Recording History XVII – I'm Back

The last time I posted about my new book – NEW DAWN – I had encountered an obstacle. Since then, I have worked a consulting job in northern Virginia, rewritten my proposal and spent several months helping my wife recuperate from a total knee replacement.

In the last couple weeks, I have started writing again and am working nearly fulltime on the completion of my book.

I thought I would provide another interesting story from the pages of NEW DAWN to rekindle our relationship and to bring you all a story with connections to today’s events.

Richard S. Lowry is the author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.

Colonel Michael Shupp, a veteran of the fight for Kuwait International Airport during Desert Storm, had arrived in Iraq at the end of May, 2004. Shupp had been slated to take command of Regimental Combat Team – 1 (RCT-1). But, in June he received a message from the Red Cross that his wife, Sherrye, had taken ill with cancer. Colonel Shupp returned home to be by her side during her extended treatment, not knowing if she would survive the ordeal. Colonel Larry Nicholson had been selected to take the 5th Marine Regiment. Nicholson would take Shupp’s regiment and Shupp would get the 5th Marine Regiment, if and when he could return.

Mike and Sherrye Shupp spent many months fighting her cancer with chemo treatments and radiation. Miraculously, no surgeries were ever needed. By late summer, the cancer was in remission and Sherrye was on the road to becoming a cancer survivor. Her recovery was so thorough that Colonel Shupp returned to Iraq on September 9th. When he arrived he thought he would be on staff for the rest of his tour in Iraq.

On 14 September, both colonels walked to the RCT-1 change of command ceremony together. Colonel Nicholson felt awkward as he prepared to take command of the regiment that was originally meant to be Colonel Shupp’s. But at 0900, Colonel Larry Nicholson assumed command of the 1st Marine Regiment from Colonel John Toolan, as Colonel Shupp looked on. Toolan had served as the regiment’s commanding officer since relieving Colonel Joe Dowdy during the march to Baghdad. He had also been a central figure in Mattis’ first assault on Fallujah. Toolan had tucked away a bottle of French wine for a special occasion. Since drinking of alcoholic beverages was not permitted in Iraq, today seemed like a good time to pass the wine on to Colonel Nicholson. “Drink this on your last day in Iraq.” Toolan told Nicholson, as he handed him the bottle.

During the first fight in April, Camp Fallujah had been repeatedly pummeled with indirect fire. Rocket and mortar attacks continued randomly during the summer of 2004. After the change of command and short celebration, Colonel Nicholson went to work in his new office. He placed the bottle of wine on a shelf and set out to settle in to his new command. One of the first items on his agenda was to set up his computer with his passwords and email accounts. Nicholson asked Major Kevin Shea, the regiment’s communications officer, to send a Marine over to get his computer squared away.

Shea offered to set up Nicholson’s computer and email accounts himself, but Nicholson insisted that Shea send one of his Marines. Shea ignored his new COs pleas and sat down at his desk. As Colonel Nicholson moved around to the side of the desk, a rocket screamed through the sandbagged window, hitting Shea in the back, and then slamming into the wall.

Nicholson went down. So did his bottle of Bordeaux. The bottle tumbled from its perch, bounced on the concrete floor, but did not break. Colonel Nicholson did not fair as well. Marines know that if they hear the explosion, they are going to be OK. Nicholson didn’t hear a thing. He staggered around the office, bleeding profusely as his office filled with flame and smoke. He could smell the cordite and see exposed rebar and small fires igniting all around. It seemed like an eternity, but Marines rushed into the room within seconds to pull the colonel from the destruction.

Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Malay and Colonel Robert Coates were standing outside the building when the rocket screamed in and exploded, knocking them to their knees. Malay and Coates rushed into the building and headed for the point of impact – the regimental commander’s office. The moment they entered the room, they knew that Kevin Shay was beyond help. He was gone. Bob Coates grabbed a pressure bandage and slapped it on Colonel Nicholson. Nicholson was moving in and out of consciousness. He awoke as he was being placed on a stretcher, pain shooting through his back and shoulder. He turned to Malay and the others and said, “I’ll be back, damn it. I’ll be back.”

Looking at Nicholson’s wounds, Malay thought to himself, “You’ll be lucky if you live to see tomorrow.”

TODAY

Brigadier General Lawrence D. Nicholson

Commanding General, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade

Richard S. Lowry is the author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.