Ilario Gregory Pantano | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. | August 28, 1971
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service | United States Marine Corps |
Years of service | 1989–1993 2003–2005 |
Rank | Second Lieutenant |
Unit | 1st Battalion, 6th Marines 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines |
Battles / wars | Persian Gulf War |
Awards | Combat Action Ribbon with gold star (second award) |
Other work | Deputy sheriff |
Ilario Gregory Pantano (born August 28, 1971) is a former United States Marine Corps second lieutenant. He has also been an author, a television commentator, and served as a deputy sheriff in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was a Republican Party nominee for the US House of Representatives in 2010.
Pantano served in the Persian Gulf War, during Operation Desert Storm, and in the Iraq War, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He came to national attention when he was accused of premeditated murder in the killing of two Iraqi captives, during a unit mission near Fallujah, Iraq on April 15, 2004. An article 32 hearing found no credible evidence or testimony for the accusation and declined to prosecute Pantano, dropping all charges. Claiming terrorist threats against his family, he resigned his officer's commission and was honorably discharged. These events and his other experiences as a combat Marine during the Persian Gulf War and in Iraq in 2004 are the subject of his memoir, Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy.
Pantano was born in New York City and grew up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. His father, Benito, was an Italian immigrant, and his mother, Merry, a literary agent, is a native of Salina, Kansas. [1] He attended the private Horace Mann High School in New York City on scholarship. Following graduation he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served active duty in the first Gulf War.
Following his return to civilian life, Pantano earned an economics degree from New York University. He worked as an energy trader for Goldman Sachs. From 1995 to 1998, he was a member of the start-up team that integrated top-tier investment bank culture (GS) with utility business (BG&E) in Constellation Power, an electricity trading joint venture that was acquired for $11 billion by FPL. [ jargon ] Shortly thereafter, he became a movie producer with the New York-based firm The Shooting Gallery, and co-founded Filter Media, a company specializing in interactive television. Pantano married Jill Chapman, a fashion model and entrepreneur who had appeared in Vogue Italia . The couple live in North Carolina and have two sons. [2]
Pantano served in the U. S. Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War as a TOW gunner. Pantano completed Scout Sniper training, and was promoted to Sergeant, remaining in the Marine Corps until 1993.
Immediately following the September 11 attacks, Pantano decided to rejoin the Marines. Pantano's apartment was next to a fire station where eleven firemen, four of whom were former Marines, perished in the attacks. He was accepted to Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon completion.
He was a popular officer and his superiors described him as the best platoon commander in his battalion. His men reported that they appreciated the extra training drills he put them through. [2] As Time Magazine reported in 2005, "Pantano prepared his platoon by working the men hard. His men grumbled (enlisted men call officers like Pantano "motarded"—motivated to the point of retardation). But he believed that the more they trained, the fitter they were, the more chance they had of surviving a real war. The effort paid off. In more than 40 combat operations, the platoon suffered one casualty—a shrapnel nick from an incoming mortar round. Then the insurgency erupted. Newly arrived units took more casualties in a few days than their predecessors had in eight months." [3]
Pantano went to Iraq in February 2004 with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines. This was quickly followed by the intense fighting in Fallujah during Operation Vigilant Resolve in April 2004.[ citation needed ]
On April 15, 2004, acting on intelligence extracted from captured insurgents, Lieutenant Pantano led his platoon against a compound near the town of Mahmudiyah. [4] As the platoon approached the compound, they saw a vehicle with two Iraqis in it. Pantano ordered his men to stop the vehicle and to have the occupants of the vehicle handcuffed. The vehicle was searched for weapons. Lieutenant Pantano remained with the captives, while the rest of his platoon secured the compound. The compound was deserted, but his men found a cache of arms, including "several mortar aiming stakes, a flare gun, three AK47 rifles, 10 AK magazines with assault vests and IED making material". [5]
When Pantano learned that the compound contained weapons, he ordered Sergeant Daniel Coburn and Corpsman George Gobles to watch for enemies. He then released the captives from their bonds so they could search the vehicle again more thoroughly. According to a statement Lieutenant Pantano made to military investigators in June 2004, he then used hand signals to order the captives to search the vehicle again.[ citation needed ] According to Pantano, during the search of the vehicle he felt the Iraqis posed a threat to him. They were talking and Pantano believed they were conspiring together. When they both turned to face each other he shouted "Stop!" in both Arabic and English, and when they did not stop, he shot them. He later stated: "I then changed magazines and continued to fire until the second magazine was empty...I had made a decision that when I was firing I was going to send a message to these Iraqis and others that when we say, 'No better friend, No worse enemy,' we mean it. I had fired both magazines into the men, hitting them with about 80 percent of my rounds."[ citation needed ]
