LONGVIEW — A 2013 Toledo High School graduate was one of 18 U.S. Marines stationed on the walls of the U.S Embassy in Baghdad on New Years Eve when dozens of pro-Iranian protesters stormed its walls and thousands more gathered outside.
Harley McNew helped protect the compound as protesters set fire to a reception area in what the Associated Press called “one of the worst attacks on the embassy in recent memory.” All American personnel remained safe, according to the State Department, and military officials deployed another 120 Marines and other troops as reinforcements.
McNew could not be reached for comment Thursday. But during a one-minute phone call with his cousin Branden McNew late Thursday morning, he told the family the embassy was “put on high alert for ongoing issues.”
Harley McNew, 25, is a member of the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group, a select group of security guards tasked with protecting embassy personnel and preventing the compromise of national security information and equipment. He’s about halfway into his three-year term, during which he will serve in a different embassy each year.
“He got into intelligence (to start). … The embassy duty is kind of a special assignment,” his cousin said. “They don’t take many people.”
Harley McNew transferred to the Baghdad embassy in October after a year serving in Berlin.
“(Berlin) was like a vacation, it sounded like. … Then he goes to Baghdad, and it’s like a culture shock for him,” said his father, Mike McNew of Toledo.
Military tensions rose recently after an American contractor died in a rocket attack that U.S. officials blame on the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah militias, according to AP reports. The U.S. retaliated with airstrikes last week, killing 25 Hezbollah fighters, an act that in turn triggered the New Years embassy attack.
“I’ve been following the protests over there ever since he (Harley) got there. … I think this was more of a publicity stunt on Iran’s part, because Hezbollah were trying to get the world view against the U.S.,” Mike McNew said.
Mike McNew learned of the attack around 4 a.m. on New Years Eve while he was loading a truck of logs near Toutle. He “researched” the internet to learn more until receiving a quick, “cryptic” call from his son.
“He said if anything happened to him, Sally (his sister) would know what to do. He called with that cryptic message, and I happened to be in a good spot, so I pulled over and I called my father and let him know.”
Once he dropped off the logs at the mill, McNew drove to Winlock to watch a live feed of the attack with Harley’s grandfather Bill McNew.
“He’s our grandson, and we are really proud of him. But we want him to be safe, and he’s in a dangerous spot over there serving his country,” said Bill McNew, an Army veteran.
After the protesters retreated, Harley McNew called his dad to recount the experience. He told his father the siege lasted 33 hours, and he was “in a position for 14 hours straight, armed, firing tear gas,” Mike McNew said.
Branden McNew said his cousin told him later that New Years Eve “was a pretty wild day.”
“Their job is unique from other Marines. What they do is more like law enforcement. They use the same kinds of techniques and tactics that local law enforcement uses, like less-lethal munition,” said Branden McNew, a Longview Police corporal. “That’s kind of my jam here in the local area, so it was interesting to see his experience with it over there.”
Although they worry often about his safety, McNew family members said they are proud of him. Becoming a Marine was a lifelong goal for the Toledo High School graduate, who is a third-generation service member.
“He was a bookworm, and he read all about the wars,” said Mike McNew, a Navy veteran. “Actually going through school, during Pearl Harbor day they had him give lectures to classes.”
A “weakness” in one of his eyes kept him out of the service for several years, but McNew never stopped trying to find a way to serve. His cousin said he was “persistent, and his persistence paid off.”
Hearing that their family member helped protect embassy personnel from the militia’s attack was “a moment of pride” for the McNews.
“To hear there were 18 (Marines) but hundreds to thousands of Iraqis outside made me proud,” Branden McNew said. “I like knowing that my (family) name is on a uniform over there.”
