IRAQ: Marine set for hearing in Fallouja killings
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Marine Sgt. Ryan Weemer, accused of murder in the alleged killing of prisoners during a battle in Fallouja in late 2004, is set for an Article 32 (akin to a preliminary hearing) at Camp Pendleton on Thursday.
It may be the first time that details of the incident are aired publicly. Weemer and Sgt. Jermaine Nelson are accused in the military system; former Sgt. Jose Nazario awaits trial in federal court.
Weemer, 25, was out of the Marine Corps and trying to join the Secret Service when he mentioned the alleged killings during a job interview. That set off an investigation that led to charges against him, Nelson and Nazario. Weemer was recalled to active-duty so that he could be charged.
Weemer spent 21 days in federal jail on a contempt of court citation for refusing to testify to a federal grand jury about the incident. He and Nelson were released last week after a judge concluded that they would never break their silence.
It’s been a long fall from the Marine Corps’ good graces for Weemer. Wounded three times during the 11-day battle, he received the Purple Heart and also a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for bravery and leadership.
The commendation, signed by the-Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, says that Weemer, confronted with heavily-armed and barricaded insurgents, ‘quickly formulated a plan and personally led an assault on the enemy position, killing two insurgents with his M-9 service pistol. Cpl. Weemer then charged into the enemy kill zone hunting for remaining insurgents when he was wounded.’
Although wounded, the commendation continues, Weemer pulled one wounded Marine to safety and organized a rescue team that saved another. His actions, Natonski wrote, were in keeping with ‘the highest tradition of the Marine Corps.’
Tony Perry, in San Diego
Photo: Sgt. Ryan Weemer. Credit: family website, www.defendingahero.org