Thursday, August 7, 2008

ONGOING COVERAGE: BROTHERS IN ARMS

Background: The Spokesman-Review has been following Hauser Lake twins Robert and Matt Shipp as they finished high school and prepared to join the Marine Corps.

Multimedia Part 1: The journey begins The Shipp brothers anticipate life in the Corps and prepare for boot camp. Part 2: 'The Crucible' The twins push their bodies and spirits to the limit as they train to become Marines. Part 3: Graduation day After 13 weeks of hell, the Shipp twins are now officially Marines. Part 4: The Goodbye Matt Shipp says goodbye to his new bride and leaves for Iraq. Part 5: Another Goodbye Robert Shipp marries his childhood sweetheart then boards a ship headed for the Middle East. Part 6: Waiting for War Although disappointed not to be involved in fighting, Robert Shipp keeps his focus, as he waits for that decisive order to fight. Part 7: One marine's paradise In a war-torn corner of Iraq, Matthew Shipp realizes his lifelong dream. Stories by James Hagengruber Photography and audio by Brian Plonka Multimedia production by Colin Mulvany © The Spokesman-Review

Iraq Journal - by S-R photojournalist Brian Plonka

5/25/2008 | Editor's note: For two years, through the writing of James Hagengruber and the photography of Brian Plonka, Spokesman-Review readers have followed the journey of Robert and Matt Shipp from high school in North Idaho to Marine boot camp to the Middle East.

One Marine's paradise

5/18/2008 | COMBAT OUTPOST NORSEMAN, Iraq – Wearing a uniform that hadn't been washed in months and operating on a typical ration of five hours of sleep, Cpl. Matthew Shipp chambered a bullet in his machine gun and set off on his fourth patrol of the day.

Waiting for war

5/11/2008 | After nearly two months in the Kuwait desert preparing for combat, the men of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were frustrated; instead of marching into Iraq, they were ordered back to their ship.

Going separate ways

12/23/2007 | SAN DIEGO – Officially, the destination of Lance Cpl. Robert Shipp is unknown. But it's not hard to guess where the 20-year-old from Hauser Lake, Idaho, and the other combat-ready young men with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were headed when they sailed out of San Diego harbor last month aboard the USS Germantown.

In love and war

10/14/2007 | TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – In the barracks hallway, a Marine wearing desert camouflage pants pounded doors and shouted, "Reveille! You're going to Iraq, boys!"

Two good men

9/24/2006 | A closed sign hung in the window of the little Coeur d'Alene barber shop when Matt and Robert Shipp arrived Tuesday afternoon, a day after returning home from boot camp.

Weary campers

8/20/2006 | CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Robert Shipp died twice at boot camp Wednesday. Once was during a training exercise that had him swinging by a rope while wearing a gas mask.

Corps Experience

6/22/2006 | SAN DIEGO – Matt and Robert Shipp struggled to stay alert Tuesday morning, their first morning at Marine boot camp. The twins from Hauser Lake, Idaho, had already gone 30 hours without sleep and would need to muster the energy to last another 12 hours before any rest would be permitted.

Brothers in arms

6/18/2006 | HAUSER LAKE, Idaho – The countdown is over. Robert and Matt Shipp's childhood ends today. The identical-twin brothers will be picked up from their parents' home this afternoon by a U.S. Marine, who will drive the 18-year-olds away from the forest and the lake that have been their playground for as long as they can remember.