These are the real stories from Iraq

[FactsOfLife]

Since the media in this country refuses to bring us nothing but doom from Iraq, I guess it's up to us to show what is really going on over there.

As often as I can find these stories, I'll be posting them.

The following story is a bonus for me, this Marine and his family live in my neighborhood.

HOORAH!

Subject: A Real Hero

May 07 Lonsberry Column

Maybe you'd like to hear about a real American, somebody who honored the uniform he wears.

Meet Brian Chontosh.

Churchville-Chili Central School class of 1991. Proud graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Husband and about-to-be father. First lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.


At 29 Palms in California Brian Chontosh was presented with the Navy Cross, the second highest award for combat bravery the United States can bestow.


It was a year ago on the march into Baghdad. Brian Chontosh was a platoon leader rolling up Highway 1 in a humvee.

When all hell broke loose.

Ambush city.

The young Marines were being cut to ribbons. Mortars, machine guns, rocket propelled grenades. And the kid out of Churchville was in charge. It was do or die and it was up to him.


So he moved to the side of his column, looking for a way to lead his men to safety. As he tried to poke a hole through the Iraqi line his humvee came under direct enemy machine gun fire.


It was fish in a barrel and the Marines were the fish.

And Brian Chontosh gave the order to attack. He told his driver to floor the humvee directly at the machine gun emplacement that was firing at them. And he had the guy on top with the .50 cal unload on them.


Within moments there were Iraqis slumped across the machine gun and Chontosh was still advancing, ordering his driver now to take the humvee directly into the Iraqi trench that was attacking his Marines. Over into the battlement the humvee went and out the door Brian Chontosh bailed, carrying an M16 and a Beretta and 228 years of Marine Corps pride.


And he ran down the trench.

With its mortars and riflemen, machineguns and grenadiers.

And he killed them all.

He fought with the M16 until he was out of ammo. Then he fought with the Beretta until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up a dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo. Then he picked up another dead man's AK47 and fought with that until it was out of ammo.


At one point he even fired a discarded Iraqi RPG into an enemy cluster, sending attackers flying with its grenade explosion.


When he was done Brian Chontosh had cleared 200 yards of entrenched Iraqis from his platoon's flank. He had killed more than 20 and wounded at least as many more.


But that's probably not how he would tell it.

He would probably merely say that his Marines were in trouble, and he got them out of trouble. Hoo-ah, and drive on.

"By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, unlimited courage in the face of heavy enemy fire, and utmost devotion to duty, 1st Lt. Chontosh reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."


- by Bob Lonsberry © 2004

[penguinpunk555]

That's our boys.

[Target Practice]

Man, stories like that just make me proud. Damn proud. Keep givin' em Hell, guys.

[WingMan13]

Hoorah!!!!!

[-Jôker-]

that action sounds like he met criteria for/deserves the medal of honor

[devildog]

i posted this in another thread, but ill move it over here. i have loads and loads of these stories, ill keep posting them here.

i know its kind of long, but its well worth it.




The 15 Marines were trapped in a house, surrounded by hundreds of Iraqis
armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, their armored
vehicle in flames on the street outside. Each man was down to his last two
magazines. (that's a total of 40 rounds for both magazines)

"It was in my head, we just got to go. Whoever makes it back, makes it back,
those who fall, fall," said Staff Sergeant Ismail Sagredo, sitting in the
relative safety of Bravo Company's forward base yesterday, as mortars and
machine-gun fire sounded a few streets away.

"That was the decision I'd have had to make, and I'm glad I didn't have to
do it."

It was one of the most dramatic actions of the war.

Sergeant Sagredo, 35, had been in one of two Amphibious Assault Vehicles
running out from the Marines' front-line close to the center of Fallujah,
trying to trap insurgents who had ambushed a supply vehicle.

But as they headed down the narrow, parallel streets of Fallujah, where
Sunni tribesmen have battled the Marines for more than a week, their vehicle
came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), the guerrillas'
weapon of choice.

Unable to turn the large vehicle around, the squad charged their attackers,
but lost contact when they hit a bend in the road. They were driving into
unknown territory. Then they turned another corner and saw hundreds of
guerrillas.

