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Happy Marines could be found throughout the Battle of Fallujah.

They would usually start at it early in the morning when their dirty faces could get away with it, a smile and a laugh, usually at some other Marine’s expense, the energy was strong in the morning, and everyone could only be happy before an operation. After that the smiles appeared only in brief short bursts, behind the gunfire and fire, the smoke that choked the young men with their black lungs.

I met Paul Stewgots during his first day assigned to our Infantry unit; he had transferred over from security forces and the Marine Corps’ elite fleet anti-terrorism force (Fast Company). I was mopping the floor in the Alpha Company office.

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My Comment: These men were lucky .... they lived to tell the tale. Humor is everyone's defense mechanism when things go terribly wrong .... especially for soldiers. I rarely saw my father laugh .... but his war buddies (at least those who survived) told me at his funeral that during the war he was a regular joker .... always making everyone laugh .... especially when times were rough and horrible. I never saw that in my dad .... I guess in the end the war took that away from him ....