Marine says found live children among Haditha dead

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., May 9 (Reuters) A US Marine who walked through two houses in Haditha, Iraqi minutes after other Marines killed occupants with grenades and guns found two wounded children pretending to be dead next to a deceased woman.

''I saw one breathe. That's how I knew,'' 1st Lt William Kallop testified yesterday at a military tribunal at Camp Pendleton. ''The little boy who breathed was about 6 or 7 and when I touched him, the little girl jumped up. She was about 11.'' The two injured children were the only survivors of a Marine Corps assault on two Iraqi homes near the site of a bomb attack on a Marine convoy that left one Marine dead and two injured. Prosecutors contend that the surviving Marines swept through the town on a revenge spree, killing 24 civilians with grenades and guns.

Defense lawyers for the seven Marines charged in the November 19, 2005, killings say the Marines were following procedure and orders.

Kallop, who led the first rescue team to come to the aid of the Marines struck by the bomb, testified he told Sgt. Frank Wuterich to clear two houses near the bomb site because the Marines suspected the bomb had been triggered from the houses and that insurgents were hiding within.

Later, Kallop, who has immunity from prosecution, said he did not question the Marines' reports nor wonder if their actions had been proper.

''At the time I thought my Marines had a good understanding of the rules of engagement and when they gave me a back brief, I said 'Roger that, good to go,''' Kallop said.

PRAISED BY THE PRESIDENT Kallop testified yesterday at the hearing for Capt. Randy Stone, one of four officers -- a lieutenant colonel, two captains and a lieutenant -- not present at the killings who were charged with failing to report and investigate the killings. Three other Marines are charged with murder.

Sgt. Frank Wuterich, one of three Marines facing murder charges, went into the houses on his orders, Kallop said.

''I pointed to a group of buildings and said 'Flush them out, try to find the trigger man,''' Kallop testified, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.

Minutes later, after Wuterich's squad finished, Kallop walked through the two houses, where the majority of the 24 victims died, either from grenades or gunfire.

''I thought 'Hey, what the crap, why aren't there any bad guys, any insurgents here?''' Kallop said. ''I thought that was within the rules of engagement because the squad leader was about to kick in a door and walk into a machine gun nest.'' A few months before the 2005 incident, Bush singled out Stone in a speech marking the 60th anniversary of VJ Day. ''He's guided by the same convictions (the World War Two generation) carried into battle. He shares the same willingness to serve a cause greater than himself,'' Bush said of Stone.

Stone, 34, could face a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a dishonorable discharge. Yesterday's proceeding was an Article 32 hearing in which a military court reviews whether there is enough evidence to bring the matter to trial.

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