As journalists we deal with information regarding the wars on a near-constant basis. Usually we approach what we see with stoic eyes — a function of our mission to bring you the news as objectively as possible — but occasionally that’s impossible.
This morning I received an email from the local chapter of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association with the tragic news that Capt. Matt Freeman, USMC, had been killed in action in Afghanistan.
I met Matt during my last tour on active duty, when he was a plebe at Annapolis and I was on the faculty teaching English, among other subjects. He knew that I was a Tomcat guy and asked if I had heard of his dad, Gary, callsign “Freeperson.” I had. I’d flown on Freeperson’s wing when I was going through the F-14 RAG for the first time. He was the kind of fighter pilot student RIOs wanted to fly with during syllabus events — calm and competent during briefs and in the air. And more than that, he was a Tomcat community icon with a great reputation. When I related that to Matt his face lit up with a proud smile, the kind only a son can offer when someone says something good about the father he loves.
Matt graduated with the USNA Class of 2002, and his graduation ceremony at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium was the last official function of my career. I had a warm spot in my heart for his class. My time on the faculty had coincided with their time as midshipmen. I’d watched them grow from clueless plebes to poised junior officers. They were the first class to graduate after 9–11; their Annapolis educations would be put to the test.
Although Matt went on to become a Marine Corps Harrier pilot, this tour he was serving as a forward air controller — the guy on the ground who tells pilots where to drop their bombs. It’s tough duty, proof that when they tell young second lieutenants during The Basic School that they’ll always be riflemen first, regardless of warfare specialy, they mean it.
Matt had been in Afghanistan just over a week when he found himself as part of a 5-man team patrolling the Kapisa Province accompanied by Afghan National Army forces. Air Force Master Sergeant Rex Temple’s blog describes the details of the battle:
While traveling through one of the village hamlets lined with thick stone walls and mud brick houses, the insurgents unleashed a furious attack. The insurgents were well prepared and it was almost as they were informed and anticipated their arrival. Approximately 60–100 Taliban insurgents fired RPGs, AK-47s, PKMs, and Ditska (equivalent of US 50-cal.) and other weapons at the approaching forces. [Army SPC Chris] Lowe along with his team sought shelter in a kalat (mud-stone house inside a walled in compound). Captain Freeman crawled on top of the roof looking for advantage points and was fatally hit by a bullet. Doc the medic was trying to provide assistance and recover the body. Doc yelled out for some help and Lowes reflexes took over as he scrambled up a ladder to the roof. Doc was tugging on Captain Freemans body and Lowe apparently sensed the danger. He grabbed Doc and threw him down. About the same time, Lowe took a bullet to his upper right thigh area. Both he and Doc fell off the roof to the ground. Doc apparently fell on top of Lowes leg and thought he broke it because Lowe was yelling My leg, my leg.” But when the Doc saw the spurting blood, his medical training kicked into high gear and he applied a CAT tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
The femoral artery was nicked, but Doc was able to stabilize the bleeding and Lowe was transported out of the battle space to a helicopter landing zone. Meanwhile the fierce fighting continued until the Air Force F-15s armed with a 500 lb bomb along with a pair of Army Kiowa Attack helicopters arrived. The ANA counter-reacted by methodically blowing up the kalats where the Taliban was hiding. The insurgents retreated and ran for the hills. The next few hours were small tactical engagements as the Taliban disappeared. Tragically that day during this 6.5 hour battle, the ANA lost 4 soldiers, US 1, and the French had 3 soldiers wounded. The body count of the insurgents was 6-fold including one prominent Taliban area commander.
The staff of DT wishes a speedy recovery to SPC Lowe, a true hero. And we also pass our deepest sympathies to Freeperson and the entire Freeman family. Matt’s death is a great loss to the Marine Corps and the nation. He had much more left to do with his life.
– Ward
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Congress needs to declare war in this war on terror and stop with the BS politics.
Good Evening Ward,
Semper Fi.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
True Heroes. Rest in Peace.
True Heroes – never forget. GB Semper Fi
Rest in peace – and thank you for everything you have done for us.
And thank you Ward for telling this man’s story.
Bless them all, Bless them all, the long, the short, and the tall. Guard them Hall of Heaven, Marine. Semper Fidelis. Blackcoat. Vietnam TAC(A)
Bless them all, Bless them all, the long, the short, and the tall. Guard them Halls of Heaven, Marine. Semper Fidelis. Blackcoat. Vietnam TAC(A)
rip
thanks for a very good story of a fine marine.
rip
thanks for a very good story of a fine marine.
Definitely a glorious death.
Plenty more to come in the war with no objective.
Ward,
Missed your posts. Glad you did this one the service it deserves.
Fair winds and following seas to all that leave port for the last time.
DC2
Bless this man, Bless his family. Bless all those who accept the possibility of this same fate.
SHAME on those sending countless souls to this fate for no reason than oil and greed. A pointless war being fought by children for greedy men.
The inept leading the unwilling to do the unnecessary.
Boogy Man,
Go suck a fat baby’s ass!!!! There is absolutely NO OIL in Afghanistan. The only reason we are there is because of the real threat of terrorism. And until we come out of those God forsaken mountains with OBL’s head on a stick we will continue to be there.
