Topic: Frank Wuterich

United States Marine Corps

Frank Wuterich is a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and is alleged to have participated, on November 19, 2005, in a war crime in Haditha, Iraq, where he and fellow Marines are accused of having killed 24 civilians after a Marine had died in an insurgent attack. As of June 2008, Wuterich is charged with nine counts of manslaughter, but his trial date has been postponed.

Wuterich grew up in Meriden, Connecticut, and graduated from Orville H. Platt High School in 1998. He was well known as an honor student, jazz trumpet player, and drama club president. In his senior year of high school Wuterich enlisted in the Marine Corps. He originally intended to join the Marine Corps Band, but was not accepted. Before going to Iraq, Wuterich was stationed in Hawaii, and later at Camp Pendelton, California, as an instructor at Marine Combat Training (MCT). MCT is essentially a condensed version the infantry training provided to infantry Marines by the School of Infantry (SOI), and teaches basic infantry skills to Marines who will work in non-infantry occupations (and since "every Marine is a rifleman", all non-infantry Marines must attend MCT). At this school, he was described as level headed and taught his young and older Marines to follow orders. As one older Marine who was personally trained by Wuterich in Golf Company from August-October 2002. "I would have followed him anywhere. He was always looking out for his students and displayed extreme calmness and tact." In Hawaii, he met and married former wife Marisol with whom he has three daughters. This was the first tour of duty in Iraq for Wuterich.