IMAGES | MAPS | FOOTNOTES

Images: (click to enlarge)

Maps: (click to enlarge)

Footnotes:

1. Stephen Davis, interview in Awakening, Vol III
2. Tim Mundy, interview in Awakening, Vol IIIA
3. Frank Diorio, interview with Virginia Military Institute
4. Frank Diorio, interview in Awakening, Vol IIIA
5. “Rebels Said to be Battling One Another”, LA Times, 8may05
6. Sheikh Kurdi, interview in Awakening, Vol IIIA
7. Ibid.
8. Sheikh Sabah, interview in Awakening, Vol IIIA
9. Ibid.
10. “Another Day in Operation Iraqi Freedom for Sean Mitzel”, Embry Riddle Alumni publication, 07
11. Jason Ellis, combat journal shared with author
12. Sheikh Kurdi, interview in Awakening, Vol IIIA
13. Stephen Davis, USMC History Division interview
14. Stanley McChrystal, in My Share of the Task, p90-91. 
15. “12 killed in Iraqi gunfight”, Reuters, 2may05; “American Forces Kill 24 Militants in West Iraq”, Washington Post, 4may05;  Stephen Davis, USMC History Division interview
16. Stanley McChrystal, in My Share of the Task, p180. “Al Qaeda had rooted itself throughout the valley, setting up way stations, and safe houses in rural desert compounds and riverside cities, from Al-Qaim down through Rawah, Haditha, Hit, Ramadi and Fallujah. I believed that as part of a larger MNF-I effort our task force could play an effective role… I offered to Casey that our strike teams and the focus of our targeting apparatus shift to be part of the effort out west.” 
17. U.S. Marines In Iraq, 2004-2005: Into the Fray, p98
18. Tim Mundy, interview with author
19. Scott Edwards, interview with author
20. Nathaniel Stusse, interview with author
21. Mark Lister, interview with author
22. Joey Martin, interview with author
23. Ibid.
24. Scott Edwards, interview with author