The Umm Hajul Controversy was one of many cases of fratricide committed during the Persian 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...

. After U.S. forces accidentally opened fire on their own men, a cover-up

Cover-up

A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...

 was attempted. A plot element of the movie Courage Under Fire

Courage Under Fire

Courage Under Fire is a 1996 film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips and Matt Damon. It is one of the first films to depict the 1991 Gulf War.-Plot:...

was based on this particular incident.

Incident

In the predawn hours of February 27, 1991, an armored personnel carrier of the 1st Armored Division

1st Armored Division (United States)

The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...

 broke down near the airfield of Umm Hajul. The five operators of the vehicle found themselves stranded in the desert when M1A1

M1A1

M1A1, M1-A1, M1 A1, or M-1A1 may refer to:* M1A1 Flamethrower, an anti-personnel weapon* a variant of the M1 Abrams battle tank* a variant of the M1 carbine* a variant of the Thompson submachine gun...

 tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicle units of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment approached from the north. Specialist Craig Walker tried signaling to the approaching forces by switching his night vision goggles

Night vision goggles

A night vision device is an optical instrument that allows images to be produced in levels of light approaching total darkness. They are most often used by the military and law enforcement agencies, but are available to civilian users...

 on and off. The vehicles suddenly fired on the engineers with high explosive rounds, mistaking their vehicle for an enemy position. The result of the high explosive rounds set off demolition charges within the engineers' armored personnel carrier. For seven minutes, the tanks and armored personnel carriers bombarded the engineers with fire. When the shooting was over, one engineer was wounded and another, Corporal Lance Fielder of Tennessee, was dead from coaxial

Coaxial

In geometry, coaxial means that two or more forms share a common axis; it is the three-dimensional linear analogue of concentric.Coaxial cable, as a common example, has a wire conductor in the centre a circumferential outer conductor and an insulating medium called the dielectric separating...

 machinegun fire.

Coverup

Shortly after the incident, false reports were filed, stating that the 3rd Cavalry took an estimated 50 Iraqi prisoners in the assault. Three Bronze Stars were awarded on the basis of misleading statements and representations, as well.

Investigation

U.S. Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee initiated a Congressional investigation into this incident, in which Lance Corporal Fielder of Nashville, Tennessee had died. The investigation resulted in the forced retirement of the commanding officer of the unit that fired shots at Fielder and others, as well as revocation of medals.