Today, we remember the Lion of Fallujah.

[MightyGiants]

https://x.com/mlombardiNFL/status/1789280332413390936

In 2001, Zembiec competed in the Armed Forces Eco-Challenge as team captain of Team Force Recon Rolls Royce.

From ARS, Zembiec was selected to attend the Marine Corps' Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Virginia, graduating in May 2003. Following the Expeditionary Warfare School he took command of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in July 2003.

He was nicknamed the "Lion of Fallujah" as a result of his heroic actions commanding Echo Company during Operation Vigilant Resolve (also known as the First Battle of Fallujah) in 2004 as well as comments he made extolling the heroism of his Marines, saying "they fought like lions".[10][11] As a rifle company commander, he led 168 Marines and Navy Corpsmen in the first conventional ground assault into Fallujah. During one engagement, he ran out from cover despite heavy machine gun and RPG fire, jumped on an allied tank to help direct its fire, then returned to cover unscathed. A fellow officer stated "The jaws of every Marine there had dropped. It was like, 'Did he just do that?' I am a God-fearing man, but he just sort of walked on water that day".[1] His company suffered two KIA and 50 wounded during the battle. The letter he wrote to the family of Lance Cpl. Aaron C. Austin was included in the Operation Homecoming book released in 2006.[12] As a result, he earned the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device and the Purple Heart.[13][14]

He turned over command of Echo Company in October 2004 and served as an assistant operations officer at the Marine Corps' First Special Operations Training Group (1st SOTG)[12] where he ran the urban patrolling / Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) and tank-infantry training packages for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in preparation for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. Zembiec transferred from 1st SOTG to the Regional Support Element, Headquarters, Marine Corps on June 10, 2005. His promotion to Major was effective on July 1, 2005.

Death


Zembiec was serving in the Ground Branch of the CIA's Special Activities Division in Iraq when he was killed by small arms fire while leading a raid in Sadr City, a neighborhood of Baghdad, on May 11, 2007.[13][15] Zembiec was leading a unit of Iraqi forces he had helped train. Reports from fellow servicemen that were present when he was killed indicate that he had warned his troops to get down before doing so himself and was hit by enemy fire. The initial radio report indicated "five wounded and one martyred"[16] with Zembiec having been killed and his men saved by his warning. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions that day.[17] On May 16, 2007, a funeral mass was held at the Naval Academy Chapel with nearly 1,000 in attendance, about 40 of whom were enlisted Marines. It was a testament to the honor and respect his former Marines held him in as one officer observed "Your men have to follow your orders; they don't have to go to your funeral".[18] Later that day he was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Grave Number 8621, Section Number 60.[19] Zembiec is buried only a few yards away from his Naval Academy classmate, Major Megan McClung.[20] McClung was the first female Marine Corps officer killed in combat during the Iraq War, and first female graduate in the history of the Naval Academy to be killed in action. Shortly after his death, he was honored with a star on the CIA Memorial Wall, which remembers CIA employees who died while in service. Although Zembiec's star officially remains anonymous as of July 2014, his CIA employment was confirmed in interviews with his widow and former U.S. intelligence officials.[13]

In July 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates publicly lost his composure, showing signs of grief, while discussing Zembiec during a speech.[21][22] Zembiec was also prominently featured in a high-profile column in The Wall Street Journal in September 2007.[5] In November 2007, Zembiec's high school alma mater, La Cueva High School, inducted him as the charter member of their hall of fame and named the wrestling room in his honor.[23] The NCAA announced that Zembiec would be awarded the 2008 NCAA Award of Valor.[8] In January 2008 General David Petraeus, Commander of Multi-National Force – Iraq, dedicated the helipad at Camp Victory located at Baghdad International Airport in Zembiec's name. He referred to Zembiec as "a true charter member of the brotherhood of the close fight."[16] Zembiec is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Don Zembiec, brother, and his wife and daughter, Pamela and Fallyn.[1]

On May 11, 2009, a petition was presented to the Secretary of the Navy to have the next Arleigh Burke class destroyer to be commissioned named after Zembiec.

The swimming pool located at the Marine Corps' Henderson Hall is named in honor of Zembiec.[17]

By order of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Douglas A. Zembiec Award for Outstanding Leadership in Special Operations was created on April 11, 2011, to annually recognize the Marine officer who "best exemplifies outstanding leadership as a Team Leader in the Marine Corps Special Operations Community."[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A._Zembiec