In June 2004, Sergeant Coburn, whom Pantano had previously demoted, registered a complaint about the incident, triggering a Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe. [5] On February 1, 2005, Pantano was charged with two counts of premeditated murder, and faced the death penalty if convicted. [5]
On April 14, 2005, Pantano tried to waive his right to an Article 32 pretrial hearing, in an effort to speed the process toward a court martial. Pantano claimed that the government was withholding key evidence and witnesses and according to a statement made by his mother, waived his right to a hearing "in order to get a Military Judge to compel the prosecution to produce witnesses and evidence in his case."[ citation needed ] The request was denied and the Article 32 hearing was held on April 26, 2005 with Major Mark Winn as the presiding officer. [6]
Prior to Pantano's Article 32 hearing the Department of Defense had maintained that it was impossible to do a post-mortem examination on the corpses of Lieutenant Pantano's captives because they were buried in a cemetery that was in an area that was not under American control. However, shortly before the hearing and a year after the incident itself, the bodies were exhumed. The autopsy report was released the day after the Article 32 recommendation was made and, according to The Washington Times , confirmed Lt. Pantano's testimony that he had shot the men as they approached him. [7]
Pantano acknowledged leaving a sign on a car above the corpses that said, "No better friend, No worse enemy," but then returned to remove it after one of his colleagues called it 'inappropriate'. [6] This phrase is the motto of his Marine Corps battalion, and is promoted by his battalion commander as the combat philosophy of their unit. The slogan is also a popular Marine saying popularized by Lieutenant General James Mattis, then commanding general of the 1st Marine Division. In an interview with the BBC from March 20, 2005, Lieutenant Pantano said, "I'm a New Yorker and 9/11 was a pretty significant event for me, our duty as Marines is, quite frankly, to export violence to the four corners of the globe, to make sure that this doesn't happen again." [8]
Navy Corpsman George Gobles was present but did not witness the danger Lieutenant Pantano reported, because he was looking outwards, as ordered. He later stated when he turned back he saw the Iraqis trying to run away. Sergeant Coburn is reported to have said "As soon as I turned my back, Lt. Pantano opened [fire] with approximately 45 rounds." Pantano's defense counsels have said they believe that Sergeant Daniel Coburn's account should not be given any credit, because he was disgruntled, having been demoted recently by Pantano. [2] [5]
Sergeant Coburn gave several interviews to the media after being ordered not to do so by a superior officer. [9] A report by the officer investigating the claims found "a great deal of discrepancies and conflicting testimony given by Sgt. Coburn", and noted that he might have been prompted to make his allegations by his numerous poor performance reports. [10]
In his testimony at Pantano's hearing, Corporal "O" described interviewing the two captives. [6] He described seeing the vehicle being searched by other Marines, including the removal of its seats. He described seeing the corpses of the captives, following the shooting, face down, with the heads and torsos in the vehicle and their knees resting on the ground, as if Pantano shot the captives in the back while they were kneeling facing the vehicle. Corporal "O" described the sight as "weird".
"Sergeant M", a counter intelligence specialist whose full name couldn't be released, testified that when he questioned the two Iraqi men, they lied and said there were no weapons in the house they fled from. Marines found three AK-47 assault rifles with loaded magazines and mortar aiming stakes, in addition to Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein propaganda in the house.
Sergeant M said he believed the men were probably insurgents, and they were not going to be released.
Sergeant M and Petty Officer 3rd Class George Gobles, the Navy corpsman attached to Pantano's platoon, both testified that Pantano was a good leader who frequently made himself available to the Iraqi people.
"He said we should always present ourselves as humanitarians and greet them with smiles on our face," Gobles said. "That was the way he was, and that was the way he taught us to be." [11]
In his closing arguments, Pantano's lawyer argued the following as justification for the killings:
What you have to remember is you can't import civilian standards into a combat situation. This isn't Chicago. This is Iraq, Indian country....[ citation needed ]
Major Winn recommended to Major General Richard Huck, commander of Lieutenant Pantano's division, that the murder charges be dropped and Pantano be held to account for desecration of the corpses. It was his assessment that Sergeant Coburn was an uncredible witness.
The officer who conducted last month's hearing, Lt. Col. Mark E. Winn, recommended in a report to General Huck that criminal charges were not warranted, but sharply criticized Lieutenant Pantano's decision to have the car stopped and to focus so closely on the two men to begin with. Colonel Winn recommended nonjudicial discipline, because the sign and the number of rounds fired were in his opinion unwarranted and excessive. Lieutenant Edwards said, however, that General Huck would not issue any nonjudicial punishment.
