| Author | Message | ||
     Southern Marine |
Check out this article.  CAMP HURRICANE POINT, Iraq (July 27, 2005) -- Lance Cpl. Joseph J. Tellez is back on the city’s streets fighting terror on the urban battlefield after having been shot in the back a little more than a month ago. An enemy sniper shot the 21-year-old rifleman from Ceres, Calif., June 7 as he conducted security and stability operations in the Al Anbar capital in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom alongside his comrades from 4th Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. Tellez and his platoon were operating out of the Government Center – an observation post in the heart of the city that the infantry battalion uses for surveillance – when he had his brush with death. “I had to go out into the street and secure the entrance at the south ECP (entry control point),” recalled the 2002 Ceres High School graduate. Tellez left the cover of the Government Center and ventured out into the open. “On my way I looked down the street and saw a lady walking with her children and a couple of guys riding scooters," he continued. The calm scene soon turned into a hostile episode for Tellez, who was fully exposed and surrounded by tall buildings. “I secured the gate and was heading back to the main building,” he said. “I was jogging and zigzagging back and forth across the street along the way.” As Tellez made his way back, a sniper in one of the buildings found him in his crosshairs and squeezed the trigger on his rifle. “I was shot,” Tellez said, adding, “and he shot me in the back.” The round hit Teller hard, but it didn’t bring the 6-foot, 230-pound warrior down. “I felt a sharp pain, but I stayed on my feet,” he said. “I quickly checked myself over and saw that blood and all kinds of muscle and fatty tissue dripping on my trousers like a water faucet. I remained calm, though, and my breathing was normal.” After his quick self-assessment, Tellez countered the sniper’s attack as he ran for cover. “I flipped him off,” he said, smiling at the fact that he shot the sniper the bird and not with rounds from his M-16 A4. “I didn’t know where he was so I couldn’t shoot at him. I didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of killing a Marine.” Upon making it to safety, Tellez was evacuated to the medical facility at Camp Ramadi. His wound, which, surprisingly, wasn’t life threatening, was cleaned and dressed by medics there. The round hit Tellez a few inches below his left shoulder, passed through his body and exited an inch below his left nipple, he said. He said he was wearing his protective vest, but it failed to stop the round because it impacted on the edge of the vest, missing the armored back plate. Tellez returned to his base, Camp Hurricane Point, and was given a month off from fighting so his wounds could heal. He called his parents, Rick and Isabel Tellez, and told them the news. “They cried when I told them,” he said. “They were scared and happy at the same time.” “He’s the only Marine I know of that’s been shot and given a light duty slip,” Staff Sgt. William E. Beschman Jr., career retention specialist, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, said. “He’s very lucky,” added the 32-year-old from Cincinnati. Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan W. Sims, a hospitalman and the independent duty corpsman for 1st Battalion, 5th Marines’ Battalion Aid Station, agrees. “It was at the level of his heart,” explained the 28-year-old from San Diego. “Just a few inches to the right, and it would have killed him.” Tellez is a three-time veteran of OIF, and this is the first time he’s been wounded. His battle scar is currently a quarter-sized, inch-deep, dried-out bullet hole in his chest. He even has the 7.62 mm round that made it. “I was wearing my medical kit on my Flak Jacket, and the round stuck into it,” he said. “I’m going to drill a hole in the round and make a necklace out of it.” Getting shot came as no surprise to Tellez. “I knew there was a risk of getting killed in the infantry,” he said. “I’m real patriotic, though, and joined the Marines so I could fight terrorism and protect my family.” CAPTION: CAMP HURRICANE POINT, AR RAMADI, Iraq – Lance Cpl. Joseph J. Tellez, a rifleman with 4th Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, shows off the 7.62 mm round that an enemy sniper shot him with June 7. The 21-year-old from Ceres, Calif., was conducting security and stability operations in the Al Anbar capital in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom when the sniper shot him. The round hit Tellez a few inches below his left shoulder, passed through his body and exited an inch below his left nipple. The 2002 Ceres High School graduate returned to full duty a month later to fight terror on the urban battlefield. Photo by: Cpl. Tom Sloan | ||
| Glitch |
All ya'll are my heroes! Thank you all for all you give. Keep up the good fight!  | ||
| Signguyxb12 |
dave how much longer will you be over there? i will be in country in Nov. mike@bvsign.com | ||
| Kenb |
dang, Marines are tough. No wonder I was scared of my dad as a kid. | ||
| M1combat |
"“I flipped him off,” he said"  | ||
| Southern Marine |
I'm over here in Fallujah and I'll be here until Feb of 06'. Thanks to everyone for all the support of everyone over here. There are a lot of brave young men and women doing there part. I met one young Marine that had been wounded several times, the last being shrapnel in the arse from a IED. | ||
| Bomber |
thanks to all for your service -- another example of a first class men and women we've got serving and protecting us -- think how great it'll be when they bring that attitude, perseverance, and adaptability home! | ||
| Impulse_101 |
Southern, Is there anything you need that we could (legally) send over? Thanks, JT | ||
| Oldog |
thanks to all, for your service! | ||
| Southern Marine |
I've told people they don't have to send things but that if they want to there are a few things we like, yea our office shares with each other. - Coffee, no decaff, they just use it for target practice. - Beef Jerkey - Wipes - sour candy (couple of us hooked on it  ) - crystal light lemonade or just about anything you would feel like sending. If anyone wants to email me, use this address, please no spam. lassiterrd@cemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil | ||
| Kdan |
I hear ya.  | ||
| Bcordb3 |
David, I am really happy that guy is on our side. God Bless all of you guys, as someone has already said, everyone of you are heros. |
