Heavy Metal: A Tank Company's Battle to Baghdad

311 Pages·2005·3.72 MB·English

by  USA

HEAVY METAL
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A R M
LSO BY ON ARTZ
Disposable Patriot: Revelations of a Soldier in
America’s Secret Wars (with Jack Terrell)
Solitary Survivor: The First POW in Southeast Asia
(with Col.Lawrence R.Bailey,Jr.,USA [Ret.])
White Tigers: My Secret War in Korea
(with Col.Ben S.Malcom USA,[Ret.])
An AUSA Book
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HE AV Y
METAL
A Tank Company’s
Battle to Baghdad
JASON CONROY
with Ron Martz
Potomac Books, Inc.
Dulles, Virginia
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For the soldiers of Charlie Company,
who battled to Baghdad and beyond
with courage, skill, and professionalism;
and to their families,
who were with them
every step of the way
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Contents
Illustrations ix
Foreword xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
1 Point Blank: The Battle for Mahmudiyah 1
2 Rock of the Marne 16
3 The Making of Charlie Company 24
4 Operation Desert Spring 36
5 The Wait in Kuwait 50
6 The Plan: Heavy Metal and Rock ’n Roll 63
7 Sand and Fury 72
8 First Fight: Cobras Lead the Way 89
9 The Night It Rained Mud 108
10 The Battle for Najaf 121
11 Checkpoint Charlie 136
12 The Road to Baghdad 153
13 Thunder Run I: Speed, Power, and a Show of Force 165
14 Sorting Things Out 187
15 Thunder Run II: The End of Saddam 195
16 Rooting out the Remnants of Saddam 210
vii
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viii CONTENTS
17 Baghdad Bedlam and Other National Treasures 226
18 Beyond Baghdad 246
19 Epilogue 260
Appendix: Charlie Company Vehicle Assignments and Roster 271
Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations 277
Index 281
About the Authors 287
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Illustrations
Maps
The Road to Baghdad xvii
The Heart of Baghdad xviii
Diagram
M1A1 ‘‘Abrams’’ main battle tank 18
Photographs
Destroyed Iraqi T-72 tank, Mahmudiyah 8
Burning Iraqi tanks in Mahmudiyah seen through U.S.
tank’s vision blocks 11
Destroyed Iraqi T-72 tank on the road to Baghdad 13
Charlie Company, prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom 25
1st Sgt. Jose Mercado 29
S.Sgt. Jason Diaz and Pfc. Fausto Trivino 37
Photographer Brant Sanderlin 75
Charlie Rock scrambles to don protective suits 84
After the battle on 22 and 23 March 2003 113
Sandstorm at Checkpoint Charlie 122
Spc. Curtis Gebhard searches for wounded 123
S.Sgt. Mark Strunk treats a wounded civilian 125
Spc. Curtis Gebhard and Spc. Anthony Kalis capture a
POW 126
S.Sgt. Mark Strunk treats a wounded Iraqi soldier 128
Capt. Jason Conroy and Spc. Paul Helgenberger 132
S.Sgt. Benjamin Phinney searches civilians for weapons 139
Sgt. 1st Class David Richard escorts a wounded Iraqi
civilian to safety 147
ix
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