March 23rd will be the first anniversary of Task Force Tarawa’s bloody battle at An Nasiriyah. One year later, it remains the costliest day of our struggle in Iraq. As the sun began to rise on that clear Sunday morning, thirty-three members of the Army’s 507th Maintenance Company unknowingly drove directly through Iraqi prepared defenses in, and around, the ancient desert city of An Nasiriyah. A series of misfortunes, poor decisions, and just plain – bad luck, had led this convoy into the jaws of death.

There are not many of us that do not know the story of Jessica Lynch’s ambush, capture, and subsequent rescue. Most Americans were horrified at the news of the ambush and the sight of young American soldiers being questioned by their Iraqi captors. Jessica and her fellow prisoners were the lucky ones. Eleven soldiers died in the ambush that morning, and eighteen Marines lost their lives that afternoon.

What is not generally known is that the Marines of Task Force Tarawa were traveling on the heels of Captain King’s beleaguered supply convoy. Brigadier General Richard Natonski’s Camp Lejeune Marines were moving to secure the eastern bridges on the highway through An Nasiriyah. These bridges were vital to the Marines’ plans for the attack toward Baghdad. Colonel Ron Bailey’s Regimental Combat Team 2 (RCT-2) was methodically advancing north toward An Nasiriyah on the same road that the 507th had traveled a few hours earlier when they encountered some of the surviving members of the 507th who were fleeing south from the ambush.

Captain King pleaded with the Marines to save his soldiers. General Natonski ordered his lead battalion commander, LtCol Rick Grabowski, to press forward and find the remaining soldiers of the 507th. He said to Grabowski, “We have to save those soldiers; they would do it for us.”

Now LtCol Grabowski’s Marines had two missions; secure the bridges and rescue as many of the stranded soldiers as they could. He immediately ordered Major Bill Peeples to move forward with his M1 tanks. TEAM TANK pressed forward and soon they were receiving fire from both sides of the road.

Meanwhile, ten soldiers had abandoned their shot-up vehicles and raced for cover in a trench along the side of the road. Running low on ammunition and with five wounded, they resigned themselves to the fact that they would not survive the day. They all resolved that they would go down fighting. They lay in the trench for nearly an hour, waiting for the Iraqis to close in on their position and their final stand against the enemy. Suddenly, Staff Sergeant Tarik Jackson, the most seriously wounded, cocked his head, “Listen!” he exclaimed.

“Do you hear that?”

“It sounds like our tanks!”

Someone peeked up out of the trench and saw Major Peeples Marine tanks approaching.

TEAM TANK moved in and straddled the trench. They began picking targets and methodically destroying the enemy. COBRA helicopters swooped in and continued the fight. Soon the wounded were being treated and these ten lucky soldiers were being moved to safety.

The day was just beginning for LtCol Grabowski’s 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines. They continued north into the city. Unfortunately, they only found burning hulks of the remaining 507th vehicles. The occupants had all been removed. It would be weeks before the fate of the remaining soldiers was known.

So, now Grabowski’s Marines focused back on securing the bridges through An Nasiriyah. After a short pause to refuel, Bravo Company led the battalion across the Euphrates River Bridge and into the city. Captain Michael Brooks’ Alpha Company raced across the river next and set up defensive positions while Bravo Company turned northeast to skirt the eastern edge of the city. Objective 1, the first bridge was secure. They had accomplished half of their mission.

Captain Dan Wittnam raced across the Euphrates River Bridge with his Charlie Company, riding in eleven Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs or “tracks”). Charlie Company drove straight through the center of town, toward the second, northern bridge. Enemy fire erupted all around them. Charlie Company plowed forward through the ever-increasing enemy fire. Lance Corporal Edward Castleberry was driving the lead vehicle –C201.

Castleberry kept his track moving forward. Several Iraqis ran to the middle of the road stopped and began shooting RPGs at the vehicle. Two rockets whizzed by, scraping the side of C201 as they passed. Other RPGs were duds and just bounced off the armored vehicle. Castleberry watched in terror as another Iraqi jumped into the road and leveled a RPG at his lead track. He rummaged around in the driver compartment trying to keep the 28-ton vehicle driving down the road while he struggled to bring his M-16 rifle up through the hatch. Unable to free his rifle, he steered straight for the enemy soldier and accelerated, crushing the threatening Iraqi under his treads before he could let loose his deadly projectile. Finally, Castleberry managed to free his weapon. Now he was driving forward and shooting his rifle at the same time. The track commander, Sergeant William Schaefer, looked over and said to Castleberry, “What in the hell are you doing?”

“It makes me feel better.” Castleberry replied.

Eighteen Marines died fighting for the northern bridge on that Sunday afternoon.

Richard S. Lowry, author of The Gulf War Chronicles, is currently working on his next book, Marines in the Garden of Eden. It will tell the complete story of Task Force Tarawa’s week-long battle for An Nasiriyah.