On August 9th, 2010 the DOD News Release:

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two Marines who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The following Marines died Aug. 7 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan:

Lance Cpl. Kevin M. Cornelius, 20, of Ashtabula, Ohio.

Pfc. Vincent E. Gammone III, 19, of Christiana, Tenn.

Cornelius and Gammone were assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Then I read this further information at Online Wall Street Journal:

In a separate incident, two Marines were killed in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan Saturday after struggling with a detainee who tried to escape from a prison, a coalition statement said.

The detainee slipped out of a prayer service, grabbed a rifle and started shooting at the Afghan and American forces that jointly run the prison, killing the two Marines in the firefight before being shot dead.

The story released by the DOD contains some truth but then there was a key element left out of the truth.

Here’s the rest of the story:

The Afghan guard was escorting a Taliban prisoner to wash his feet prior to attending a prayer service. While escorting the prisoner the Afghan guard laid down his weapon and left the prisoner alone while the guard supposedly went to the bathroom. The prisoner then took the weapon and shot the 2 Marines who he encountered while trying to escape the prison.

I was angry when I heard the WHOLE story and then read the ’spin’ put out by the DOD I felt this needed to be clarified and exposed. The Afghan guard collaborated and provided the weapon to the Taliban prisoner for his escape. Where is this Afghan guard now? This is not an isolated incident when it comes to the Afghan police and army. They can not be trusted. How many of our troops have been killed because of the Afghan’s betrayal? How many contractors have been killed? We aren’t hearing about this from our government, it’s being covered up. All we hear about is protecting Afghan civilians. How about protecting our Troops?

Here’s a story about an Irish contractor killed in the Helmand Province due to a ‘prisoner escape’. I can’t say that this is the same incident but it sure looks that way to me.

We now have 2 Marines killed due to a ‘coalition partner’ and one is from Tennessee. I’ll be occupied with Patriot Guard this weekend to honor PFC Vincent E. Gammone III, 19 of Christiana, TN.

Ken McGonigle, LCPL Kevin M Cornelius, PFC Vincent E Gammone III, Helmond Province taliban escape

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