with no recourse, no way to fight for themselves, no way to defend themselves against these charges. They have stood for us. We owe it to them to stand now. The fight is uphill, and there are those who will not listen. Many people want to see the United States fail as a country, and would even like to see these Marines die. But we know in our hearts what the difference is between right and wrong, and we sit here today because of men like them.

I challenge you to stand up for the rights we enjoy. I implore you to stand for these men. I ask you to do what is right. Demand an independent Congressional hearing into the Hamdaniya 8.

If we don’t, and these men are found guilty, the Marine Corps will no longer be an institution of honor, of duty and devotion to Country. It will simply be a long-forgotten ideal, a reminder of the past greatness of our nation.

A defeat in the courtroom for the Pendleton 8 means a defeat for our country in the War on Terror. The enemy already uses our media, and to know that they can succeed in killing Marines simply by making up stories about them…if this case ends in a conviction, then we have already lost.

Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I am attacking.
- Ferdinand Foch, at the Battle of the Marne, 1918

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