October 27, 2003: Due to popular demand, we are pleased to announce that the National Geographic film “Baghdad Bound: The Devil Dog Diaries” (featuring 3/4, 3rd Battalion 4th Marines with the 1st Marine Division) is now available for purchase on VHS format for $14.95 + 3.95 shipping & handling. This product should ship in about 2-3 weeks. It is currently only available through the Customer Service department at 800-627-5162 and not through the regular National Geographic website.

I ordered my four copies, 2-3 weeks to ship, through their Customer Service Department. When you order, tell them you found it on www.MarineParents.com.

On a personal note, I thought the "Devil Dog Diaries" was well done and accurately reflected the days in the lives of our young Marines on the march up to Baghdad. It's up close and personal, and in some particular parts, perhaps too personal. My son is in the video; Gary Scruka introduces him as the "The big, strong kid from Columbia, Missouri". I watched this film when it originally aired on MSNBC on a Sunday evening in May just before 3/4 came home from Iraq. It provided me a much-needed perspective about these young mens' lives during that time.

Attention 3/4 Marine Family and Friends
National Geographic Explorer's Gary Scurka was embedded with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines in Iraq. The TV documentary about 3/4 "Baghdad Bound: Devil Dog Diaries" aired several times in May, with the premier on May 18, 2003. See the link at the bottom of this page to the video documentary "21 Days to Baghdad" which includes some of the footage from the documentary.

Also see the National Geographic Q&A for Devil Dog Diaries and the NGS announcement of the premier May 18, 2003.

From National Geographic:

"On assignment for National Geographic EXPLORER, veteran filmmaker Gary Scurka spent nearly a month embedded with a company of ground troops in Iraq. A guest of a battalion of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, Scurka was allowed unprecedented access to one of the war's most active groups of soldiers.

"As the battalion pushed north toward Baghdad, Scurka lived with the troops, slept as they did, ate the same MRE combat rations, and shared with them a gamut of emotions, from the tedium of waiting to the rush of combat.

"In Baghdad Bound: The Devil Dog Diaries, Scurka provides a rare inside look at life in wartime from the perspective of the young men and women of the battalion. With the journalist in tow, the marines encounter ambushes and firefights, engage in dangerous missions in cities along the way, come under suicide attack, endure sniper fire and sandstorms, and lead the charge into Baghdad.

"Despite their feats, most of these Marines are young grunts straight out of high school, shipped to a far-off desert to engage in a war for reasons they may not fully understand."

Photo by Gary Scurka

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DVD/VHS Video:
National Geographic Video: 21 Days to Baghdad
From Tracy Della Vecchia: This is outstanding! If you want an excellent account of the Iraq war and very nice footage, this is a good one to buy. There is more time spent with the Marines than the other branches of the service (specifically Marines of 3/4). I had seen the majority of the footage before, but I'm okay with that as I keep it for posterity, and there was some new stuff.

There is some footage of my son during the biblically proportioned sand storm; he's in the back of a track vehicle going over maps and says "This sand is killin' me" then takes a big drag off a cigarette. There's a couple other shots of him as well, but none as funny as that, and not the same coverage as "Baghdad Bound: The Devil Dog Diaries".

Take a comprehensive look at Operation Iraqi Freedom, from the military buildup and the shock and awe campaign to the fire-fight in Basra and the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue. With spectacular footage never before seen in the U.S. and first-hand accounts of soldiers, reporters and National Geographic's award-winning production team, 21 Days to Baghdad will feature an exclusive, insider's look at the war strategy that ultimately drove Saddam Hussein from Baghdad.