Marines in Marjah on Feb. 23.
On Morning Edition today, NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson shared more background on what it was like to be "embedded" with U.S. Marines during the first days of the push against the Taliban last month in the southern Afghan crossroads community of Marjah.
Along with details about how the Marines cope in such a dangerous environment, she talked about one of the most compelling stories from that assignment: Being there on Feb. 16 when the Marines were attacked by snipers and Lance Cpl. Alejandro Yazzie, a combat engineer from Rock Point, Ariz., was killed.
As you'll hear from Soraya's conversation with ME's Renee Montagne, she had gotten to know Yazzie and seeing him killed stirs strong emotions. Soraya says she is glad she was able to report that among Yazzie's last words were how much the 23-year-old loved his wife and how much he was looking forward to being a father. This ME report begins with an introduction from Renee:
Earlier this week, Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl reported about the funeral for Yazzie, and his wife said she it was comforting to hear that she was in her husband's thoughts.
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