Ilario Pantano
Overview
Ilario G. Pantano is a former United States Marine Corps
second lieutenant. He has also been an author
, a television commentator, and served as a deputy sheriff in Wilmington, North Carolina
. He was a Republican Party
nominee for the US House of Representatives in 2010
.
Pantano served in the Gulf War
(Operation Desert Storm) and Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom) in Iraq. He came to national attention when he was accused of premeditated murder
in the killing of two captured insurgents, during a unit mission near Fallujah
, Iraq
on April 15, 2004.
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
second lieutenant. He has also been an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, a television commentator, and served as a deputy sheriff in Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. He was a Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for the US House of Representatives in 2010
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
The 2010 United States House of Representatives elections, also known as the 2010 midterm elections, were held on November 2, 2010, at the midpoint of President Barack Obama's first term in office. Voters of the 50 U.S. states chose 435 U.S. Representatives. Voters of the U.S...
.
Pantano served in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
(Operation Desert Storm) and Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom) in Iraq. He came to national attention when he was accused of premeditated murder
Premeditated murder
Premeditated murder is the crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension.State laws in the United States vary as to definitions...
in the killing of two captured insurgents, during a unit mission near Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
on April 15, 2004.
Quotations
I'm a New Yorker and 9/11 was a pretty significant event for me, our duty as Marines is, quite frankly, to export violence to the four corners of the globe, to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
You asked if I had regrets and I want to answer you directly. There are many things about war that I regret. War is the darkest hour of humanity, but if you ask me if I would do what I did again, I say yes.
It takes hard men willing to do hard things in order to set an example that others can and will follow.