"I've never seen so many RPGs. A lot of them were propped up against the
walls with extra rounds," said the sergeant.

The Iraqis, not expecting a lone American vehicle so far behind their lines,
ran frantically for their weapons as the Marines opened up with M16 rifles
and machine-guns.

Rockets started smashing into their vehicle. One pierced the armor at the
front, taking a large chunk out of the leg of Lieutenant Christopher Ayres,
the officer in command. The rocket did not explode, but hit the engine,
setting it ablaze.

Still under intense fire, the driver swerved south along a route known to
the Marines as "Sh**head Alley", desperate to find a turning to the east,
towards their own lines. The gunner was dead from enemy fire, and several
men had been knocked down by the continuing rounds of missiles.

The blaze was spreading toward the stockpiles of grenades when the engine
gave out completely.

With the engine dead, the rear gate would not open. The men had to climb out
of the hatch one by one, still taking small-arms fire. Luckily for them,
their dash down the gauntlet of Sh**head Alley had left their attackers - up
to 600 of them -- behind. But only for a while.

"When we stepped out I was relieved. At least I wasn't going to burn," said
Lance Corporal Abraham McCarver, a machinegunner.

The men had to help Lieutenant Ayres, who was crawling blindly toward the
fire. Sergeant Sagredo and Corporal McCarver pulled him, but his webbing
caught on a rack.

They were still taking fire, conscious that the vehicle could explode at any
moment. Then the webbing ripped, and they carried the wounded officer to a
nearby house, kicking down the door.

The Marines took up firing positions on the roof as more than 150 Iraqi
gunmen converged on the small house.

"All the Iraqis surged south to join the festivities," Sergeant Sagredo
said. He now found himself in charge of an impossible situation reminiscent
of scenes in Black Hawk Down, the film of a doomed US raid in Somalia that
the sergeant had seen back home in America.

"It did remind me of that soldier being dragged through the streets back
then," he said, aware that a similarly gruesome scene had involved four US
contractors just streets away, the trigger for the Marines' invasion of
Fallujah.

Ironically, Bravo Company's call-sign is Blackhawk.

The Marines could hear the Iraqi fighters shouting outside, could see their
feet shadowed under the front gate.

"I opened a window because I heard voices and I thought it was Americans,"
said Corporal Koreyan Calloway. "There was a guy in a headscarf with an
AK-47
standing there looking at me, so I shot him."

The attackers were darting down narrow alleyways beside the house, and
lobbing grenades from neighboring rooftops.

"They were running across our line of fire like we weren't even shooting at
them," the corporal said.

"It was just like a range, we were just shooting them down," said Corporal
Jacob Palofax.

In the midst of the firefight, with the armored vehicle's munitions blowing
up, an ambulance pulled up. The Marines thought they were being rescued.
Instead, 15 men with RPGs jumped out and started firing.

The Americans were almost out of bullets. An Iraqi round hit a kitchen pipe
and gas started whistling out as RPGs slammed into the building.

A guerrilla burst through the gate with an RPG and was shot dead. Another
tried to follow and was wounded.

"Then the men started shouting that they could hear tanks. The first one
went past, then the second," Sergeant Sagredo said.

Horrified that the rescuers would miss him, Sergeant Sagredo radioed to tell
them to back up. They did. A rifle muzzle appeared through the gate, and
Captain Jason Smith of the 5th Marine Regiment came through shouting:
"Marines, Marines, friendlies!"

It took an hour for the tanks to hook up with the burnt-out vehicle, but
they were determined not to leave a dead Marine behind inside it.

Sergeant Sagredo does not want a medal for saving his men. "A decoration
would only remind me of what happened. This is something I want to forget.
Unfortunately, if it doesn't affect me now, I know it will haunt me later."




Pain is Temporary,
...Pride is Forever.

[Steelrat]

That guy deserves the Medal of Honor. That is an outstanding feat.

[t33kyboy]

dang he picked up dead peoples guns, what a stud.

