Mother of Marine under investigation speaks out, says her son is innocent

By: DAVID STERRETT - Staff Writer | Wednesday, June 14, 2006 1:23 AM PDT ∞

The mother of a 21-year-old lance corporal, who is one of eight men in the Camp Pendleton brig for the alleged kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi civilian, said Tuesday, "I know my son is innocent."

The woman, named Deanna, didn't want her last name to be published to protect the identity of her son.

Authorities have not identified any of the prisoners, but Deanna is the second family member of the men to talk with reporters. Pfc. John Jodka's father, who lives in Encinitas, talked about his son last week.

No charges have been filed yet against the seven Marines and a Navy corpsman in the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company under investigation for the April 26 death of an Iraqi man in the village of Hamdania.

"It hurts me to think this is the way we welcome home our heroes," said Deanna.

Carlsbad attorney David Brahms, who is representing Deanna's son, put her in touch with the North County Times on Tuesday.

She would not comment on specifics of the case, but talked about her son's experiences during three tours of duty in Iraq.

He joined the Marine Corps as a skinny 6-foot-tall, 145-pound teenager before graduating high school in 2002 in the Seattle area, she said.

"He was patriotic and cared about what happened on 9/11," the mother said. "He wanted to give something back to his country. He had other choices, and he could have gone to college."

She said her son took college classes such as calculus and physics in high school and planned to attend college in California and study to become an architect when completing his service this October.

His first tour was from April 2003 to September 2003 and his second tour lasted from September 2004 to April 2005, she said.

"The second tour was really tough, and he saw a lot of really nasty things," the woman said.

During a push to gain control of Fallujah, the lance corporal saw his best friend and roommate from Camp Pendleton killed a day after his 21st birthday.

"It was really tough on him," his mother said.

She said when he returned home the bang of fireworks "bothered him," and she watched carefully to see if he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

While he seemed a little bit distant at times, she said there were no "clear signs that he was affected by it."

The 21-year-old lance corporal returned to Iraq in January with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company.

"They were doing a lot more police work than Marine work," the mother said of her son's third tour of duty in Iraq. "They were doing more investigative work."

During the third stint, she said he son's platoon spent a lot of time patrolling areas around Fallujah. She said they had very strict orders about when they could shoot at civilians.

"The rules of engagement are extremely restrictive, and they have to go through a big process," the mother said. "He knows all of the rules and obeys them."

She said there is a lot of responsibility placed on the shoulders of 18- to 22-year-old troops who "are just kids."

Her son still laughs out loud when watching cartoons and loves the Dave Matthews Band and playing video games.

"He is the world's biggest book reader," said the mother, who added that she would send her son mysteries in his care package. "He always has a smile and is one of the happiest guys in the universe."

Deanna said she has not seen her son in the brig, but she talks with him every couple of days on the phone.

"When he calls me collect from the brig he tries to make me laugh," she said.

The mother said she doesn't understand why her son and the other seven men are being held in solitary confinement at the brig, and wear shackles whenever they leave their cells.

Military officials have said the Marines are in the brig because there is a chance they will flee with the serious nature of the possible charges.

Attorneys representing the men said they soon expect the military to file charges of murder, kidnap and conspiracy.

Deanna said she understands the need to investigate the incident, but that she doesn't think there is any reason to keep the Marines in the brig.

"They believe the Iraqis instead of our kids and they are giving the Iraqis the benefit of the doubt and aren't giving our kids the benefit of the doubt," she said. "I hope people realize how much the Iraqis are using this as another weapon in their arsenal to undermine our belief in what our guys are doing."

-- Contact staff writer David Sterrett at (760) 761-4411 or dsterrett@nctimes.com.

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11 comment(s)[-]Go to Top

April wrote on Jun 14, 2006 6:44 AM:I support those Marines 100%!!! What a disgrace for what has happened to them after serving in Iraq. What a American Disgrace to even think of charging these Marines with such horrible charges after what they have done to and for Our Country and Iraq! If the media would only tell more of these soldiers stories or any military person, what they have seen and what they do to survive and to be able to come home as a true Hero that they are. NOT to be treated like this, I as an American am sick that this has happened. To the families of these TRUE HEROS, "THANK YOU and GOD BLESS!" I support them and I know they are 100%innocent too!

This is nuts: wrote on Jun 14, 2006 7:29 AM:Let them go and put the suits in jail.

What mom will agree wrote on Jun 14, 2006 8:10 AM:What mom will ever agree again to sign her son or daughters enlistment papers so they can to war, especially when the are jail for war. No way American should encourage their children to serve if these guys remain in jail and are found guilty. This is and will continue to be bad for the president and the military if they convict these heroes! You better let them go!

