Life and death at age 22 for U.S. Marine in Iraq

RAMADI, Iraq — Eyes hidden behind sunglasses designed to protect against flying shrapnel, Marine Lance Cpl. Justin Sims sat proudly atop the gun turret of his Humvee as the sun rose one morning over a dusty U.S. Marine base called Hurricane Point.

Wrapped in a heavy flak jacket with side armor plates for extra protection, desert camouflage pants tucked neatly into his boots, the young machine-gunner was waiting as he always did to go out on a mission through Ramadi, a city crawling with insurgents west of the Iraqi capital.

Before every trip "outside the wire," he knew what to do if something went wrong or if he got into a firefight, and went over a memorized list with an Associated Press reporter who traveled with him through the city several times.

• If a grenade is thrown into the truck? "Yell 'Grenade!' and get the hell out, even if we're rolling," Sims said. "If you jump out and break your arm or leg, you'll be better off."

• If we are hit crossing the bridge and plunge into the river? "I'll get out, and I'll pull you out."

• If we get hit by a roadside bomb? "If your legs are still there, yell 'I'm good,' " Sims said. "If we roll over, try to grab my legs and try to pull me inside."

Many of these things happen in Ramadi every day. But they don't happen every time you go out. These are safety procedures — just in case.

Over the last few weeks, Sims and his crew — a driver, a vehicle commander and an interpreter — went on many missions in Ramadi, a city of tall palm trees, villas and war-wrecked buildings. Sometimes they went on several a day.

One of those mornings, April 2, was a bad one: three Marines and a sailor were killed when artillery shells buried in the pavement exploded underneath their vehicle in the city center.

As the destroyed Humvee burned, insurgents up the road took potshots at Marines with automatic rifles and filmed the blazing wreckage.

Quick reaction forces were called up to provide security at the site, and Sims was among them.

Marines here are keen to do their duty and carry out their mission, but there is anxiety. Leaving the relative safety of their base, they never know whether they'll be coming back.

Sims would spend a lot of time hanging around in front of his Humvee, getting ready to go, cleaning his gun, listening to music and joking with his crew, smoking cigarettes. He laughed easily.