Frank Wuterich
SSgt Frank Wuterich
United States Marine Corps | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ | United States Marine Corps |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant |
| Unit | 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines |
| Battles/wars | Operation Iraqi Freedom |
Frank Wuterich is a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and is alleged to have participated, on November 19, 2005 in Haditha killings, where he and fellow Marines are accused of having killed 24 civilians after a Marine had died in an insurgent attack. As of June 2008, Wuterich is charged with nine counts of manslaughter, but his trial date has been postponed.
Background
Wuterich grew up in Meriden, Connecticut, and graduated from Orville H. Platt High School in 1998. He was well known as an honor student, jazz trumpet player, and drama club president. In his senior year of high school Wuterich enlisted in the Marine Corps. He originally intended to join the Marine Corps Band, but was not accepted.[1] Before going to Iraq, Wuterich was stationed in Hawaii, and later at Camp Pendelton, California, as an instructor at Marine Combat Training (MCT). MCT is essentially a condensed version the infantry training provided to infantry Marines by the School of Infantry (SOI), and teaches basic infantry skills to Marines who will work in non-infantry occupations (and since "every Marine is a rifleman", all non-infantry Marines must attend MCT). At this school, he was described as level headed. As one older Marine who was personally trained by Wuterich in Golf Company from August–October 2002. "I would have followed him anywhere. He was always looking out for his students and displayed extreme calmness and tact." In Hawaii, he met and married former wife Marisol with whom he has three daughters.[2] This was the first tour of duty in Iraq for Wuterich.
Haditha incident
main article Haditha killings
According to news reports Wuterich was the senior Marine on patrol (no commissioned officers being present), and after the killings, allegedly lied to his commanding officers by stating that 15 of the dead Iraqi civilians were killed in the same IED explosion that touched off the incident.[3]Time magazine has reported that military investigators had placed Wuterich in at least two of the houses in which the killings took place.[4]
On June 11, 2006, the Washington Post reported a detailed account of Wuterich's version of events as related through his attorney, Neal A. Puckett.[5]
Many news reports have contradicted Wuterich's version of events, claiming that the Marines entered several houses and deliberately killed civilians. Besides photographic evidence of the killings provided by Iraqi journalism student Taher Thabet, there was also testimony from a young Iraqi girl who survived by hiding described watching the Marines shoot her family members systematically.[6] The photographs and forensic evidence were later used to corroborate the Marines' version of events.[7]
Since being named in news reports in connection with the killings, several of Wuterich's family members have spoken out in his defense. Wuterich's father, Dave Wuterich, told the Associated Press that “I just don't believe that he [Frank Wuterich] would do something like that.”[8] Previously, Wuterich's former wife, Marisol, had praised Wuterich in blog postings.[9] On June 19, 2007, Marisol Wuterich and her father-in-law were interviewed on Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes. Both said that they back Frank Wuterich “100 percent”.[10]
Captain James Kimber, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey R. Chessani, and Captain Luke McConnell according to a report by The Times on May 29, 2006 were all relieved of their duties on suspicion of inadequate reporting of or investigation into the Haditha incident.
Congressman Murtha
On August 2, 2006, Wuterich filed a lawsuit naming Representative John Murtha (D-PA) as a defendant in a libel case. Wuterich's lawyers claimed that Murtha harmed Wuterich's image by popularizing the Haditha killings.[11]
More recently Wuterich's lawyers admitted at a news conference that Murtha identified Wuterich's squad and not Wuterich himself. Murtha stated that he does not blame Wuterich for "lashing out" [citation needed].
On September 1, 2007, news outlets[12] reported on a hearing of Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, a subordinate of Wuterich at the time of the Haditha incident, in which Dela Cruz testified against Wuterich.
On April 14, 2009, a federal court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed Wuterich's defamation lawsuit because the Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act,[13] better known as the Westfall Act of 1988, precludes federal employees being sued personally for actions undertaken officially.[14]
Rep. Murtha died February 8, 2010, in the Virginia Hospital Center following complications from gall bladder surgery.[15]
Dela Cruz testimony
Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz claimed that Wuterich had, following a bombing in which Marines were injured and that took place about one week prior to the Haditha incident, instructed his men to kill any nearby Iraqi in case of another bombing to "teach them a lesson". Dela Cruz also contradicted Wuterich's account that the five unarmed men from a nearby car, which Wuterich is accused of having shot to death, were trying to run away, and instead said that they were "just standing around", and that some of them held their hands behind their heads when Wuterich opened fire. He claimed that Wuterich then shot them in the chests at close range to ensure their death. Dela Cruz admitted to having fired upon the men himself but claimed that by the time they had already been dead. He also admitted to having urinated on one of the bodies, and said that at the time he thought the men were responsible for the bombing, and that his emotions had taken over due to the death of Lance Corporal Terrazas and the injuries the IED inflicted on two other Marines.
