Not for glory or fame, post gets fallen Marine's name

Photo By Cpl. Brian Reimers | Lance Cpl. Anthony B. Dineen, an infantryman with B Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, calls in a suspicous vehicle traveling on the main road in Fallujah, Iraq. The Marines man several positions at Observation Post Fenton deep in the city, acting as their fellow Marines eyes and ears on the battlefield. The post was recently named after one of the battalions Marines who was mortally wounded on April 26. Sgt. Matthew J. Fenton died on his wounds sustained in Fallujah, while serving as a turret gunner for Headquarters and Service Company. Dineen is 20, from Hudson, N.H.  

FALLUJAH, IRAQ

09.23.2006

Story by Cpl. Brian Reimers 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

by Cpl. Brian Reimers
Regimental Combat Team 5

FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 23, 2006) -- Sgt. Matthew J. Fenton continues to watch over Marines in Fallujah, even after he died from wounds sustained in combat Apr. 26. That's because his fellow Marines named an observation post that serves to protect Marines in his honor.

Observation Post Fenton, located in the heart of Fallujah, was recently built and named by the Marines of 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5. Its purpose is to provide overwatch positions for Coalition Forces traveling throughout the area.

Fenton, an administrative supply clerk who was serving as a turret gunner for Headquarters and Service Company, died of his wounds suffered on the streets of Fallujah soon after the battalion deployed here.

"He was a great Marine and a great leader," said Lance Cpl. Gene M. Porcelli, a 21-year-old supply warehouseman from Hauppage, N.Y. "He was the kind of leader you genuinely looked up to."

Although Fenton was laid to rest, his name will carry on for the Marines here and for those who operate in the city.

The battalion constructed the new observation post on the city's main road to provide increased security in the area, close to where the noncommissioned officer was wounded.

"We talked long and hard about it," said Lt. Col. Christopher A. Landro, the battalion's commander from Kennesaw, Ga. "The leadership chose to name the OP after Sgt. Fenton because he was the first Marine from the battalion to die from his wounds in the city."

Attacks against the new OP started the first day it began construction. Enemy forces fired rocket-propelled grenades and dozens of rifle rounds at the position. But the Marines pushed through, fought off attackers and carried on with their goal.

"Marines don't give up ground," said the 46-year-old Landro. "There was no question in our minds that we would establish the OP and that it would be successful."

• Date Taken: 09.23.2006
• Date Posted: 09.29.2006 15:22
• Story ID: 7870
• Location: FALLUJAH, IQ