Editorial: Troops have our gratitude

Monday, May 29, 2006 | 6:57 a.m.

This Memorial Day, and all days, we think of our troops who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are current reminders of the courage and sacrifices of our armed forces.

Certain images stand out, such as those from March 31, 2004. Four American contractors were attacked as they drove through Fallujah, a city 40 miles west of Baghdad. Their SUV was set afire and their charred bodies then beaten. At least two of the bodies were hung from a bridge by celebrating insurgents.

Five days later a small contingent of our troops - a combined force of Marines, soldiers, and airmen - were ordered to respond. Thirty-nine Marines and soldiers died in hellish urban combat with the enemy. The troops, under orders, withdrew within days, out of concerns that pushing farther into the city would endanger innocent civilians.

The Marines tried, unsuccessfully, to organize a brigade of Iraqis to defend the city from thousands of insurgents who had organized there. After the undisciplined and uncommitted brigade disbanded, a virtual siege of Fallujah lasted until November. During that time, most of the city's 300,000 civilians fled, enabling our troops to attack full force.

That attack began Nov. 8, 2004, and our troops learned immediately that the insurgents and foreign fighters had used the intervening months to set booby traps and fortify their positions. More than 10,000 U.S. troops, along with 2,000 Iraqi forces, moved under fire against the entrenched enemy, estimated to number between 3,000 and 5,000.

Fighting house-to-house and sometimes, necessarily, mosque-to-mosque (where snipers hid and weapons were stored), our troops retook the city by Nov. 20. Fifty-one of our troops were killed and 425 were injured.

The courage and skill of our troops during the battle for Fallujah is representative of how our fighting men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan have conducted themselves. Despite oftentimes valid criticisms of their civilian commanders in Washington, our troops on the ground have overwhelmingly fought and served with honor.

We are grateful that, throughout the country, strong support for our troops is nearly universal. Schoolchildren are writing them letters, organizations are sending them supplies and communities are welcoming them home. Today we know millions of Americans join us in remembering those who have died and those who have been wounded. And we know and appreciate that the remembrance is lasting.