Jim Simpson's son, Marine Lance Cpl. Abraham Simpson, was killed on the third day of the 46-day fight for control of Fallouja, Iraq, in 2004.
"My son was a devout Christian," Simpson said after an emotional ceremony Friday attended by hundreds of Marines, former Marines and family members on the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the second battle of Fallouja.
"He believed God would take care of him and if he died he would be going to a better place," Simpson said. "We know he's in that better place now."
Simpson's wife, Maria, said she is untroubled by the fact that Fallouja is now controlled by Islamic State militants.
The Iraqi army has been unable to hold Fallouja and other areas of Anbar province since the U.S. left in 2011. The U.S. is rushing military trainers to Iraq in hopes of improving the Iraqi security forces.
"Our son wasn't doing this for politics," Maria Simpson said. "We know he was doing the right thing at the right place at the right time."
By late December 2004, when the battle was over, 82 Marines and U.S. soldiers had been killed and more than 560 wounded. Eight Marines were awarded the Navy Cross for bravery, second only to the Medal of Honor.
A heavily armed insurgent force in Fallouja had been routed and the path cleared for an election in January, the first since Saddam Hussein had been toppled.
When recruits arrive for boot camp in San Diego or Parris Island, S.C., they are quickly tutored on Marine battles of the past: Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, and, now, Fallouja.
For Marines, Fallouja was the bloodiest, most prolonged fight since Hue City in Vietnam. Marines fought street to street, attacking buildings where heavily armed insurgents were barricaded.
Although historians will have the final say, odds are strong that, of all the battles fought by Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, the fight in Fallouja will be the most remembered.
About 6,500 Marines and 1,500 soldiers fought in Fallouja, backed by British and Iraqi forces and 2,500 U.S. sailors in support roles. Insurgent casualties are estimated at 1,200 to 1,500, with an additional 1,500 taken prisoner.
"We did our job and we did it damn well," said Maj. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, commander of the 1st Marine Division. "We took that city away from the enemy."
The keynote speaker at the ceremony was retired Marine Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski, who was the division's commander during the Fallouja battle. "Recent events in the Middle East have been very disappointing, disheartening," he told the assemblage.
But that should not lessen the pride Marines have in what they accomplished in Fallouja, he said.
Clint Thoma agreed. He was a mortar specialist as the U.S. fired thousands of mortars at enemy positions before victory was proclaimed and the city was declared safe for civilians to return.
"I still feel proud about what we did," Thoma said.
So do others, even though they prefer not to discuss the days of killing. "It was bad," said Greg Judie, who was a machine-gunner. "I don't talk about it."
Andy Knava, who was part of a combat engineer battalion, said he does not follow events in Iraq. He came to the ceremony to be with buddies with whom he served in Fallouja.
"It just feels good to be back with friends," said Knava, who was wearing a T-shirt with a likeness of Marine legend Lt. Gen. Chesty Puller.
The ceremony was replete with quotations from James Michener, Tennyson, and, of course, "band of brothers" from Shakespeare's "Henry V."
Natonski chose a quote often attributed to George Orwell about people being able to sleep soundly because rough men are awake to protect them.
"I want to thank the rough men who were in Fallouja 10 years ago," he said.
tony.perry@latimes.com
Twitter: @LATsandiego
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