Sgt. Kimberly Snow
You may have never have heard of Sgt. Kimberly Snow, but you have probably seen her work. Her name seemed to come up more than anyone else’s in the bylines of stories and photos coming out of Fallujah last November. This article prepared for the Danger Forward publication was brilliant. Sgt. Snow wrote stories about courage under fire, about brotherhood among soldiers, about the anguish and pains of battles as well as vividly portraying combat:
After arriving at the Marine base camp, the scouts spent a few restless days in preparation for the main assault.
On Nov. 8, the day had arrived. A 2 a.m. wake-up call for the scouts, who would be the first to position for the initial push late that night. By 5 a.m., they rolled out into a wet, cold morning, rain and wind whipping at the men up in the turrets.
“Man, I feel sorry for the Marines,” said Spc. James Taylor, who sat shivering miserably in one truck’s turret. “They have to live here all the time.”
Her reporting of battles is similar to Red6's of Armor Geddon [whom she later mentions in the same article] and affirms Lt. Gen. James Mattis’ infamous comment: "It's fun to shoot some people.":
On day two at about 7 a.m., the troops again began taking sniper fire. “That sniper’s still targeting us, my truck just took a couple more hits,” said Cowles.
“Yeah, he’s targeting the LRAS, he knows we’re scanning for him,” responded Danielsen.
As the gunners responded by returning fire from their turrets, Danielsen grabbed an AT-4 (shoulder-fired rocket) launching it into the building the shots originated from. The blast sent a shock wave rolling through the nearby vehicles, and elicited cheers along the screen line.
“He ain’t shooting from there anymore, is he?” he said with a laugh. “Whew!”
“No way, man,” said his gunner, Sgt. Trevor Bremer.
Later in the day, the troops again began receiving sniper fire. As Taylor scanned the city through the LRAS, he spotted another sniper in a window about 1200 meters out.
Sgt. Omar Torres, an infantryman and sniper from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry scout platoon joined the men on the road, bringing with him his .50 caliber M107 sniper rifle. With Taylor acting as a spotter, he sent several rounds into the building.
“Oh man, you nailed him,” shouted Taylor who was still watching through the LRAS. “That was so cool, he just exploded!”
Her job wasn’t just to make nice pictures and stories for the folks back home either:
One member of his troop was Sgt Kimberly Snow, a "combat camera" photographer whose job was to record what happened in the battle to prevent the insurgents later boosting their cause with propaganda. "If they're firing out of a mosque or a hospital I don't care where she is, bring Sgt Snow forward. So when we level that thing, we have pictures to show they were using it as a bad place," said Capt Mayfield. He urged his men to play close attention to where they were firing. "God forbid I don't need to blow up a mosque and somebody yells about it," he said.
When I read her stories, I was not only impressed with the stories she wrote, but I also became intrigued about the author. I don’t know what I would give to be able to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Sgt. Snow now that she is back stateside. She has probably seen more than anyone else in Fallujah. And when you see the pictures she has taken, you have to consider it amazing that she came out unhurt. I am surprised that more hasn’t been written about her.
After arriving at the Marine base camp, the scouts spent a few restless days in preparation for the main assault.
On Nov. 8, the day had arrived. A 2 a.m. wake-up call for the scouts, who would be the first to position for the initial push late that night. By 5 a.m., they rolled out into a wet, cold morning, rain and wind whipping at the men up in the turrets.
“Man, I feel sorry for the Marines,” said Spc. James Taylor, who sat shivering miserably in one truck’s turret. “They have to live here all the time.”
Her reporting of battles is similar to Red6's of Armor Geddon [whom she later mentions in the same article] and affirms Lt. Gen. James Mattis’ infamous comment: "It's fun to shoot some people.":
On day two at about 7 a.m., the troops again began taking sniper fire. “That sniper’s still targeting us, my truck just took a couple more hits,” said Cowles.
“Yeah, he’s targeting the LRAS, he knows we’re scanning for him,” responded Danielsen.
As the gunners responded by returning fire from their turrets, Danielsen grabbed an AT-4 (shoulder-fired rocket) launching it into the building the shots originated from. The blast sent a shock wave rolling through the nearby vehicles, and elicited cheers along the screen line.
“He ain’t shooting from there anymore, is he?” he said with a laugh. “Whew!”
“No way, man,” said his gunner, Sgt. Trevor Bremer.
Later in the day, the troops again began receiving sniper fire. As Taylor scanned the city through the LRAS, he spotted another sniper in a window about 1200 meters out.
Sgt. Omar Torres, an infantryman and sniper from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry scout platoon joined the men on the road, bringing with him his .50 caliber M107 sniper rifle. With Taylor acting as a spotter, he sent several rounds into the building.
“Oh man, you nailed him,” shouted Taylor who was still watching through the LRAS. “That was so cool, he just exploded!”
Her job wasn’t just to make nice pictures and stories for the folks back home either:
One member of his troop was Sgt Kimberly Snow, a "combat camera" photographer whose job was to record what happened in the battle to prevent the insurgents later boosting their cause with propaganda. "If they're firing out of a mosque or a hospital I don't care where she is, bring Sgt Snow forward. So when we level that thing, we have pictures to show they were using it as a bad place," said Capt Mayfield. He urged his men to play close attention to where they were firing. "God forbid I don't need to blow up a mosque and somebody yells about it," he said.
When I read her stories, I was not only impressed with the stories she wrote, but I also became intrigued about the author. I don’t know what I would give to be able to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Sgt. Snow now that she is back stateside. She has probably seen more than anyone else in Fallujah. And when you see the pictures she has taken, you have to consider it amazing that she came out unhurt. I am surprised that more hasn’t been written about her.
posted by CaliValleyGirl at 11:17 PM
1 Comments:
I'd like to meet Sgt. Snow, too.
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