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Haditha Marine's Father Speaks Out Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Darryl Sharratt is the father of Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt, 22, who has been charged with three counts of unpremeditated murder in the slayings of civilians in Haditha, Iraq on Nov. 19, 2005. Cpl. Sharratt, of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, was one of four Marines charged with unpremeditated murder of civilians following the ambush by al-Qaida insurgents. In an exclusive interview with Darryl, NewsMax discussed the case, the politics involved, and its effect on the family. NewsMax: Can you tell us what you are facing? Darryl Sharratt: Our son has been charged with unpremeditated murder in the death of three Iraqis in Haditha on November 19, 2005. We have a civilian attorney, Gary Meyers, who has received a copy of the NCIS report involving the incident in Haditha. The attorneys for my son, including Mr. Meyers, will meet with him in the early part of February and they will discuss the case and . . . the defense of my son. We have been going through hell since Congressman Murtha and Time magazine came out with this story. We've been in contact with our civilian attorney and we've talked about it and we saw some of the information in The Washington Post and we asked Gary why any of these Marines are being charged and his comment was that at this point of the investigation someone has to be charged. We knew that he meant it was with the media and the political pressure that was driving the case.
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NewsMax: How much information on the case do you now have? Darryl Sharratt: The only information my wife and I have obtained has been in the news. We have taken the position that my son cannot talk about the case. We feel very confident in what my son told us. We didn't pressure him as to the details of what happened in Haditha that day, but he insisted that his squad that day followed the rules of engagement and did nothing wrong and did what they were trained to do. We've been really wrestling with this and I've read NewsMax's articles and I'm feeling that the people who took Congressman Murtha's word for what happened believe a U.S. congressman and then tune themselves out from some of the other evidence. NewsMax: Has the media set the tone in the case?
Darryl Sharratt: The Time magazine article and the comments of Representative Murtha are what have been fueling this. This was not a matter of a cover-up — it was just the misreporting of the information. Why didn't the Marine Corps when they found it was wrong, immediately correct it? This is what fueled it — Time magazine just wants to deal with the [alleged] cover-up issue and nothing else. NewsMax: What would you like to tell the public regarding the case? Darryl Sharratt: We live in a society where Mom and Dad have to work in order put bread on the table. There are more important things on their minds than the fate of my son and these other seven Marines. I just would like to say to them "Hey, step up and take a look at some of the evidence and what the press and some of the politicians are doing because they are feeding this frenzy as to what happened in Haditha." NewsMax: What are your feelings about the way the Marine Corps has handled this? Darryl Sharratt: For a long time I was calling [Marine Lt. Gen. James] Mattis [the commanding general of the First Marine Expeditionary Force] a traitor — he's a three-star general and what really bothered me the most was they took it out of the Marines hands, and they turned it over to the Army. Because if I'm General Mattis, I'd be saying, "Stay out of my backyard — I will take care of my Marines." When they turned it over to Army Colonel Gregory Watt, his comment was that he essentially supported the Marines' account of the events and determined that the troops had reason to be suspicious of the men in the white taxi, and concluded that while they did not positively identify targets in the houses, it might have been unrealistic to expect them to on the battlefield that day. According to The Washington Post, he also found no indications that the Marines intentionally targeted, engaged, and killed noncombatants. But General Mattis did not see through this, he didn't stand up for his Marines; because, I believe, he has to answer to General Hagee [Marine Corps commandant] who has to answer to the president of the United States and not to the press and not to a U.S. congressman [Murtha] who called these Marines murderers and killers. I have Ilario Pantano's book "Warlord" and I recall his quote, "Marine, no better friend, no worse enemy," and I sit here thinking that the man who said that originally was General Mattis, who is now my son's worst enemy. He had a chance to do the right thing, and in my opinion, he's just looking for his fourth star. I know he still has a chance to end this, but he's already put my family through hell. NewsMax: Have politics played a part in this case? Darryl Sharratt: We have a constitutional amendment that separates church and state, but we need one that separates state and military. The Marine Corps is the smallest of the services and where do they get their next Harrier Jump Jet from — who gives them the money to buy that jet? It's a U.S. congressman named Murtha who is sitting on the Appropriations Committee as chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee.
So you've got Murtha who calls your Marines killers. Although every [Marine] would like to step up and put this man down, he's the one who feeds them. Are you going to bite the hand that feeds you? They may say it's not political, but there's your first step in the political process — you have to go to this man to get your next M-16 rifle. NewsMax: In his original charge, Murtha said that the Marines were not fired on before they went into the houses. Can you comment on that? Darryl Sharratt: All the Marines concur that they were under gunfire. The Navy corpsman who was with them testified that he had bullets bouncing at his feet and they were also taking fire from the direction of the white taxi. Then you have a quick reaction force that came upon the scene 15 minutes later and their Marine lieutenant who says he was under fire from the moment he got there. NewsMax: How do you feel about anonymous Pentagon officials leaking information about the case to the media? Darryl Sharratt: People speaking under the condition of anonymity — they know that they are not allowed to speak of this, but yet they do it. Just how did a 10,000 page NCIS report walk out of the Pentagon? NewsMax: How are you holding up under the cost of your son's legal defense? Darryl Sharratt: When these Marines are exonerated, all their families are going to be broke.
© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.
Editor's note:
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