Pantano's testimony regarding the shooting incident were corroborated by the forensic evidence discovered in the process of exhuming the bodies and the subsequent autopsies.
the spokesman, Second Lt. Barry Edwards, said of the autopsy. "The initial findings corroborated Second Lieutenant Pantano's version of the events." Lieutenant Edwards would not elaborate further on the autopsy results. [12]
Under U.S. military law, the decision as to whether a court-martial should take place lay solely with General Huck, who dropped all charges.
Pantano received support from internet websites and organizations which specialize in supporting the troops. He received backing from certain talk radio personalities, specifically Michael Savage who spent day after day raising awareness of Pantano's situation and even conducted several interviews with Pantano and his family.
North Carolina's Third District U.S. Representative Walter B. Jones introduced House Resolution 167 which expressed the support of the House of Representatives for Pantano. On February 25, Congressman Jones wrote a letter to President Bush asking for his support for Pantano.
On April 14, 2005, the Association for Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriffs sent a letter to then President Bush endorsing House Resolution 167 in support of Ilario Pantano. [13]
On June 12, 2006, Pantano's autobiographical account of his experiences, Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy, [14] was released by Threshold Editions, Mary Matalin's Simon & Schuster imprint. On July 10, 2006, he appeared on The Daily Show to promote the book.
In November 2011, Simon & Schuster released a new edition of Pantano's book, Warlord: Broken by War, Saved by Grace, containing the letter from Mr. Rodriguez. [15]
According to the Fayetteville Observer Pantano was the first challenger to present a determined challenge to incumbent Mike McIntyre, during his first seven Congressional campaigns. [16]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Ilario Gregory Pantano | 17,177 | 51.02 | |
Republican | Will Breazeale | 11,629 | 34.54 | |
Republican | Randy Crow | 4,862 | 14.44 | |
Total votes | 33,668 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Mike McIntyre | 113,957 | 53.68 | |
Republican | Ilario Gregory Pantano | 98,328 | 46.32 | |
Total votes | 212,285 | 100.00 |
On December 15, 2011, Pantano, while appearing on Fox & Friends , announced that he would again challenge incumbent Rep. Mike McIntyre. [15] Redistricting following the 2010 census had made the district more favorable to Republicans. [20] Pantano and a third candidate, Randy Crow, lost the Republican primary to North Carolina legislator David Rouzer, who went on to lose to McIntyre in the general election in November 2012. [21]
Pantano was named assistant secretary for the North Carolina State Division of Veterans Affairs in 2013. [22]
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 20–50 troops, although specific platoons may range from 10 to 100 people. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer. The platoon leader is usually a junior officer—a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. The officer is usually assisted by a platoon sergeant.
The Second Battle of Fallujah, initially codenamed Operation Phantom Fury, Operation al-Fajr was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that began on 7 November 2004 and lasted about six weeks.
The Haditha massacre was a series of killings on November 19, 2005, in which a group of United States marines killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians. The killings occurred in the city of Haditha in Iraq's western province of Al Anbar. Among the dead were men, women, elderly people and children as young as three years old, who were shot multiple times at close range. The massacre took place after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near a convoy, killing a lance corporal and severely injuring two other marines. In response the marines executed five men from a nearby taxicab and 19 others inside four nearby homes.
Jeffrey R. Chessani is an officer of the United States Marine Corps, and was the commanding officer 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines during the November 2005 urban combat in Haditha, Iraq. In that event, known as the Haditha massacre, marines in his battalion were accused of having killed 20 civilians to revenge another marine that was killed in a roadside bomb attack.
Lucas Michael McConnell is an officer in the United States Marine Corps. In accordance with standard administrative procedure, he was removed from command of the Camp Pendleton-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines following his role in the haditha massacre, November 2005 war crime in Haditha, Iraq.
The Hamdania incident refers to the alleged kidnapping and subsequent murder of an Iraqi man by United States Marines on April 26, 2006, in Al Hamdania, a small village west of Baghdad near Abu Ghraib. An investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service resulted in charges of murder, kidnapping, housebreaking, larceny, Obstruction of Justice and conspiracy associated with the alleged coverup of the incident. They were forced to drop many charges on the defendants. The defendants are seven Marines and a Navy Corpsman. As of February 2007, five of the defendants have negotiated pleas to lesser charges of kidnapping and conspiracy, or less, and have agreed to testify in these trials. Additional Marines from the same battalion faced lesser charges of assault related to the use of physical force during interrogations of suspected insurgents. Those charges were dropped.