[Wolfen]

It's stories like these that clean out the coagulation of hatred and spite that gets jammed in our heads by the media every single day. I don't understand how stories like these can't bring in ratings they so desperately crave. Every day I hear of another soldier dying, every day I hear of a new scandal, every day I hear of another politician trying to further his career through ANY means necessary, every day more of the bad is brought to light, and more good is shoved away. I'm tired of it.

Army, Devildog, Edweird, Oldsoldier, lopxtc, Yamz, and anyone else who has ever served or is still enlisted; I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all that you have done for us, for me. Thank you for your sacrifices, and thank your families for their's as well. For those of you still fighting, for those that have fought, you all are in my prayers.

(I'll be adding to the list of those who have served or are serving now as I find them. I want to be able to thank each and every one on these boards.)

[Konigballer]

hell yeah!

That Marine was doing one hell of a Audie Murphy impression, though I doubt the guerillas liked it. :)

[1stdeadeye]

Forget the medals! Give those guys their own movies and the $$ that goes with them! Real Heros!!!

By the way Sean Hannity has helped to create the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. It is to provide full college scholarships for the children of military personel killed in Iraq! Great cause! They are even holding a concert at 6 Flags in June! Great cause. here is the link! (http://www.freedomalliance.org/)

[FactsOfLife]

Forget the medals! Give those guys their own movies and the $$ that goes with them! Real Heros!!!

By the way Sean Hannity has helped to create the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. It is to provide full college scholarships for the children of military personel killed in Iraq! Great cause! They are even holding a concert at 6 Flags in June! Great cause. here is the link! (http://www.freedomalliance.org/)


I've donated $1000 to this fund, I am challenging AO as a group to match it.

Come on guys, if each one of you donated the cost of a decent case of paint, we'd do it in record time.

[1stdeadeye]

I donated $100.00 on Tuesday the first time I heard about it on the Sean Hannity Show.

Why give to this cause? Because 100% of the money raised goes toward scholarships for the children of service personel killed in Iraq/Afghanistan. This is not political, this is America taking care of her own.

[FactsOfLife]

Nice 1st :)

[Python14]

After prom, I'm mailing a check for $50. It will be my first major donation other than the $10 subtracted from my paycheck that goes to the Rescue Mission(that's the benefit of working for the Rescue Mission of Roanoke)

[abunkerer]

Not for the squeamish, very moving though


http://members.cox.net/classicweb/Heroes/heroes.htm

[Load SM5]

I've already donated a $100 to Hannity's cause this month and hope to give another next month. It's a great cause. Very generous FOL.

Great thread guys.

[1stdeadeye]

I've already donated a $100 to Hannity's cause this month and hope to give another next month. It's a great cause. Very generous FOL.

Great thread guys.

Great Load! We are 1/4 of the way to matching Facts! :D

[FactsOfLife]

Come on you guys, show me what AO can do for our servicepeople that have given the ultimate for their countries.


This fund is a ONE HUNDRED PERCENT payback.

That's right, 100% of the funds goes directly to the recipients of the charity.

And those are the children of the fallen men and women who have died in Iraq fighting terrorism.

This monies collected are going to pay for the college educations of their children.

I hear a lot of support for our troops here on AO, put your money where your mouth is!

Any donation is worthwhile!

[micromag02]

All I have to say about that link is damn. About those stories, as a former Marine it makes me very proud to hear them. It's not really a suprise though, Marines have been doing things like that since 1775. Those Marines are simply keeping the tradition alive. Semper Fi brothers!

[1stdeadeye]

Cleaned up too!

[personman]

I 'cleaned' my post or whatever.
I honestly do not see how someone could say 'death to all soldiers'.
Most soldiers are in service because they want to serve their country, not because they want to get paid to kill arabs.. anyone who wants that has issues. I always have and always will respect members of the armed forces. My dad served as a marine post-WW2 in Japan for a while when he was young.
It hurts me to hear 'death to all soldiers'.

[trevorjk]

i sent 11$ as it was all the money to my name... and i will gladly send more every paycheck in Spectras name (some know of wich i speak :cool: )

[Load SM5]

5pectre has been banned for coming into a thread specifically to cause problems and flame. All his posts have been wiped. Everyone feel free to clean your responses up as well, and get this thread back on track.

