Rebuilding What the Assault Turns to Rubble
Weeks before Marine and Army units stormed into Fallujah, blowing up buildings and blasting holes in insurgent positions, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Larry Merola was already working on a plan to fix the damage. Merola, an architect from Stoughton, Mass., was part of a Seabee team of engineers, builders and carpenters responsible for estimating the battle damage long before the first tank rolled. Merola and his crew — which included an ironworker from Connecticut, an electrician from Virginia and a general contractor from New Hampshire — pored over combat plans with Marine commanders and made suggestions for how to secure the city without completely tearing it apart. Full Story