Marge wrote on Jun 14, 2006 12:28 PM:Way to GO DEANNA... my son served with the 3/5 for their last deployment and I know the standards they are held to. Our Military / OUR MARINES are the best in the world. If our president can't / won't stand behind our guys, if all the upper ranks can't stand behind their Marines - there will be LOTS AND LOTS of Military Parents taking to the streets. A message we should be sending overseas to the Iraqi Civilians is this... if you don't stand up and help us rid your cities, your country of this vermin then you too will be considered a terrorist and will suffer the consequences, NOT giving them money because their insurgent family member was killed. WHEN are we going to wake up and realize this is WAR not just some humanitarian mission. OUR boys are over there getting shot at and killed to help these people develop a government and become free. THEY ARE NOT there yet and until we can say "JOB WELL DONE" we need to realize that if they aren't with us... they are against us. PERIOD!!! I am one very UPSET Marine MOM x2

Kim wrote on Jun 14, 2006 1:16 PM:As a Marine Mom I am EXTREMELY proud of my son and all the other Marines serving in Iraq. BUT with the way these 8 Marines have been treated, I would NEVER again advise another parent to encourage their son to serve in the Corps. Why would anyone want to help serve and protect their country when our government and top Military men won't stand behind them FIRST!!! GOD BLESS the Pendleton Eight!

Jackie wrote on Jun 14, 2006 1:24 PM:Is this how are country is going to look at every little thing that the Iraqis say. By throwing the alleged guilty parties in Jail. I thought that this was war, sometimes there is "collateral damage". These guys should be considered heros for doing what they do not punished.

The General wrote on Jun 14, 2006 1:30 PM:Please support our troops/POW's by attending the protest rally outside Camp Pendleton's south gate this SATURDAY bet 10-3 (take Camp Pendleton exit off I-5 and proceed to main gate). It's called Defend the Defenders! Americans of all stripes are outraged that our Marines would be bound and shackled like dogs in our brigs and treated worse than the POW's at Gitmo. Tell everyone you know to be there this SATURDAY and bring flags, posters, etc in support of our bravest and finest. Yes, free the POW's at Pendleton and throw the suits in jail! Last week we had a fantastic turnout w/CNN, NBC, local news and papers all in attendance. Let's make it bigger and better this SATURDAY!

Ilona wrote on Jun 14, 2006 8:04 PM:This is a horrible news story, how could this happen in the USA? Who is giving the order to jail our HEROS? I am tired of the "investigate, investigate "what? This is a war where things happen, how come no investigation when the insurgents kill our boys? We should go on the streets to demonstrate to let our BOYS go!! God Save America from the nuts! My prayer with you guys.

Sara wrote on Jun 14, 2006 9:01 PM:There are 3 generations of Marines in my family and I am saddened at the disgrace of this so-called investigation. It used to be a honor to serve your country but the politicians of today are making a mockery of our military and using them like ponds for their own personal gain. Why don't we send all of them now and bring our bravest and finest home for the honor and respect that they so deserve. Shame on the higher ranking Marine officers who play in the political arena as well. These are your men that the politicians are making a mockery of.......what say you?!?!?!?

Karen wrote on Jun 14, 2006 10:28 PM:Sending these young folks on 2 and 3 combat deployments in such a relatively short period of time is a testament to the severe shortage this country has of battle-ready ground forces. The stresses of an 18 to 22 year old surviving one deployment is bad enough, but 2 and 3 in succession is absolutely ridiculous. Add to that, the confusion of close-in house-to-house combat where the enemy isn't distinguished by a common uniform, rather, blend in with the general civilian population, making it even more difficult to determine friend from foe.

Dexter wrote on Jun 25, 2006 10:10 AM:I absolutely detest the treatment of these marines. It is a disgrace that they are being treated as if they are already determined to be guilty. Even if flight is a concern they can be confined without having to be shackled and restricted from seeing family members. What must be remembered and seems to be forgotten is these young men without doubt have served their county with the exception of this one incident that is being investigated and which has not be adjudicated in a court of law. Further these young men are serving not just one term but several terms in the various war/hostile zones around the world. Form my prospective the process is heavily skewed towards the ones making the accusations. The due diligence that is being performed (investigations) appears to be after the fact; this in my opinion is an extremely outrageous insult to our servicemen. What it boils down to is without completely investigating the allegations and without having the evidence weighed in a court we have harshly confined these marines on the accusations made by Iraqi nationals. Who it might be added may be actively working against the interest of stability in that area.

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