These Colors Don't Run

KAJAKI, AFGHANISTAN, AFGHANISTAN

09.29.2010

Photo by Cpl. Daniel Blatter 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

Cpl. Jorge Villarreal, a motor transportation mechanic with India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, leans over the edge of a compound in Kajaki to remind his fellow Marines why they are here, and what it is they are fighting for. “I bought the flag when I first got to Afghanistan and have been carrying it on every patrol since,” said Villarreal, 22, from San Antonio, Texas. “It reminds me and my men why we are here and why we are fighting every day.” When Villarreal’s patrol halts and sets up a security position, he often takes the flag out of his backpack and finds a way to make it visible for others on the patrol to see. “When times get rough out there, I pull that flag out and it seems to bring up the moral,” said Villarreal. “We come back safe from every patrol I take it on, therefore, I am going to continue to take it with me.”

• Date Taken: 09.29.2010
• Date Posted: 10.02.2010 12:03
• Photo ID: 325228
• VIRIN: 100929-M-8957B-001
• Resolution: 716x1152
• Size: 627.69 KB
• Location: KAJAKI, AFGHANISTAN, AF