This thread is for stories about soldiers, and will not be politicized on my watch.

[arsonpaintball06]

i guess that is refering to me lol .......ill clean her up

[trevorjk]

cleaned up :)

[cphilip]

Keep cleaning. I still feel dirty still from that guy. I mean no matter what your slant on this war NO ONE could even blame nor not want to help the guys and gals families... NO ONE!

Keep it clean. Think first.

[FactsOfLife]

CORPORAL JASON L. DUNHAM, USMC

SCIO, N.Y. – This is a small town outside of a small town, in the hills of Western New York, where most people work with their hands and their backs.

Where the men chew tobacco and drive pick-ups, where the women make pies and babies and look after husbands who live large and loud.

It’s a place so rural most Americans can’t imagine it, but a place so pure most Americans can’t forget it. It’s the place where we all grew up, or at least the place where we all dreamed of growing up, watching Mayberry or reading Huckleberry, skipping school to splash in the creek and run barefoot through the fields.

It’s that kind of place. The land of the free and the home of the brave.

And they had a funeral here on Saturday.

Up at the gym where the Tigers play. At least a thousand came, to hear the talks and see the casket rest underneath the basketball hoop. Then most of them walked the couple hundred yards up to the cemetery to see the Marines fire the guns and fold the flag.

It was the biggest thing ever to happen around here.

From all accounts, he was a great kid. Nice to people, not stuck up about his good looks or athletic ability. He was popular in school, where his mother teaches, and knew most of the younger kids in town because he’d babysat them one time or another. And in a place like Scio – pronounced sigh-oh, with the accent on the first syllable – it seems everybody knows everybody.

He wanted to go to college, but he didn’t have the grades for it. So he went in the Marine Corps.

That’s an easy thing to say – “He went in the Marine Corps” – but people who’ve never done it can’t begin to understand what it means. To lie in bed at the position of attention and sing the Marines Hymn every night at boot camp, to wear arguably the most honored uniform in the world, to be part of something larger and more noble than yourself. It gets into you.

And it got into him.

At least that’s what you figure from what happened.

It was two weeks ago in Karbala on check-point duty. There had been an attack on a convoy and things were a little tense and the 22-year-old from Scio was large and in charge, a squad leader with some cars to stop and some Marines to protect and, out of nowhere, one of these Iraqi guys starts running. Out of a car and away like crazy and the Scio kid was on him. The big farm boy fighting for somebody else’s freedom and from what the report said the Iraqi turned and let loose with a grenade.

In a movie, things would go into slow motion at a time like that. The rolling grenade, no pin, the Iraqi, your two buddies, all kind of slow on the screen. But life is never slow motion, there’s never time to think or calculate, there’s only time to act. You do what you do.

The cemetery in Scio stretches back from the main street up a side hill. The oldest graves are near the road and the newest graves are higher up, in the rear, above the level of the town. From the back of the cemetery, near where the mound of daisies and asters, roses and carnations, lies fresh and alone, you can look back down the hill and across the road to a house with two flags – one for the country and one for the corps.

It was a split-second, really, one of those split-seconds we remember for an eternity, when something so singular and sacred is done that the world stops and notices. Or maybe it doesn’t. Maybe there are just a few, and the angels in heaven.

It was the grenade and the Iraqi and the buddies and he threw himself on it.

They were his men and he was the corporal and he was a Marine and he was an American and he grew up in Scio and he threw himself on it.

And he was so strong it took him eight days to die.

That was at Bethesda Naval Hospital with his parents at his side. He never regained consciousness.

Somebody posted this on a website about what happened:

“There is only one word for a man who would throw himself on a grenade to save his squad –

“Marine.”

His two buddies made it through. Because he used his body to shield them.

Because that’s what a man does.

That’s what an American fighting man does.

From a place like Scio.

Where this weekend there were yellow ribbons on the trees around the school, and on the utility poles, leading up to the cemetery with the mound of fresh flowers.

And the little metal marker from the funeral home.

Cpl Jason L. Dunham, 1982 – 2004.

[Load SM5]

Speaking of heroes I got to meet one today. Huntsville, AL. resident Michael J. Durant was signing copies of his new book, 'In the Company of Heroes'. I had him sign a few copies for me and talked with him for a bit.

