Douglas Alexander Zembiec (April 14, 1973 – May 11, 2007), nicknamed the "Lion of Fallujah"Alt URL
/ref> and also referred to as the "Unapologetic Warrior", was an officer in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and member of the CIA's Special Activities Division's Ground Branch who was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

while serving in

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. He is best known for his actions during Operation Vigilant Resolve, which were detailed in the book ''No True Glory'' by

Bing West Francis J. "Bing" West Jr. (born May 2, 1940) is an American author, Marine combat veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration. West writes about the military, warfightin ...

and for an article that ran in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' following his death.

Biography

Early life

Doug Zembiec was born on April 14, 1973, in Kealakekua,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. He attended La Cueva High School in Albuquerque,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, where he was a New Mexico state high school wrestling champion in 1990 and 1991. As a wrestler, Zembiec was the first New Mexico State Champion in any sport and the first repeat winner from La Cueva High School. He was undefeated in competition his senior year. He attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

where he was a member of 23rd Company, and a collegiate wrestler compiling a 95–21–1 record and finishing as a two-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. His fellow wrestlers sometimes referred to him as "The Snake" for his anaconda-like grip. Zembiec was well known amongst his contemporaries throughout his athletic and professional life for his exceptional physical fitness. His coach, Reginald Wicks, referred to him as "the best-conditioned athlete I've ever been around." Zembiec graduated on May 31, 1995.

Military career

Upon graduation from the Naval Academy, Zembiec was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. After finishing The Basic School, and the Infantry Officer's Course, he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marines as a rifle platoon commander in Bravo Company, starting April 1996. After successfully passing the Force Reconnaissance Selection and Indoctrination in June 1997, Zembiec transferred to 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company. As part of his training for Force Reconnaissance, Zembiec completed Jump School as well as the Marine Combatant Diver Course. He served for two and a half years as a platoon commander, eight months as an interim company commander, and one month as an operations officer. Zembiec's Force Reconnaissance platoon was among the first special operations forces to enter

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

during Operation Joint Guardian in June 1999.Archived
/ref> In September 2000, he was transferred to the Amphibious Reconnaissance School (ARS) located in Fort Story, Virginia, and served as the Assistant Officer-In-Charge (AOIC) for two years. In 2001, Zembiec competed in the Armed Forces Eco-Challenge as team captain of Team Force Recon Rolls Royce. From ARS, Zembiec was selected to attend the Marine Corps' Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Virginia, graduating in May 2003. Following the Expeditionary Warfare School he took command of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in July 2003. He was nicknamed the "Lion of Fallujah" as a result of his heroic actions commanding Echo Company during Operation Vigilant Resolve (also known as the First Battle of Fallujah) in 2004 as well as comments he made extolling the heroism of his Marines, saying "they fought like lions". As a rifle company commander, he led 168 Marines and Navy Corpsmen in the first conventional ground assault into Fallujah. During one engagement, he ran out from cover despite heavy machine gun and RPG fire, jumped on an allied tank to help direct its fire, then returned to cover unscathed. A fellow officer stated "The jaws of every Marine there had dropped. It was like, 'Did he just do that?' I am a God-fearing man, but he just sort of walked on water that day". His company suffered two KIA and 50 wounded during the battle. The letter he wrote to the family of Lance Cpl. Aaron C. Austin was included in the Operation Homecoming book released in 2006. As a result, he earned the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device and the Purple Heart. He turned over command of Echo Company in October 2004 and served as an assistant operations officer at the Marine Corps' First Special Operations Training Group (1st SOTG) where he ran the urban patrolling / Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) and tank-infantry training packages for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in preparation for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. Zembiec transferred from 1st SOTG to the Regional Support Element, Headquarters, Marine Corps on June 10, 2005. His promotion to Major was effective on July 1, 2005.

