What naming a ship after Fallujah means to those who fought there
By Irene Loewenson
Dec 27, 01:09 PM
When Marine veteran Ozzie Martinez Jr. thinks about the amphibious assault ship that will be named after Fallujah, he thinks, in part, about Lance Cpl. Mathew Puckett.
On April 13, 2004, days into the first of the two battles in the Iraqi city that year, the 19-year-old Puckett was in an amphibious assault vehicle that came under heavy fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. His crew chief, Cpl. Kevin Kolm, 23, was mortally wounded. The rifle platoon leader had also been seriously injured. Then the vehicle caught fire.
Puckett risked his life to drive his wounded comrades back to safety and extract them from the wreckage, according to the citation for the Bronze Star with valor he earned for his actions that day.
But Martinez, who was a lance corporal at the time, remembers Puckett not only for his bravery but also for his friendship.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2022/12/27/what-naming-a-ship-after-fallujah-means-to-those-who-fought-there/