[Wolfen]

Had to get back from school, but mine's cleaned, thanks Phil :)

[1stdeadeye]

Speaking of heroes I got to meet one today. Huntsville, AL. resident Michael J. Durant was signing copies of his new book, 'In the Company of Heroes'. I had him sign a few copies for me and talked with him for a bit.

He is the pilot captured in Somalia played by Shep in Blackhawk Down right?

Thanks for the clean up too!

[Load SM5]

Yea, helluva nice guy too.

Here's the pic he's best known for.

http://i.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1993/1101931018_400.jpg

[Beemer]

SLEEP LAST NIGHT?
Bed a little Bumpy...
Toss and turn...

Wish the heat was a bit higher...

Maybe the AC wasn't on...

Had to go to the john...

Needed a drink of water...


?

?

?

Scroll down




http://home.comcast.net/~beemer2/Iraq.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~beemer2/Iraq1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~beemer2/Iraq2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~beemer2/Iraq3.jpg


Yes....

It IS like that!
so........
Count your blessings, pray for them,
Talk to your Creator
and the next time when...
the other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes,
or
you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be,
or
you're served slightly warm food at the restaurant,
or
you're sitting and cursing the traffic in front of you,
or
the shower runs out of hot water,

Think of them...
Protecting your freedom!


The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute To our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is By taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel. It would be awesome if you could find a way to share this with our fellow countrymen. I was wondering if there was any way to get this into your papers to let the world know that "WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN" and are proud to serve our country." Semper Fi
1stSgt Dave Jobe

The attached photo was forwarded from one of the last U.S. Marine companies in Iraq. They would like to have it passed to as many people as possible, to let the folks back home know that they remember why they're there and that they remember those who've been lost.


http://home.comcast.net/~beemer2/Iraq4.jpg

[Beemer]

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=135676

Leaves ya speechless

[Beemer]

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF A DIGITAL CAMERA: SOLDIERS AS HEROS TO FREED IRAQIS
Mon May 10 2004 23:09:13 ET

Here's images you will not see in the NEW YORKER or on 60 MINUTES:

American soldiers welcomed as heros in Iraq!

As the world's satellites and printing presses await fresh images of troop horrors and abuse, soldiers on the ground e-mailed these snaps of warm greetings from some of Iraq's women and children.

[1stdeadeye]

The attached photo was forwarded from one of the last U.S. Marine companies in Iraq. They would like to have it passed to as many people as possible, to let the folks back home know that they remember why they're there and that they remember those who've been lost.


http://home.comcast.net/~beemer2/Iraq4.jpg

I love that Pic!

I am forwarding it out ASAP!!!

[Beemer]

This picture of the statue was made by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. This artist was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country, he melted 3 of the fallen Saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the American soldiers and their fallen comrades. Kalat worked on this night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms. It is currently on display outside the palace that is now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas.



According to the Army News Service (ARNEWS), the text reproduced above is a relatively accurate description of the statue shown in the photograph accompanying it.

In July 2003, two statues of Saddam Hussein, which an Iraqi sculptor named Kalat had a hand in creating, were removed with explosives from outside a palace complex in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, Iraq, where the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division headquarters group is located. The 555th Engineer Group cut up the bronze statues and shipped the pieces to Kalat, who — using a photograph of 1st Sgt. Glen Simpson as a model — spent several months fashioning them them into a likeness of an American soldier kneeling to mourn a fallen comrade, while a young girl reaches out to comfort him in his time of grief.

According to ARNEWS:

The sculpture is based on a scene many in Iraq have witnessed in one form or another.

A Soldier kneels before a memorial of boots, rifle and helmet — his forehead resting in the hollow of his hand. Behind and to his right stands a small Iraqi girl with her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder.

The statue evokes emotion. The girl was added to the statue to remind people of why the sacrifice was made, [Command Sgt. Maj. Chuck] Fuss said.

"It's about freedom for this country, but it's also about the children who will grow up in a free society," he said.
The statue will eventually be flown to the 4th Infantry Division museum at Fort Hood, Texas.