Dela Cruz also testified that Wuterich later instructed him to tell anyone who asked that the men had tried to run away, and were consequently shot by the "Iraqi Army". Dela Cruz admitted to having lied to investigators on at least two occasions and claimed that he could not tell the truth until prosecutors dropped the charges against him. [citation needed]
Aerial footage of the area that an unmanned drone shot minutes after the IED explosion put the claim that the men had tried to flee into question, but also cast doubt about Dela Cruz's account of his role in the shooting.[16]
Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, one of Wuterich's defense attorneys, disputed Dela Cruz's account of the incident and questioned his credibility for changing his story several times during the investigation. [citation needed]
On September 2, 2007, an updated re-airing of 60 Minutes, narrated by Scott Pelley, disclosed that Wuterich did not have to go to Iraq, but went because "he wanted to see war". Pelley also revealed that all charges had since been dropped against Sanick Dela Cruz and two others.
Dela Cruz recounted his story in an in-depth profile in the July 2008 edition of Chicago Magazine, speaking about the ordeal to a journalist for the first time.[17]
Charges levelled
On December 21, 2006, the US military charged Wuterich with 12 counts unpremeditated murder against individuals and one count of the murder of six people "while engaged in an act inherently dangerous to others".[18]
When announcing the charges, Colonel Stewart Navarre said, "We now know with certainty the press release was incorrect and that none of the civilians were killed by the IED (improvised explosive device) explosion".
On September 3, 2007, the Article 32 hearing investigating officer recommended that Staff Sgt. Wuterich be tried for negligent homicide in deaths of two women and five children, and that charges of murder be dropped.[19] Charges against the other Marines directly involved in the incident had been recommended dropped after their hearings found the charges were not supported by the evidence.[20]
Wuterich is expected to be back in court to face nine counts of manslaughter in early 2010 [21]
References
- ^ Chedekel, Lisa. "In Defense Of A Son", Hartford Courant, June 13, 2006. Accessed June 13, 2006.
- ^ Tanner, Adam. “Family, colleagues praise Marine in Haditha probe”, Reuters, June 14, 2006. Accessed June 16, 2006.
- ^ Ricks, Thomas. "White House braces for damning report on Haditha", The Sydney Morning Herald, June 2, 2006. Accessed June 4, 2006.
- ^ Duffy, Michael, McGirk, Tim, and Ghosh, Aparisim. “The Ghosts of Haditha”, Time Magazine, June 4, 2006. Accessed June 16, 2006.
- ^ White, Josh. "Marine Says Rules Were Followed", The Washington Post, June 11, 2006. Accessed June 16, 2006.
- ^ McGirk, Tim. "Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha?", Time Magazine, March 19, 2006. Accessed June 22, 2006.
- ^ Zielbauer, Paul von. "Forensic Experts Testify That 4 Iraqis Killed by Marines Were Shot From a Few Feet Away", New York Times, June 15, 2007.
- ^ Eaton-Robb, Pat. "Father Supports Marine in Haditha Probe", Washington Post, June 12, 2006. Accessed June 16, 2006.
- ^ Tanner, Adam. "Family, colleagues praise Marine in Haditha probe", Reuters, June 14, 2006. Accessed June 16, 2006.
- ^ Transcript of Hannity and Colmes, June 19, 2006. Accessed June 22, 2006.
- ^ "Marine Names Murtha in Defamation Suit"
- ^ The Washington Post, "Witness Describes Iraq Killing" Accessed September 2, 2007
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/pss/976374
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/14/frank-wuterich-cant-sue-m_n_186706.html
- ^ Keck, Kristi (February 9, 2010). "Rep. John Murtha dies after surgery complications". CNN.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ PBS FRONTLINE, "Rules of Engagement", original air date February 19, 2008.
- ^ Chicago Magazine interview
- ^ "U.S. Marines charged with murder in Haditha". Reuters AlterNet. Accessed December 22, 2006.
- ^ Mark Walker, Officer: Drop murder charges against Haditha Marine, North County Times, September 3, 2007.
- ^ Alex Roth and Rick Rogers, Evidence against Marines called weak, San Diego Union Tribune, July 12, 2007.
- ^ Conflictiing portraits emerge of accused Marine, Associated Press, December 2, 2009
External links
- Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich's Support website
- "One friend says Marine isn't capable of atrocities" by Alex Roth, The Union-Tribune. Accessed June 3, 2006.