The story of Sangin, in their own words
BY GRETEL C. KOVACH
THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011
The 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment gathers today at Camp Pendleton with family and military dignitaries to honor the fallen from their ranks in Sangin, Afghanistan.
During their seven-month tour that ended this month, the battalion helped subdue the deadliest area of the country for international forces. The ritual roll call of names during the memorial ceremony will be answered by silence, but the Marines who gave their lives in the violent outpost coveted by Taliban insurgents and opium traders will be remembered in the annals of the Corps.
Much was written about the 3/5 Marines during their ferocious fight against an entrenched insurgency, when the battalion suffered more casualties than any other in the 10-year war, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Union-Tribune staff writer Gretel C. Kovach and photojournalist Nelvin C. Cepeda spent three weeks on the Sangin front lines with the “Darkhorse” battalion in February and March.
This selection of voices recounts their battle for Sangin — how it was fought, what it meant to them and what it cost.
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The story of Sangin, in their own words
In adherence to the old newsroom adage that opinions are free and facts precious, in three-and-a-half decades as a journalist I have declared my own view on a public policy issue precisely once. Having covered, before age 30, four cases of men charged with capital murder who were innocent, I concluded that the death penalty was wrong
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