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Catherine Moy
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Marines Save Iraqi child, then raise money for Heart Surgery

You know the U.S. Marines, the ones Berkeley ingrates don’t want in their town? Well, they found a little girl in Iraq during a house visit whose fingers were blue. They got her help, then determined that she needed an expensive heart surgery. So they raised money - $30,000 – sent her to America (yes, that, bad, bad, country) and had her healed.

“These types of missions demonstrate our willingness to partner with the Iraqi people,” said Lt. Col William T. Bufkin, the 3rd MAW (Fwd.) future operations officer. “It shows that we support Iraq as a whole. Anytime the Aviation Combat Element can serve more than a military need, it only strengthens our cause here.”

Yes, the Marines who are “unwelcome intruders in Berkeley,” according to the unrepentant City Council, saved this Iraqi child. All in a day’s work.

Here’s the entire story:

By Lance Cpl. Jessica Aranda
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Public Affairs

AL ASAD, Iraq – Humanitarian assistance missions are just one of the ways 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing contributes to building a stronger bond between the Marine Corps and local nationals throughout al-Anbar.

“These types of missions demonstrate our willingness to partner with the Iraqi people,” said Lt. Col William T. Bufkin, the 3rd MAW (Fwd.) future operations officer. “It shows that we support Iraq as a whole. Anytime the Aviation Combat Element can serve more than a military need, it only strengthens our cause here.”

Three-year-old Amenah Fattah returned from Nashville, Tenn., after receiving open-heart surgery to repair a defect, as there were no Iraqi facilities capable of executing the extensive medical procedures.

The Marines of 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment first discovered the toddler during a routine patrol through Haditha in 2007. The Marines noticed the girl’s blue lips and fingers and sought help.

“To see someone in need and want to help is human nature, and typical of a Marine,” said Sgt. Maj. Frank Scott, the 3rd MAW (Fwd.) sergeant major. “It was simply the right thing to do. The people are our main focus here, and Operation Amenah shows that.”

After discovering the child’s potentially fatal condition, the concerned Marines raised more than $30,000. The surgery performed at Monroe Carell, Jr., Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt came to no cost to the family.

A year after Amenah’s first encounter with the Marines, she arrived home with good health and another chance at life.

A KC-130J Hercules belonging to Marine Aeriel Refeuling Squadron 352 transported Amenah’s father to Baghdad, where he reunited with his wife and daughter. From there, the family traveled to Al Asad, where they boarded an MV-22 Osprey to Haditha