[FactsOfLife]

Cpl Jason Dunham may be awarded the MOH for his actions in Iraq.

If anyone is deserving of this extraordinary commendation it is he.

Hoorah Dunham!

[Beemer]

Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, 22, of Scio, N.Y.; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, at Twentynine Palms, Calif.; killed in action April 22 in Anbar province, Iraq.

[-Carnifex-]

Jacksonville, N.C.—In her tiny voice, Bobbie Ann Mason was comparing herself to the protagonist of her 1985 novel, In Country: a young girl growing up in Kentucky during the Vietnam War.

She was speaking to a couple of dozen people here at Camp Lejeune, a handful of U.S. Marines and family members of Marines.

This was a writer's workshop, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, and Mason was reminded of Sam, her character, because they both share a hunger for information about strife in a faraway land.

"I think we all want to know what it's like," Mason said.

War, she meant. Iraq, she meant.

"Let's start with the sand," Mason said. "I've been thinking about the sand. I'm wondering, how do you describe that sand?"

Off to the side in the front row, Sgt. Steven Sparks, about to embark on his second tour of duty in Iraq, raised his hand and described a sensation of time travel, the strangeness of crossing a biblical plain in a 21st-century military vehicle.

"It was so ancient, so old," he said.

It was a small, electric moment — precisely the kind of moment the NEA hopes the writing program will spark again and again.

War stories occupy one of literature's longest, weightiest shelves, and American fighting men, from Ulysses S. Grant to Jarhead author Anthony Swofford, have set down their battle-forged memoirs.

But these days, the military and literary worlds barely overlap.

"These are two parts of society that don't ordinarily talk to each other," says NEA chair Dana Gioia. "And we thought, what would happen if we got them in a conversation?"

The program, called "Operation Homecoming: Writing The Wartime Experience," is aimed at preserving stories from the battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The NEA expects to hold about 20 workshops at military installations by next spring, with a formidable roster of writers selected by an independent panel of editors.

The lineup includes military-thriller heavyweights Jeff Shaara and Tom Clancy, as well as prominent literary lights Tobias Wolff and Richard Bausch.

"I think the program is stupendous," said Maj.-Gen. Douglas V. O'Dell, commanding general of the Marines' antiterrorist brigade, who admitted to writing poetry himself, though he didn't volunteer to recite any.

"It's extremely valuable for its cathartic possibilities, and I hope it will give a voice to what's going to be, in my opinion, a greater generation than the one Tom Brokaw wrote about."

At Camp Lejeune, a sprawling base that's home to 40,000 Marines, workshops were taught by Mason, fellow novelist Erin McGraw and poet Andrew Hudgins.

There were the familiar, irrelevant questions: How do you find an agent? How do you decide whether to write a poem or a story? And the writers dispensed the tried-and-true advice that has been dispensed to fledgling writers since time immemorial: Be specific. Write every day.

"If you all go home thinking, `Journals and details, journals and details,' we've done our job," McGraw said.

Many of the fledgling writers encountered here say they are angry that their stories are only being told — inadequately and inaccurately — by the news media and civilian authors.

Sparks, 31, is disappointed that reporters in Iraq are not telling his story or the stories of his comrades.

"As far as I can tell, most people feel the losses we're sustaining are acceptable losses until something happens to someone they know," he said.

"Maybe if some of these Marines could get out and write their stories, people wouldn't feel that way."

A well-spoken signals intelligence analyst from York, Pa., Sparks spent six months in Iraq in 2003 and expects to be there again by the end of this month.

He has written on and off about his experience in the war but worries about expressing the kinds of feelings that he hadn't disclosed to anyone.

"There are a lot of feelings I had that I haven't spoken to my wife about, and I don't want to hurt her," he said. "But they come out when I start to write."

Still, he feels "a responsibility for something larger than myself."

Sgt. José Torres, 27, from Lorain, Ohio, was severely injured in Nasiriya when the war began and has written some 200 pages describing the day that changed his life and its aftermath.

Torres is not a literary type. He relates the details of his ordeal evenly and undramatically, without the pace or practise of an accomplished storyteller but with an evident eagerness to make himself heard.