Frank D. Wuterich is a former United States Marine Corps Staff Sergeant and mass murderer who pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty as a result of his actions during the Haditha massacre where he murdered multiple innocent civilians. As a result of the plea agreement, he was reduced in rank to Private. He was given a general discharge in February 2012.
Captain John James McGinty III was a United States Marine Corps officer who received the United States militaries' highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for heroism during July 1966 in the Vietnam War.
Richard Huck is a retired United States Marine Corps officer. Huck served as Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Division from 2004 until June 16, 2006. Huck is currently serving as Assistant Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps.
In many militaries, a platoon sergeant is the senior enlisted member of a platoon, who advises and supports the platoon's commanding officer in leading the unit.
Al-Karmah, also sometimes transliterated as Karma, Karmah, or Garma, is a city in central Iraq, 16 km (10 mi) northeast of Fallujah in the province of Al Anbar.
Combat Logistics Battalion 6 (CLB-6) is a logistics battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Red Cloud," the unit is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and fall under the command of Combat Logistics Regiment 2 and the 2nd Marine Logistics Group..
Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps, such as Private France Silva who during the Boxer Rebellion became the first Marine of the thirteen Marines of Latin American descent to be awarded the Medal of Honor, and Private First Class Guy Gabaldon who is credited with capturing over 1,000 enemy soldiers and civilians during World War II, have distinguished themselves in combat. Hispanics have participated as members of the United States Marine Corps in the Boxer Rebellion, World War I, the American intervention in Latin America also known as the Banana Wars, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and most recently in the military campaigns of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The deaths of Phillip Esposito and Louis Allen occurred on June 7, 2005, at Forward Operating Base Danger in Tikrit, Iraq. Captain Phillip Esposito and First Lieutenant Louis Allen, from a New York Army National Guard unit of the United States 42nd Infantry Division, were mortally wounded in Esposito's office by a Claymore mine and died.
The 2004 Good Friday ambush was an attack by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004 during the Iraq War on a convoy of United States supply trucks during the Battle of Baghdad International Airport. It happened in the midst of the Iraq spring fighting of 2004, which saw intensified clashes throughout the country.
Michael Chase Behenna is a former United States Army First Lieutenant who was convicted of the 2008 murder of Ali Mansur Mohamed during the occupation of Iraq. Behenna is colloquially associated with a group of U.S. military personnel convicted of war crimes known as the Leavenworth 10. He was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, which was later reduced to 15 years, and served his sentence in the United States Disciplinary Barracks on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army post in Kansas. He was granted parole on March 14, 2014, after serving less than five years of his sentence. Since his release from prison he has worked as a farmhand. On May 6, 2019, Behenna received a pardon from President Donald Trump.
The Maywand District murders were the thrill killings of at least three Afghan civilians perpetrated by a group of U.S. Army soldiers from January to May 2010, during the War in Afghanistan. The soldiers, who referred to themselves as the "Kill Team", were members of the 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, and 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. They were based at FOB Ramrod in Maiwand, in Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.
North Carolina's 7th congressional district election, 2010 was an election held to determine who would represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives during the 112th Congress. The candidates were incumbent Democrat Mike McIntyre and Republican former United States Marine Corps second lieutenant Ilario Pantano. Mike McIntyre defeated Ilario Pantano, winning a seventh term in the United States House of Representatives, 54% to 46%. It was McIntyre's closest reelection campaign to date.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the 13 U.S. representatives from the state of North Carolina. The elections coincided with the U.S. presidential election, N.C. gubernatorial election, statewide judicial elections, Council of State elections and various local elections. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012; for races in which no candidate received 40 percent of the vote in the primary, runoff elections were held on July 17.
David Cheston Rouzer is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 7th congressional district. Previously he was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly, representing Johnston County and Wayne County in the 12th district of the North Carolina Senate.
McIntyre coasted to victory in his first six attempts to win re-election. But two years ago, he narrowly defeated Republican challenger Ilario Pantano with 54 percent of the vote.
Pantano said repeatedly that he was the only candidate who supports the budget plan of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin. Rouzer said he doesn't support the Ryan budget in part because it doesn't balance the federal budget until 2040.
Rouzer is expected to fare well in Johnston County, where he grew up working on the family farm and where nearly a quarter of the registered voters in the 7th District reside. Had it not been for his home county, he would have lost to Pantano in the primary.