July 31, 2003
Marine shares his experiences in Iraq
Marine Cpl. Matthew Benson is back in Wayne after serving
in Iraq. He is in the 2nd Marine Division and has been at Camp
Lejeune, North Carolina. Benson has been in the Marines for almost four years.
He has a wife, Jessica, and an 8-year-old step-son, James.
Benson's parents are Vaughn and Julie Benson of Wayne.
The order to go to war was given on March 20, but Benson's division was ordered to board the ship,the U.S.S Saipan, on Jan. 15 and head out for Kuwait.
Benson said the men were not sure what was in store for them
but they were ready to go. From Kuwait, they were sent north
along the border of Iraq and then into Basra.
Their first introduction to combat came at An Nasiriyah, where
they met up with intense fighting for a week and a half. Benson's
division was sent there to assist members of the Army- 3rd infantry.
After sustaining casualties, the Marines took a bridge at An Nasiriyah around March 24. Benson's division had been sent on this mission to assist division 1 and 2 who had attempted to
secure the bridge. Three trucks were blown up there and 31 Marines were hurt in friendly fire.
Benson was on one of the trucks and was standing on sand bags
that were pierced by ammo. While in Iraq, not only did the
soldiers have to fight in combat, but they also had to weather the
elements as Iraq is mostly desert and temperatures are often
unbearable. While they were there, an unusual two and a half inch rain cooled them down and gave them the opportunity
to make their beds in the sand, which Benson though was pretty
comfortable.
Benson remembered the hardest time for him was when seven
of his fellow Marines were killed and he had to say a prayer to his
friend before he was sent back to the United States.
While home, Benson has a big decision to make, he has to decide if he is going to stay in the Marines. If he decides to stay in, he needs to leave for North Carolina by Aug. 2.