"I suffered a broken femur, shattered pelvis, my left buttock was blown completely off, I had open abdominal wounds," he said, adding that it took 22 operations to put him back together.

Julia Adams, A former Marine and wife of a fighter pilot, attended the seminar in hopes of helping her husband write about his experiences in Afghanistan.

"One thing we talk a lot about is the ability to live with killing," she said. "It's something he grapples with, and he's been writing a journal. But there's a lot of stuff he didn't want to share with me while he was there.

"So, what I want to know is: How can they delve into those feelings at a healthy level?"

__________________________________________________ _____________________________________

NORTHAMPTON - When his turn came to speak at the community dialogue on the Iraq War, Staff Sgt. Jimmy Massey of the United States Marines Corps chewed his gum slowly and slowly scanned the 150 people in the audience.

What he was about to say required deliberation.
"We shot a man with his hands up," he said, "We even shot women and children."

Massey was one of three Iraq War veterans to speak yesterday at a forum sponsored by the Veterans Education Project and the American Friends Service Committee.

The event, held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Michael Curtin Post, in the Florence neighborhood, offered the audience and opportunity to hear first-hand experiences of veterans who hold varying opinions on the war in Iraq.

Air Force Reserve Tech. Sgt. Pablo Rodriguez, a Northampton police officer, and Army National Guard Sgt. Richard Riley of Amherst, spoke about their experiences in Iraq.

Both Rodriguez and Riley said they were proud to serve in Iraq, and if called they would go back.

"I'm glad I had an opportunity to serve," said Rodriguez, who did security details at the Baghdad Airport.

Riley, who served with the Guard's 180th Engineering Detachment, built bridges as well as housing and other facilities for GIs in Iraq and Kuwait.

Massey told the audience of his disillusionment with the war. The only one of the three to engage in combat, the 12-year veteran from North Carolina said he was fully prepared to kill or be killed. But that was before the war.

Today he said he takes five different anti-depressant and anti-anxiety pills to help him deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Firing on civilians and securing oil fields was not the duty he signed up for, he said.

"Why are Marines learning to shut down oil wells - are we the Environmental Protection Agency now?" he asked as he told the audience of his realization that this war was not one he agreed with.

He started asking questions and was reassigned to combat duty.

"I'm in the desert, I'm gung-ho, ready to kill," he said, putting "your tax dollars to work. Unfortunately, your tax dollars went into a lot of civilians. I was there. I pulled the trigger.

"My main purpose in life, for 12 years, was to meet the enemy on the battlefield and destroy him," he said. "When I left to go to Iraq I didn't care whether or not I died. If you die in combat, that's an honor."

There were days when he thought to himself, "Today is a good day to die," said Massey, who received an honorable discharge.

But earlier in the evening, as people streamed into the hall and the sun lit up his face he realized yet again, "I'm glad to be in the sun."

[Beemer]

Chicago Sun-Times, 09.20.04

http://www.suntimes.com/output/laney/cst-edt-laney20.html

Ranger's experience nothing like on TV

September 20, 2004

BY MARY LANEY




What was it like? Iraq looks a lot different than poolside behind a Winnetka home. It's worlds away from the mountains of Afghanistan. But Eric Leahy could tell me about what it was like in those faraway countries. Leahy's an Army Ranger from the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment -- the first unit to parachute into Afghanistan and Iraq with just their wits and a hundred pounds of equipment on their backs. He has recently returned from four tours of duty: two in Afghanistan and two in Iraq.

He's visiting old high school friends and readjusting to life in mufti. That's how he came to be sitting -- in a T-shirt and jeans -- beside a friend's swimming pool in Winnetka, and how I came to be talking with him.

When I asked him what it had been like, he didn't talk about the heroics he and his fellow Rangers had been through, didn't brag about the medals he's won. He simply said, ''We're doing a lot of good.'' When I asked if he had been in firefights, he answered my naive question with a simple, ''I've been shot at.''

Leahy's only 23 but has a presence and maturity rare at his age. And his presence is daunting. He stands 6 feet tall with blond hair, blue eyes and a physique that one would call ''buff.'' He even appears to have muscles in his forehead. But it's his clarity and self-confidence that stand out. When he stands, he stands tall. When he walks, it's a walk of someone who now knows who he is.