Jackass.
DC2
Boogy Man,
This article is in my opinion not ment to give comments about the sanity of war. Especially when you talk nonsence. I think DC2′s comment says enough.
i wish the families who are left mourning their lovedones all the best in this difficult period.
@dc2
OBL? You really still hold on to him as a trophy? Even when most evidence says he is already dead already? Keep eating the agenda my dude, your priority’s and expectations are totally out of wack.
This convo is best saved for another topic, i do not want to derail the point of this piece in that another young man has lost his life.
Best to those who knew him and loved him.
RIP, I have known many that have been killed or been wounded during my service. Fine young men and women doing what needs to be done, their deaths are not in vane.
RIP
Blog hell. That was a very fine after action report on the conduct and effency of out great troops in any war!!!. Great effort to save Capt.Freeman,Great job on saving the (Doc) the Medic.Hope you recover from your wounds and continue on thur out your life with the same attitute and selfless courage that you showed dureing your time under fire. With your actions that day you generate a lot of pride for your Service that But for a few can only do!!!.
Onstage before thousands of believers weighed down by debt and economic insecurity, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland and their all-star lineup of
RIP
———-
(All- save the politics for another day, please.)
first off god bless him and all that that gave their lives for our country we are in debt to all of them forever!,second we need to change our tactics and stop all this touchy feely stuff and fight a war! stop the slow bleed, if this country goes to war it needs to be total war and don’t stop until the last animal is dead and god can sort them out, i am sorry this sounds inhuman but war is inhuman and needs to be as quick and hard as possible and yes some innocents are going to die no matter what they do, if we have to start the draft so be it but lets get the job done centcom and stop the lame thinking that is only getting more americans killed and letting the enemy set the rules and plans for the fight!, i am sick of the americans being the so called bad guys when these rag heads are not even thinking of human rights what so ever, it’s time to bring it to the enemy and bring it hard total war and this means supply and money ends for them, i know that this country can do it but it is up to centcom of how much balls do they really have and they need to stop this slow bleed, be generals and fight a war the right way and tell the polotitions to shut up sit down and wait till your done with the job! YES WE CAN!
RIP Marine, God bless you.
The rest of you guys cut the politics shit out yeah? There’s a time and a place, have some damn respect.
Why not post all of the photos of all of the US soldiers that have been killed for no reason, in the middle of a nowhere middle east rat hole?
The mighty USA is going to get its ass kicked out sooner or later, just like every other invading country has in the past.
Why not get out now and save lots of lives?
But then again it is easy to have someone else die for the pride of the USA isn’t it?
The USA is one sick empire, that thinks it can conduct a war like a video game,the USA is on its last legs. The USA is afraid to spill its blood, that is an ugly secret. The Afghans and lots of others aren’t so afraid to do so.
Why does the USA give a damn about Afghanistan, Iraq, or Iran?
There is a reason for it, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the security of the USA.
Here’s the thing– Freeman would die for you again, even if you never agreed with why he was doing it.
Maybe the problem isn’t that he is willing to die for ‘us’, but that he is willing to kill for ‘us’ or our ‘representatives’, and that, apart from being wrong, it making america the most hated country in the world with millions of people dreaming on our anhilition.
If you go to the end of the world to kill innocents, they will get angry, and their sons, and their son’s sons, and other countries will hate us for what we did to their neighbours and what we could day any day of the week, kill millions destroying their water supply system and their infrastructure, killing slowly their families by destroying their economy and leaving them in a world of virus, sickness and no food, no water, no electricy and no rights.
All of you are sick, the last time the any foreign enemy was on US soil was in 1812, and they were british/canadians! Since then you have invaded half of the world, forcing dollars into the mouth of every country, living like kings with your military power, well, the song is over, debt is coming home, the world is sick of you and will force you to pay back, you will become a 2
Ward,
I am truly sorry for the vitrol being written here. You are trying to honor someone that sacrificed their life in military service. Someone that has personal ties to you. I appreciate that as do the others that are normal posters here.
Looking forward to your next post.
DC2
May we never forget the sacrifice made by men who fought and died for our right to speak out against what they fight for.
I salute you, Capt. Freeman, as a supporter both in vocation and belief.
Best wishes to SPC Lowe. My condolences to the Freeman family & to the Smyth family.
I’m about as left wing as you get so let me talk to some of these ‘haters’ out there…
There are people who throw acid on the faces of girls (not just women but children) who want to attend school. These same people supported and gave aid to religious extremist who have killed innocent people all over the world. To those who care not about Americans lives can you at least find some pangs of justice in your hearts for the hundreds of Africans killed in the embassy bombings?
Mr. Freeman would have stood between everyone of them and innocent. As an American (and a decidedly anti-right one at that) I am proud to call him a countryman and look up to him as a hero. Its a shame that some of you could not find any other space on the whole internet to vent your positions. Give him this little space for rememberance. He was better than you.
Charley Wilson gave weapons to the freedom fighters, not the taliban, and yes we screwed up a lot, and belive me, a lot of soldiers think its wrong too.And the american public is learning of the lies that have been pressend on them also carlos.