Death

Zembiec was serving in the Ground Branch of the CIA's Special Activities Division in Iraq when he was killed by small arms fire while leading a raid in Sadr City, a neighborhood of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, on May 11, 2007. Zembiec was leading a unit of Iraqi forces he had helped train. Reports from fellow servicemen that were present when he was killed indicate that he had warned his troops to get down before doing so himself and was hit by enemy fire. The initial radio report indicated "five wounded and one martyred" with Zembiec having been killed and his men saved by his warning. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions that day. On May 16, 2007, a funeral mass was held at the Naval Academy Chapel with nearly 1,000 in attendance, about 40 of whom were enlisted Marines. It was a testament to the honor and respect his former Marines held him in as one officer observed "Your men have to follow your orders; they don't have to go to your funeral". Later that day he was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

, Grave Number 8621, Section Number 60. Shortly after his death, he was honored with a star on the CIA Memorial Wall, which remembers CIA employees who died while in service. Although Zembiec's star officially remains anonymous as of July 2014, his CIA employment was confirmed in interviews with his widow and former U.S. intelligence officials. In July 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates publicly lost his composure, showing signs of grief, while discussing Zembiec during a speech. Zembiec was also prominently featured in a high-profile column in ''

'' in September 2007. In November 2007, Zembiec's high school alma mater, La Cueva High School, inducted him as the charter member of their hall of fame and named the wrestling room in his honor. The

announced that Zembiec would be awarded the 2008 NCAA Award of Valor. In January 2008 General David Petraeus, Commander of Multi-National Force – Iraq, dedicated the helipad at Camp Victory located at Baghdad International Airport in Zembiec's name. He referred to Zembiec as "a true charter member of the brotherhood of the close fight." Zembiec is survived by his mother and his wife and daughter, Pamela and Fallyn. In May 2008, the United States Naval Academy created an award presented annually to the graduating midshipman who exhibits exemplary leadership and drive to be an outstanding Marine Officer. This award is presented in his honor and is named the Maj. Doug Zembiec Award. On May 11, 2009, a petition was presented to the

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

to have the next to be commissioned named after Zembiec. The swimming pool located at the Marine Corps' Henderson Hall is named in honor of Zembiec. By order of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Douglas A. Zembiec Award for Outstanding small unit Leadership in Special Operations was created on April 11, 2011, to annually recognize the Marine officer who "best exemplifies outstanding leadership as a Team Leader in the United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command, Marine Corps Special Operations Community."

Quotes

Zembiec left many volumes of personal writings behind, some of which were shared at his funeral. The final words of the eulogy, delivered by his friend Eric L. Kapitulik, related some of those writings: Kapitulik said the creed came from the man who knew Zembiec the longest, as indicated by his written description: "Principles my father taught me." Other quotes: "Killing is not wrong if it's for a purpose, if it's to keep your nation free or protect your buddy. One of the most noble things you can do is kill the enemy."

Awards

Silver Star Citation

Citation:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Major Douglas Alexander Zembiec, United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as a Marine Advisor, Iraq Assistance Group, Multi-National Corps, Iraq, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 11 May 2007. Attacking from concealed and fortified positions, an enemy force engaged Major Zembiec's assault team, firing crew-served automatic weapons and various small arms. He boldly moved forward and immediately directed the bulk of his assault team to take cover. Under withering enemy fire, Major Zembiec remained in an exposed, but tactically critical, position in order to provide leadership and direct effective suppressive fire on the enemy combatant positions with his assault team's machine gun. In doing so, he received the brunt of the enemy's fire, was struck and succumbed to his wounds. Emboldened by his actions his team and supporting assault force aggressively engaged the enemy combatants. Major Zembiec's quick thinking and timely action to re-orient his team's machine gun enabled the remaining members of his unit to rapidly and accurately engage the primary source of the enemy's fire saving the lives of his comrades. By his bold initiative, undaunted courage, and complete dedication to duty, Major Zembiec reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Commendations

Zembiec's military decorations include:

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Department of Defense "Heroes in the Global War on Terror" Profile

Eulogy transcriptArchived

Secretary Gates' comments regarding Maj ZembiecArchived

Marine Corps Association's transcript of Secretary Gate's comments

Secretary Gates' comments regarding Major Zembiec at 26:30 markArchived

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110522095635/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/photography/la-0517-fallen-f,1,5977810.flash?coll=la-headlines-photography&ctrack=2&cset=true Los Angeles Times Photo/Audio Feature]
Maj. Zembiec Helipad Dedication
2 February 2008, video ID 34718
Legacy.com "Guestbook for Majr. Douglas A. Zembiec"

ttps://archive.today/20220825220311/https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/print.html%23/arlington-national/burial/38440/ Archived {{DEFAULTSORT:Zembiec, Douglas A. 1973 births 2007 deaths American male sport wrestlers American military personnel killed in the Iraq War Assassinated CIA agents Burials at Arlington National Cemetery La Cueva High School alumni Navy Midshipmen wrestlers Recipients of the Silver Star United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of the Kosovo War United States Marine Corps personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 20th-century American sportsmen