Ilario Pantano

Ilario Pantano

Ilario Gregory Pantano (born August 28, 1971) 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 Iraqi captives, during a unit mission near Fallujah, Iraq on April 15, 2004. An article 32 hearing found no credible evidence or testimony for the accusation and declined to prosecute Pantano, dropping all charges. The day after the charges were dropped, forensic evidence from the autopsies of the two Iraqis corroborated Pantano's testimony - that he shot the Iraqi captives as they moved toward him. Shortly thereafter, Pantano was offered another platoon command back in Iraq. Claiming terrorist threats against his family, he resigned his officer's commission and was honorably discharged. These events and his other experiences as a combat Marine during the Persian Gulf War and in Iraq in 2004 are the subject of his memoir, Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy.