Family Unsettled by Inquiry

Marine's Relatives Say Much Unknown About Haditha Incident

Martin Terrazas Jr. visits the grave site of his brother, a Marine who was killed by a roadside bomb in Haditha, Iraq. (Photos By Sylvia Moreno -- The Washington Post)

EL PASO -- In the cool early-morning hours before the sun rises high and harsh, or in the evening as it slips behind the Franklin Mountains, Martin Terrazas Sr. likes to sit and talk or read to his second-born son, Miguel.

Sometimes he reads a few pages from a book about Marines serving in Iraq. But, mostly, he reads Miguel's favorite, the local newspaper -- entire stories if Terrazas has time, headlines if he doesn't. "Listen to this," the father says.

Terrazas might bring water and a lawn chair, if he's going to stay awhile. His first-born son, Martin Jr., might ride his Harley-Davidson over because Miguel loved the bike and wanted one just like it. But even if there's no time for a long visit, there's always time for a "hi" and a "bye" and a hug.

Inside the National Cemetery at Fort Bliss here, Terrazas hugs the white granite tombstone that declares Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas "a devoted son brother and grandson who loved his country." The father whispers, "Hang in there, mijo " -- using Spanish for "my son."

Hang in is what Terrazas said he, too, is trying to do as he copes with his son's death in Haditha, Iraq, and the subsequent controversy surrounding the Nov. 19 incident. Twice, Terrazas has met with investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service looking into whether members of his son's unit killed as many as two dozen Iraqi civilians after a roadside bomb killed Miguel, 20. Twice, Terrazas has told them that his brief conversations with some members of his son's squad yielded mostly reminiscences, laughter and tears and scant details of what happened the day he was killed.

"In a way, it is bothersome, because I look at those Marines and I see my son," Terrazas said of the investigation. "I cannot imagine they massacred these 24 Iraqis; I just can't imagine that. Something happened, and we don't know exactly what."

Like parents of other members of 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company -- the unit under scrutiny -- Terrazas believes the Marines are being judged unfairly. "Let's wait and see what happens," he said. "Some people are rushing to judgment of our troops."

As for his large, close-knit family, "we're in the middle of grieving," Terrazas said. "It's all still fresh to us. This keeps bringing me back to Day One, where you just feel very sad."

Miguel's grandfather Jorge Terrazas, who has turned one room in his house into a shrine to his grandson, agrees. "When will all this end so that my grandson can rest in peace?" he asks with tears in his eyes.

Iraqis in Haditha, a predominantly Sunni city northwest of Baghdad, have described a massacre on Nov. 19 of men, women and children -- some of whom begged for their lives before being shot -- after a bomb killed Terrazas. Three Marine officers have been relieved of command.

Terrazas was the driver of the last Humvee in a four-vehicle convoy on a daily mission in Haditha. A large bomb in the ground hit his vehicle, killing him instantly and injuring two Marines inside the Humvee.

Because of the investigation, Marine Corps officials have not responded publicly.