Maj. Rich Bourgeois says the image of a young Navy medical corpsman rushing to aid a mortally wounded Marine in Fallujah’s notorious Jolan district will be forever imprinted in his mind.”In the middle of a firefight, there was this wounded Marine, his left leg blown off and just the femur sticking out,” recounts Bourgeois, 41, of Malden, Mass. “And the young corpsman ran to his side, oblivious to the battle, applying the tourniquet.” More than 50 Marines have died since the Fallujah attack began Nov. 8, and skirmishes still take place in the city. Yet for some Marines, their performance in one of the major battles of the Iraq conflict is a source of pride. “Fallujah is going to be right up there among the most successful battles in Iraq,” said Maj. Tom Davis, 45, of St. Cloud, Minn. “It’s where the rubber meets the road. That is where our heroes did their best.” Fighting in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq made November one of the bloodiest months for American forces since the war began in March 2003. At least 135 U.S. troops died in November — the same number as last April, which had been the deadliest month of the conflict. Full Story
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