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Seabees aid stranded Army soldiers
AN NASARIYAH, Iraq -- While starting their wartime work Monday, Seabees from Port Hueneme's Battalion 4 also completed a little humanitarian mission on the side.
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More from Dani Dodge, 2003 archives
When they arrived at the bridge that needed fixing, the Seabees were approached by two Army sergeants who were in a bad way. Sgt. 1st Class Carlos Hudson of Savannah Ga., and Staff Sgt. Richard James of Chicago were left behind by their battalion when their medical truck hauling a generator broke down four days ago.
"They said we'll come back for you," said James. But then the soldiers were told to drop the trailer and just catch up. So they tried. But their fuel filter clogged and their truck couldn't go more than 10 mph.
They couldn't find their unit. Their unit never found them.
So the two Army sergeants ended up at the Marine camp, where the Marines promised to lead them to the Army camp. So the next morning, they got up and followed out.
But the Army sergeants followed the wrong battalion and went straight to the front lines. The Marine convoy was ambushed. There was a firefight. The Army sergeants kept their heads down and stayed safe at the back of the convoy. They realized they were with the wrong group and headed back.
Then they blew a tire.
"Is there anyway you could spare a 5-ton dump truck tire," Hudson asked Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4's Lt. Bill Butler. "We can't get a message to our unit. We've been missing for four days. We have to get back."
Apparently the Seabee and Marine radios can't call the Army units in the field. So Butler agreed, even though it was the only spare the Seabee battalion had. He said he expected new supplies the next day.
"If nobody helps them out, who knows if they'll get snatched and next we'll se them on TV," Butler said. "If it was me, I'd want someone to help me out."
So Construction Mechanic 2nd Class Jason Basham, 25, of Belleville, Mich., and Construction Mechanic Chris Martine, 21, of Portsmouth N.H., pulled a spare from a dump truck and took it to the luckless Army duo.
"They are our people," Basham said. "One team; one fight."
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