Anamorphosis

I.

Nov 19, 2005

Haditha, Al-Anbar Province, Iraq

Kilo Company, Third Battalion, First Marine Division

. . .

Twenty-four unarmed Iraqi civilians

Including:

A seventy-six year old amputee

In a wheelchair

Holding a Qur’an

A mother and child bent over

Six children ranging in age from one to fourteen

. . .

Execution style

II.

December 2005

The U.S. military paid $2,500 (condolence payments) per victim to families of fifteen of the dead Iraqis. A total of $38,000.

III.

“Shoot first, ask questions later” were Sgt. Wuterich’s orders to his men as they searched nearby homes after a roadside bomb attack killed one Marine and injured two others.

IV.

December 21, 2006

Eight marines are charged.

V.

June 17, 2008

Six had their cases dropped and a seventh was found not guilty.

VI.

January 23, 2012

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, 31, of Meridien, Connecticut, pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty as the leader of the squad. The manslaughter charges were dropped.

VII.

January 24, 2012

Wuterich was sentenced to a reduction in rank. He received a general discharge under honorable conditions. No jail time.

VIII.

Asked if he would have done anything differently that day, Salinas, one of the witnesses, said: “I would have just utilized my air to just level the house”

Another witness, Dela Cruz, admitted that he urinated on the skull of one of the Iraqis he and Wuterich had shot.

IX.

August 19, 2012

Meridien, Connecticut

Wuterich, who lives in California, returned home to Meridien, Connecticut, for a golf tournament organized by local veterans for his benefit.

“The tournament was organized by veterans groups including the Polish Legion of American Veterans, the American Legion and Marine Corps League Silver City Detachment.

Bill Zelinsky, commander of the Polish Legion Sons Detachment, said combat veterans he’s spoken with don’t find fault with Wuterich’s actions in Haditha.

“Any of the veterans in this club that I spoke to said they would have handled the situation the same way Frank did,” Zelinsky said. “I have to believe he did the right thing.”

X.

Haditha, Al-Anbar Province, Iraq

The twenty four corpses are at home

in The Martyrs’ Graveyard

"Graffiti

on a wall in one of the deserted homes

of one of the families reads:

“Democracy assassinated the family that was here.”"*

[Anamorphosis: a distorted projection or drawing that appears normal when viewed from a particular point or with a suitable mirror or lens (OED).]

* Marjorie Cohn, "The Haditha Massacre: No Justice for Iraqis."

