IRAQ: A mother's poem about a Marine sniper

When Marines at Camp Pendleton are charged with misconduct in Iraq, their families rally to their defense.

The mother of Robert Pennington, one of the Hamdaniya defendants, testified about watching her son deteriorate psychologically in the brig.

The sister of Trent Thomas, also one of the Hamdaniya defendants, testified about the hardships of growing up poor and black in East St. Louis and how her brother dropped to his knees and thanked God when he was accepted into the Marine Corps.

The mother of Justin Sharratt, one of the Haditha defendants, told reporters that in her heart she knows her son killed Iraqis only in self-defense. "I'd rather get a phone call from my son (saying he is facing charges) than have two Marines come to my door telling me he's dead."

At his preliminary hearing this week at Camp Pendleton, the family of Sgt. Johnny Winnick was there in force: mother, father, two sisters, one brother, one brother-in-law.

Winnick, a sniper, is accused of manslaughter and assault in killing two Syrians and wounding two others in the Lake Tharthar region. He says he opened fire because he thought the men were trying to bury an improvised explosive device, or IED, to kill Marines.

After hearing last month that her son faced charges, Dorothy Winnick wrote a poem entitled "I Sent My Son To War." The full poem, chronicling her son's enlistment at 17, four deployments, and criminal case at age 24, is posted on the website www.johnnywinnick.com.

One section deals with her son's experience during the battle for Fallouja in 2004. It may -- or not -- explain why he reacted so quickly when he saw the Syrians last year burying what he thought was an IED.

He fought in the biggest and deadliest battle of the war, the battle of Fallujah
He stormed houses. He searched for the enemy
The explosions were tremendous, the gunfire relentless, and blood covered the streets
He fought, he prayed, I prayed, he was hit but nothing happened, he stepped on an IED but nothing happened.
I prayed, he prayed.

-- Tony Perry, at Camp Pendleton

Photo: Sgt. Johnny Winnick, facing charges for misconduct in Iraq. Credit: family website

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