{"id":72502,"date":"2022-12-27T18:09:13","date_gmt":"2022-12-27T18:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/12\/27\/what-naming-a-ship-after-fallujah-means-to-those-who-fought-there\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:09:20","slug":"what-naming-a-ship-after-fallujah-means-to-those-who-fought-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/12\/27\/what-naming-a-ship-after-fallujah-means-to-those-who-fought-there\/","title":{"rendered":"What naming a ship after Fallujah means to those who fought there"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Marine veteran Ozzie Martinez Jr. thinks about the amphibious assault ship that will be named after Fallujah, he thinks, in part, about Lance Cpl. Mathew Puckett<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 13, 2004, days into the first of the two battles in the Iraqi city that year, the 19-year-old Puckett was in an amphibious assault vehicle that came under heavy fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. His crew chief, Cpl. Kevin Kolm<\/a>, 23, was mortally wounded. The rifle platoon leader had also been seriously injured. Then the vehicle caught fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puckett risked his life to drive his wounded comrades back to safety and extract them from the wreckage, according to the citation for the Bronze Star with valor he earned for his actions that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Martinez, who was a lance corporal at the time, remembers Puckett not only for his bravery but also for his friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat happened April 13, and Puckett was still the same amazing person after that,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cHe was still smiling, he was still living, and happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two Marines in the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, part of 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, would hang out every day, Martinez said. Sometimes they would watch \u201cSmallville\u201d or \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d in a trailer on Camp Fallujah. Other times they would sit and talk about nothing, or about everything \u2014 just not about April 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last photo Martinez has of Puckett, from Aug. 12, shows him beaming. Puckett was killed one month later, on Sept. 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Then-Lance Cpl. Ozzie Martinez Jr. (left) and Lance Cpl. Mathew Puckett (right) spending time together while deployed to Iraq in 2004. (Ozzie Martinez Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Four other Marines from Martinez\u2019s unit also died in the first battle of Fallujah: Kolm; 1st Lt. Alex Wetherbee<\/a>, 27; Cpl. Jaygee Meluat<\/a>, 24; and Cpl. Adrian Soltau<\/a>, 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martinez, like many other GWOT combatants, said he had long wondered whether he would get the closure that some World War II and Vietnam veterans have found by returning to the scenes of battle in a time of peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that the naming of a ship like this is going to bring, not closure, but it\u2019s going to bring some sort of honor and homage to what was lost there and what was done there, considering that a lot of us feel that we don\u2019t even know if we did it for the right reasons or not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll these guys deserve this ship,\u201d Martinez added, referring to those who died in Fallujah. \u201cThey deserve much more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mixed Reactions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The announcement of the name \u201cFallujah\u201d<\/a> for a forthcoming landing helicopter assault ship came on Dec. 13 from Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, who said it would honor the 100-plus Marines, sailors and other coalition forces who were killed during the two battles. The Fallujah is set to be the first Navy ship named for a battle in the Global War on Terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American troops launched the month-long First Battle of Fallujah on April 1, 2004, following the killing and mutilation of four American contractors at the hands of Iraqi insurgents. U.S. troops withdrew in May and handed over operations to the Iraqi Fallujah Brigade, which ultimately dissolved, giving its U.S.-made weapons to insurgents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. troops recaptured the city from the insurgents during Operation Phantom Fury, the second battle that lasted from Nov. 7 to Dec. 23 of the same year. It was the bloodiest battle of the U.S. war in Iraq, and has since been a source of psychological scars<\/a> for many who returned home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naming a ship for the battles has drawn support from the top ranks of the Marine Corps. The sponsor of the \u201cFallujah\u201d is Donna Berger, the wife of Commandant Gen. David Berger. Traditionally, a female civilian christens a ship and serves as its ceremonial sponsor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Just announced: the America-class amphibious assault ship, LHA-9, will be named USS Fallujah.

At Fallujah, #Marines<\/a> and coalition forces defeated a determined enemy. The USS Fallujah will serve as a reminder to our Nation and its foes why the @USMC<\/a> is the world\u2019s finest.<\/p>— Commandant of the @USMC (@CMC_MarineCorps) December 13, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>