THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 42, February 27, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
SECOND LIEUTENANT ILARIO PANTANO:
THIS U.S. MARINE NEEDS YOUR HELP
By Alan Caruba
THE CASE OF U.S. MARINE SECOND LIEUTENANT ILARIO PANTANO, CHARGED WITH PREMEDITATED MURDER FOR KILLING TWO
IRAQI INSURGENTS WHO TRIED TO ATTACK & KILL THE LIEUTENANT & HIS MEN: THE LIEUTENANT FACING THE DEATH
PENALTY FOR DOING HIS DUTY AS A MARINE OFFICER IN AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION, PROTECTING HIMSELF & THE
MEN UNDER HIS COMMAND -- MILITARY JUSTICE, OR MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE IN THE U.S. MILITARY
FULL STORY:
I served long ago in a peacetime, Cold War army, but my training in the combat arts and the skill-sets necessary to stay alive
probably didn’t differ that much from that which Marine Corps 2nd. Lt. Ilario Pantano received. No, in fact, his training was probably
better. Marines exist for one purpose. They are not peacekeepers. They are true warriors. They are the ones sent first to where the
fighting will be the worst. They know it. They volunteer for it.
On April 15, 2004, the Lieutenant and his patrol were on duty in Iraq’s violence-filled Sunni Triangle. That date had been proceeded
by days of ambushes and near misses. Indeed, April, 2004, marked the assault on Fallujah, occurring at a time when there was
considerable action in Najaf and Sadr City. As the Washington Times pointed out:
“About one-third of the 147 U.S. servicemen killed that month were Marines. They were killed in
firefights and ambushes, and risked explosive devices in the streets.”
It is unlikely that more than a few reading this have ever seen such street-to-street, house-to-house combat. It requires a level of
courage most of us will never be required to summon in our entire lives. The wrong decision can get you dead. It can get the men
under your command dead.
Last month, a friend shared an email with me from Damon Chapman, the brother-in-law of 2nd. Lt. Pantano. He called him “the most
honorable man I have ever known.” The Marine Corps has charged him with the premeditated killing of two Iraqi insurgents based
on a complaint, two months after the event, by a sergeant in his unit who had reportedly been admonished on several occasions by
the Lieutenant.
The man now facing the death penalty had graduated from an elite private school and elected to delay his college education and,
instead, enlist in the Marine Corps to fight in the first Gulf War against Iraq. When he returned home, he worked days to put himself
through school at night. As Chapman notes, “He was in the middle of a successful career when, after 9-11, he decided to rejoin the
Marines and, despite his age, he completed Officers Candidate School. He led his command bravely and honorably and now, ten
months later, it is incomprehensible that he has been charged with this crime while just doing his job.”
A pretrial hearing will be held this Spring and Lt. Pantano has made no public statement regarding the charge. Already, though, many
are calling for those charges to be dismissed.
What would you have done? The two Iraqis were stopped as they attempted to flee a site that was found to be filled with several
mortar aiming stakes, a flare gun, three AK rifles, 10 AK magazines with assault vests, and materials for the manufacture of
improvised explosive devices. Lt. Pantano ordered the two men to search their vehicle to insure it was not booby-trapped. At some
point, both men, ignoring an order to be quiet, and then an order in Arabic to stop, moved swiftly in his direction. He shot them both.
I would have done the same thing.
Our soldiers and Marines are not facing an enemy that wears uniforms and attacks in formation. Even today, as a military convoy
makes its way on the streets and highways of Iraq, those guarding it will fire a burst to warn civilian vehicles from getting too close.
Barely a day goes by when some report of a suicide bomber does not make the headlines.
This charge against Lt. Pantano needs to be dropped and the sooner the better. Pursuing the charge would put every other Marine
and soldier at even greater risk as they must make a split-second decision between defending themselves or facing a possible trial.
The Lieutenant was and is no rogue officer. He’s the kind of man we hope will lead our troops in battle.
Defending him is going to cost his family a lot of money. If you want to help, visit www.defendthedefenders.org.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Military Justice -- Justice for U.S. Military Personnel
The Middle East & the Problem of Iraq -- The Iraq War
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Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the