The photograph of Kasal, taken by photographer Lucian Read — blood soaked and still holding his pistol and K-Bar knife — being helped from the building by fellow Marines, has become one of the iconic pictures of the war.

1st Sgt. Bradley Kasal

Although wounded by seven 7.62 mm AK-47 rounds and hit by more than 40 pieces of hot fragmentation from a grenade while using his body to shield an injured fellow Marine,1st Sgt. Kasal refused to quit fighting and is credited with saving the lives of several Marines during the U.S. assault on insurgent strongholds in Fallujah in November 2004.By the time he was carried out of the house by LCpl. Chris Marquez and LCpl. Dan Shaffer, Kasal had lost approximately 60 percent of his blood.

–Wounded First Sergeant Awarded Navy Cross, Defend America, 2006.

by Father Dennis Edward O’Brien

“It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protestor to burn the flag.”


And it’s the Soldier not the Blogger, who gave us the freedom to make this crazy site.

We’ll remind ourselves everyday how difficult it would be to have a free thought blog like Doodiepants.com if we lived in China or Iran.  And currently, blogs like this can exist in Iraq and Afghanistan when previously, publishing was often a life or death decision.   Thank you Military members.

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