 |
Fallen Combat Camera Marine Honored by 3/7
(October 22, 2010) |
 |
|
|
 CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Marines and sailors from 3rd
Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2,
paused to honor Lance Cpl. Ralph J. Fabbri during a memorial
ceremony held at Camp Leatherneck, Oct. 18. Fabbri, 20, was
killed in action, Sept. 28, while on patrol in the Sangin
District.
The Altoona, Pa., native was a 1st Marine Division (Forward)
combat cameraman attached with India Company, 3rd Battalion,
7th Marines.
“Every one of us has tons of stories and memories of Ralph
that are branded on our hearts forever because he touched
all of us in his own personal way,” said Cpl. Logan Riddle,
fellow 1st MarDiv(Fwd) combat cameraman and best friend.
“Ralph was the best kind of Marine there is, but he was even
better at being a friend.”
Hundreds of fellow service members and friends, including
Brig. Gen. Joseph Osterman, 1st MarDiv(Fwd) commanding
general, and Col. Paul Kennedy, RCT-2 commanding officer,
gathered at the 1st Marine Division Memorial monument to pay
their final respects to the young warrior.
A lover of the arts and hunting, Ralph must have felt right
at home, when he decided to join the Marines, and its 4600
field – Combat Photography.
Fabbri earned the title of Marine after graduating boot camp
at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., in
November 2008. After completing Marine Combat Training at
Camp Geiger, N.C., Fabbri attended the Defense Information
School at Fort Meade, Md., earning his military operational
skill as a combat cameraman. Fabbri had hardly checked into
the Blue Diamond of 1st MarDiv when he earned another title,
his nickname “Snuggles.”
|
“When Lance Corporal McKenzie and I picked up Fabbri at the
airport in San Diego,” Riddle explained. “As soon as we saw
him, he looked like the bear from the Snuggles' laundry
commercials, so we started calling him ‘Snuggles.'”
As quickly as Fabbri earned his nickname, with those he just
met, it was his endearing qualities, that made all who knew
the young Marine, love to be around him.
Fabbri was first assigned to Headquarters & Service Company,
3/7, in Feb. 2010. This was his first deployment. Later he
would attach with India Company. His company commander,
Capt. Patrick McKinley recalled interacting with Fabbri and
some local children just hours before the unit came under
attack.“
We were held up in a compound with a dozen little Afghan
boys and girls. I remember Ralph interacting with the kids
and taking photos of the Marines and
|
|
Cpl. Jonathon Davis, Lance Cpl. Armondo Mendoza and Cpl. Logan Riddle, kneel in a moment of remembrance at the battlefield monument of Lance Cpl. Ralph J. Fabbri, during a memorial ceremony held at Camp Leatherneck, Oct. 18. Fabbri, 20, was killed in action, Sept. 28, while on patrol in the Sangin District. The three Marines eulogized the Altoona, Pa., native, who was a 1st Marine Division (Forward) combat cameraman attached with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. “Fabbri wasn't just a hero, but a legend. He will live forever through the photos he loved taking so much,” said Mendoza, a fellow 1st MarDiv(Fwd) combat cameraman, and attachment with 3/7. “I just want to tell him, ‘I am going to miss you buddy, and keep an eye out for all of us, like I know you will. I love you dude, you are missed!'”
|
children playing. It was a moment that reminded us all why
we were here and the future we will secure for those
children,” McKinley said in his eulogy. “What a great young
man Ralph was! With his passing, we lost more than just a
Marine. The world lost a potential teacher, husband and
father.”
Fabbri was on a patrol on the afternoon of Sept. 28. The
company was conducting clearing operations southwest of the
Sangin Bazaar. He went on an ambush patrol to capture images
of a Marine squad covering the advance of another platoon as
they seized their objective. While covering his portion of
the line, Fabbri was hit by enemy sniper fire. Despite the
best efforts of the Navy corpsmen, the Marines around him
and Fabbri himself, he would succumb to the wound in
transit.
“The day before we went on that ‘Op,' we were watching The
Sandlot, one of our favorite movies. One quote from the
movie stuck out to him for some odd reason,” said Lance Cpl.
Armondo Mendoza, a 1st MarDiv(Fwd) combat cameraman, also
attached with 3/7. “He repeated it after it was said, ‘There
are heroes and there are legends. Heroes get remembered but
legends never die.'” |
|
First Sgt. Raymond Clark, the first sergeant of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, conducts roll call for Lance Cpl. Ralph J. Fabbri during a memorial ceremony held at Camp Leatherneck, Oct. 18. Fabbri's name was called three times, only to be met with silence. Fabbri, 20, was killed in action, Sept. 28, while on patrol in the Sangin District. |
|
Fabbri wasn't just a hero, but a legend. He will live
forever through the photos he loved taking so much. I just
want to tell him, ‘I am going to miss you buddy, and keep an
eye out for all of us, like I know you will. I love you
dude, you are missed!'”
Fabbri was only the third combat cameraman killed in action
since Vietnam when Cpl. William Perkins was killed in 1967,
and Cpl. William Salazar, was killed by a suicide bomber on
Oct. 15, 2004, near the Syrian border in western Iraq.
News of his passing quickly spread through the smaller
community of Marine Corps combat photographers, and for one
veteran cameraman of Tarawa and Iwo Jima, it hit hard.
“The notice of Lance Corporal Ralph Fabbri's death in combat
is a severe blow to me as I feel like I have lost a close
friend or brother! As an original member of the Marine Corps
Photographic Services, which established the roles and
missions of Marine photographers, I understand that his
death was in fulfillment of that responsibility. Few realize
that to accomplish or obtain photography in close combat
conditions the photographer has a target on his back,” said
Maj. Norman Hatch(Ret.), a World War II veteran and a
pioneer of combat photography and videography, whose footage
of Tarawa earned the Marine Corps an Academy Award. “It is
one of the most dangerous jobs in the military because he or
she can rarely crouch down or lay flat on the ground to take
a photo. They must walk through the action to get the
photography that is essential to field commanders and higher
ups as well as keeping the public informed. No higher duty
exists! Lance Corporal Ralph Fabbri lived up to that
tradition and should be so honored amongst his friends, the
Corps and his family. To his family I offer my sincerest
condolences for their loss!”
The short, quiet ceremony was marked by Bible
verses and prayers |
honoring Fabbri. Final Roll was called three times
for Lance Cpl. Ralph J. Fabbri. His name was called by India
Company's first sergeant, 1st Sgt. Raymond Clark, only to be
met with silence.
The quiet was broken when three volleys of a 7-man rifle
team fired in perfect unison, a 21-gun salute in honor of
Fabbri. Taps ensued in a final farewell.
Fabbri's personal awards include the Purple Heart, Combat
Action Ribbon, National Defense Service medal, Global War on
Terrorism Service medal, Afghan Campaign medal, and NATO
medal.
“It did not matter where we were, or what we were doing. He
was right there in the middle of it snapping away,” said
Cpl. Jonathon Davis, a fellow attachment with 3/7, from 4th
Combat Engineer Battalion. “I am proud to have known him,
and honored to have served with him. Rest in peace, brother,
I know you are in a better place.”
Fabbri is survived by his parents, Timothy and Deborah, and
his brother, Timothy Jr. |
|
By USMC Gunnery Sgt. William Price
Photos by USMC Cpl. Daniel Blatter
1st Marine Division
Copyright 2010 | |
Provided
through DVIDS
Comment on this article |
|
