Justin spent the past five months home in Pennsylvania, where he and two fellow Marines kept our parents busy! They worked on the Jeep, fixed their motorcycles, played video games, and enjoyed the holidays with our family. In mid-February the boys left and headed back to California. They are now living near San Diego, working and planning their future. Justin plans on attending a mechanics school in the fall and is in the preliminary stages of starting up his own shop. We are also working with a producer on a movie based on our family and the Haditha situation, which is very exciting, and quite crazy to even imagine! I am looking forward to spending time with Justin in March while out in San Diego on a business trip. Our family also is planning my Chicago wedding to my wonderful fiancé, Matt Smith, which will take place October 2008. Justin will be standing as our Best Man.

It is hard to make myself not remember the past, and to realize life is working out for the best. It is challenging to not relive the fear of the unknown, or to not worry about something terrible like this happening to another family. Regardless, nothing feels better than the happiness I experience after a two hour phone conversation with Justin, each minute spent catching up on the latest in our lives, both of us grinning ear to ear. Now that is the Justin I know… that is my little brother.

Before we know it Christmas will be here and this year we have a lot to be grateful for, especially considering a year ago on December 21st we were at a press conference, listening to the USMC charge Justin with three counts of murder. I believe right now life is definitely on the upswing!

My brother is planning on returning to California after the New Year. We are going to spend some time looking into trade schools and colleges over the next few months and slowly begin piecing back together his future and realigning goals. It is a very exciting time for all of us! To celebrate in a way that only my brother can pull off, LCpl Sharratt took it upon himself to utilize the inexpensive haircuts issued at Camp Pendleton the day before his departure; he got a tri-hawk haircut (a three strip Mohawk)… I guess he wanted to make it count!

Throughout this series of unfortunate events, my family has seen prayers answered, and even some miracles. Ranging from a close friend contacting me in May 2006, after the inaccurate Time magazine article, and offering to send out an email to his firm in Chicago which, in turn, led our family to obtaining the strongest legal defense team; NewsMax collecting donations to help the Haditha Marine families with legal fees; emails sent from Marines, family, friends; the kindness of absolute strangers, who wrote daily blogs, made videos, posted stories, sent emails, and shared words of kindness and support. Without these people in our lives, a majority of them we have never met, but they knew my brother was innocent. They believed. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for everything.

The phrase ‘everything happens for reason’ is always pressed on someone when they cannot grasp why a situation or circumstance popped up into their lives and made a mess of things. I learned to stop asking myself this question, realizing it only added to the confusion that currently spins through my thoughts. However, I am a bit suspicious of the odds that the majority of our family has made plans, all at different times, and for various reasons, to return home to Pennsylvania next weekend. Maybe because it is my Mom’s birthday, or we have not seen my brother for a long time… or perhaps since ‘everything happens for a reason.’

I tend to avoid saying my hopes, prayers, or dreams out loud just in case they do not happen; but today I will. I close my eyes and imagine us all sitting out on the back deck, laughing at stories (including my favorite of a five-year-old Justin asking Moms why there are so many dogs out in the pasture… they were really cows), and then the phone rings. The caller will be our attorney, Gary Myers. He begins the conversation saying he has news, and we all gather around the phone, listening with a level of intensity that you can feel. His words will blur, but I manage to decipher Gen. Mattis dropped the charges. That my brother is free. That this nightmare is over. That is the reverie of my family.

Another ironic twist is the feelings we all have about his Article 32. It has been a time we have anxiously awaited since this situation charged full force into our lives. It also involves more time waiting, more time holding our breath. Basically, at an Article 32 a military judge will hear each attorney’s side of the case… witnesses, evidence, etc. It will last from 5 to 9 days. After the judge hears both sides he will construct a report to give to General Mattis regarding his opinion on whether the case merits a hearing. If he thinks there is enough evidence my brother will be sent to a Court Martial hearing, where our attorneys will be defending my brother from spending his life in prison. One person, this judge, will determine the fate of my brother, our family, our lives.

