Guardian Angels

HONORING A REAL GUARDIAN ANGEL

The Legacy of a War Hero Reminds us That Freedom Comes at a Price By david peterSon

On October 8, 2002, Marine Staff Sergeant (SSG) David Wilson was getting ready to take his squad through a simulated urban assault on the island of Failaka in Kuwait. Failaka had been the site of a significant battle between Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard and the Kuwaiti Army during the invasion of Kuwait in August of 1990. The island, located 20 km off the coast of Kuwait City in the Persian Gulf, was left largely in ruins after the invasion, so it was an ideal place for the 160 Marines to train for urban combat. SSG Wilson, concerned his live ammunition would get mixed up with the blank ammunition being used by his squad, dropped off his M16A2 rifle and his ammunition with Corporal (CPL) James Cottrell who was serving as the unit’s overwatch or guard. CPL Cottrell had just taken his squad through the simulated assault course and had relieved the Marines serving as guards so they could go to the beach to relax.

Since this was a training mission, most of the Marines were unarmed or had blank adapters on their weapons making them unable to shoot real bullets. A few of the officers and senior non-commissioned officers carried 9mm Beretta sidearms. As SSG Wilson escorted his squad into the bombed-out schoolhouse they were using as a training site, he heard the unmistakable sound of AK-47 gunfire. He ordered his squad to hunker down, and he ran to the roof to see what was going on. When he got to the roof, he saw that a red and white striped Nissan pickup truck had driven onto the beach and two heavily armed jihadist terrorist had opened fire on a large group of unarmed Marines relaxing on the beach. He also saw CPL Cottrell, who was in possession of the only M16A2 rifle on the beach capable of shooting live ammunition, running straight at the truck, stopping and shooting as he advanced toward the truck. CPL Cottrell placed rounds in the tires, engine block, radiator, windshield, and drew the combined fire of the terrorists away from the Marines on the beach and onto himself.

Captain Matthew Reid, First Sergeant Timothy Ruff, and Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) Wayne Hurtz were in a tent playing cards when the shooting broke out. The three of them each had Beretta 9mm handguns with full magazines. As rounds started hitting all around them, they ran out of their tent to see where the gunfire was coming from. They saw the Nissan pickup truck and engaged. GySgt Hurtz said, “I remember only two things from that day: the sound of my flip-flops on the sand as I ran at that

CPL James Cottrel protected his country and his men in 2002.

truck and, out of the corner of my eye, CPL James Cottrell, bobbing, weaving, and shooting his M16 in a hail of gunfire.” Between the four of them, they were able to stop the heavily armed terrorists from advancing further up the beach where additional unarmed Marines, including SSG Wilson’s squad, would have become easy targets.

On October 10 2006, Lieutenant General Jim Mattis, who would later serve as Secretary of Defense to President Trump, signed Policy Letter 04-06. Policy Letter 04-06, known affectionately as the “Flat Ass Rules” or FARs (the Marines have an acronym for everything!), outlined a series of force protection measures designed to prevent surprise attacks. One of the key rules was the “Guardian Angel” rule which stated that, “a mature, alert, and trusted individual is hidden, watching over his unit’s security in an ambush mentality. Whether he is armed or unarmed, he must have a means to convey a threat (sound the alarm) to his security.” I had never heard of Policy Letter 04-06 until SSG Wilson, who is now serving as Sergeant Major (SGM) Wilson, the senior non-commissioned officer for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Miramar, California, told me about it. My discussion with SGM Wilson, up to that point, had been rather light-hearted but when SGM Wilson told me about the Guardian Angel rule, he got very serious. He said, “Sir, that policy memo was signed almost exactly four years to the day after the attack on Failaka Island. That is no coincidence. General Mattis knew what happened on Failaka Island. He knew what CPL James Cottrell did on that island and the lives he saved.” He continued, “It is my opinion, and I share this opinion with the 160 Marines who were on that Island on that day … CPL James Cottrell was the Marine’s first Guardian Angel.”

On August 25, I spoke at James Cottrell’s funeral. James died suddenly, on August 4, while visiting his biological family in Panama. His adoptive sister and I, with the support of more than 200 people through a GoFundMe campaign, spent three weeks repatriating his remains to the U.S. so he could be buried with full military honors next to his father and brother at the Camp Williams Veterans Cemetery. I grew up with James, and went to junior high and high school with him. He was the Orem High School Class of 1992 Student Body Vice-President, was one of the best wrestlers in the state, and was our high school mascot. He served in the Marine Corps from 1997 until 2005 and deployed overseas four times. At 5’2”, he earned the nickname “Pocket Hercules” and he was the toughest “nice guy” I knew. He fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom I and during his second tour in Iraq, he fought in the Second Battle of Fallujah, which proved to be the bloodiest battle of the Iraq war and the bloodiest battle involving American troops since the Vietnam War. His unit lost 33 men during that second tour, and James would suffer from severe PTSD and survivor’s guilt for the rest of his life, but he never gave up and never stopped fighting. He was my friend, and he died a true hero.

Obviously, this article is a significant departure from what you’ve come to expect from your lobbying team, and I thank the UACPA staff for allowing me to share James’ story. As we head into the election season, please consider the service and sacrifice of my friend and remember that our freedom and the preservation of our rights comes at a cost. Freedom Is Not Free. Semper Fi. n

David Peterson is a partner and attorney with Peterson Consulting Group. He received a B.S. degree from Brigham Young University, his J.D. from the University of Toledo, and his LL.M. from The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School. He has served on Active Duty and with the Army National Guard for more than 20 years and currently holds the rank of Major.