I haven’t seen Justin since February. I have no idea if he is still smiling. Words and phone conversations only reveal so much. It is difficult not to worry every day. Matt and I took a few days over Memorial Day weekend to visit Moms and Dad in Pennsylvania. Trying to avoid the topic of my brother was like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. Overall we all did have a great time, and nothing feels better than being home. I am hoping we will all be together in July for Moms birthday. Hopefully Justin will be able to make the trip home. Hopefully we will know the verdict of the Article 32. And maybe, just maybe, we will be celebrating him being exonerated, and getting out of the Marine Corps as scheduled on July 28, 2007, leaving all this behind us forever.

I am the father of L/Cpl Justin Sharratt. On August 16, 2003 the dreams of a little boy became reality. My son Justin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school graduation. Since the age of six, Justin dreamed of a military career. The combat boots, camouflage fatigues and helmet he wore as a child would soon become his uniform of the day as a United States Marine. To serve and protect the United States of America from all enemies both domestic and foreign; a duty he did not take lightly.  Justin’s first combat tour of duty was the city of Fallujah, Iraq. It was here, in the heat of the Iraqi desert, a boy became a man. Sharratt, Stone, Mitchell, Stevens and Wolf soon became ‘brothers by different mothers.’ In a battle known as “Hell House” they fought toe to toe with Iraqi insurgents bent on the destruction of U. S. Marines. They formed a bond forged in the furnace of combat; a bond that will last a lifetime. Semper Fidelis. Upon his return from Iraq Justin joined us while on leave. He was transformed into the man all fathers dream and hope they will be. While on leave, Justin broke his ankle and was put on medical leave. It was at this time I realized what it meant to him to be an infantry rifleman, a grunt. He stared me in the eyes and said “Dad, all I want to do is get my ankle healed. I have to return to Iraq with 3-1 Kilo Company. The guys are counting on me to cover their six and I will never let them down.” Discussion ended—my son the warrior. 

The city of Haditha, Iraq was the destination of 3-1 Kilo Company on Justin’s second deployment. Known to be a hot bed of Iraqi insurgency, the Marines of 3-1 Kilo Company could only envision what to expect. Seasoned from their tour in Fallujah, most of the Marines were on their second Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment, many their third. They were experienced combat veterans, drilled on the Rules of Engagement yet sensitive to their alien environment and the Iraqi populace. On November 19, 2005, a convoy of four Marine humvees was ambushed on a city street in Haditha. A massive IED explosion ripped the fourth humvee in the column apart. One Marine was killed and two were seriously wounded. 3rd platoon, 3-1 Kilo Company, my son’s unit, was now in a firefight for their lives. There was no time for rage or revenge. Justin needed to apply his Marine Corps training and experience to preserve the lives of his fellow Marines. All the Marines in 3rd platoon responded in like manner- to preserve the lives of fellow Marines. Reinforcements were called in and an ambulance was needed to attend the wounded. Marines were positioned to defend their precarious position and a comm link was established to FOB Sparta. All done in the best of Marine Corps tradition and training while taking enemy fire. In the aftermath of this engagement, 24 Iraqis were killed. A U.S. Congressman has called these Marines murderers. Time magazine has enlisted the propaganda of foreign journalists to sell its political agenda. Iraqi civilians have been schooled in making false statements. An Iraqi girl missed a day of school because she was afraid the bomb blast would injure her. Interesting reading, but I truly believe the American people can see through this barrage of media conjecture. I ask you not to prejudge my son, not to prejudge these Marines. They have served this country with honor, truth and diligence. I say unto you. the Few, the Proud, the Marines……….. War is a tragic thing. The enemy we are fighting has had centuries to prepare. They wear no uniforms, fight by no Rules of Engagement or follow the Geneva Convention. Using civilians as human shields is a common practice and their hatred for non-Islamic cultures is endemic. 

The United States government has taken 12 months and spent millions of dollars and countless man-hours investigating the Haditha engagement. On December 21, 2006, four NCOs and four officers were charged with violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. My son, LCpl Justin Sharratt faces three counts of unpremeditated murder. This is not the forum to discuss these charges but my son stands strong in the fact he followed the Rules of Engagement, protected his fellow Marines and did nothing wrong. All of these men are innocent of these charges. In the aftermath of 9-11, these men have risen to honorably serve their country. Some have given a lifetime of dedicated service, others were just beginning. They have demonstrated to the world there is “No better friend, No worse enemy” than a U.S. Marine. For now, the handshakes will be tighter, the hugs will be longer and the tears sliding down my face are not a sign of weakness- they affirm a father’s love for his Marine son.