''I was a 19-year-old kid with no direction. In basic training, I began to realize how hard these people work, how long and difficult this country's history has been. I had taken for granted all the freedoms I enjoyed and I felt proud to be a part of something so important and yet received so little recognition, at least before 9/11.''

It has been an adjustment for Leahy returning home, especially when he watches television news.

''What they're reporting has nothing in common with what I saw over there. Nothing. People back here think Iraqis and Afghanis are at war with Americans. It's just not true. The terrorists are killing Afghanis and Iraqis. For every American who's died, they've killed 25 of their own. They're killing their own people, not just American soldiers.

''When I was over there, not everybody liked us. But people would come up and offer us the food they had to feed their family for a week, or the water they had, and village elders would talk with us. But when you come back here, it's a whole different story.''

''Peter Jennings [of ABC News] was giving a live report in Baghdad when he noticed a Humvee stopped in traffic went over the curb and drove away. Jennings said the soldiers must think they're above the law. It wasn't that. The Humvee had no turret, no gun; it was getting out of a possibly bad situation.''

The young Ranger shakes his head at the reports just showing fighting instead of all the good over there: the schools built and open, the hospitals operating, the water that's now running, the electricity that's been repaired after years of neglect.

Leahy says he and his fellow Rangers had children coming up to them, laughing and thanking them.

''In Baghdad, they were all little entrepreneurs selling cigarettes and DVDs.''

He says he felt good when he saw young women able to walk outside, but sad to see them hunched over after years of having to carry heavy loads and stay indoors.

There were tense times as well -- times when senses must be acute.

''One Holy Night, the Iraqis were cooking in the streets, local militia were on corners with AK-47's for miles. We didn't know if we could trust them or not as we drove through. We were turning a corner. I was watching, my weapon ready. All of a sudden an AK went off. I saw it was an accident. The man's weapon was pointed at the ground and went off. We drove on.''

I asked him how he deals with such sharpened senses since he returned home. His answer spoke volumes.

''My first week home, I was at a friend's wedding in California and still in the mind-set of paranoia, looking around a lot. I was out on the balcony overlooking an intersection and a stoplight.

"Cars were actually stopping at the light, no shots fired, no car bombs exploding, no one dragged from a car and burned by terrorists, no one fearful for their life. It made me feel good. It helped give reason for what I've done. To come back and watch a simple stoplight and see people here have lives where they don't have to fear that kind of thing. I don't think people realize just how lucky they are to live here.''

Perhaps not.

Leahy plans to enroll in college now. Once there, here's hoping he'll tell them -- tell them how lucky we all are.

Thank you, Eric Leahy, and welcome home.

[FactsOfLife]

The following is a letter written by Marine Sergeant Josh Mandel, who served with the 1st LAR in Iraq, to his parents on the eve of his return from the Middle East.


Dear Mom and Dad,
I've been looking forward to the day when I could tell you that this is the last letter I'll be writing you from Iraq. Well, this is the last letter I'll be writing you from Iraq!!! Ahhhhhhh...that felt good.

I hope all's well at home and by the time this arrives you'll be packing up for, or en route to, Camp Pendleton. I can't wait to see you and hug and hug and hug you and then get some real food! It's been an eye-opening seven months and a time in my life that will undoubtedly affect who I am the rest of my life. Someone who wrote me put it well by saying, "The person you become will always be shaped by your experience now." He was a Marine in Vietnam and his words have stuck in my head.

Iraq has changed the way I see the world and painted a clearer picture of how the world sees me as an American. Even though I didn't think it was possible, my love for our country and pride to wear this uniform is even greater today than it was when we boarded those birds seven months ago yesterday. Serving here, under the same flag that Papa Harold fought for and that Papa Joe yearned for, has been an incredible honor and privilege. I'm not sure when this fight will be over, but I am sure that it's just and for a good cause. As I wrote you earlier, I hope the American people will be able to stomach the sacrifice required to accomplish this complicated mission of destroying terrorism and developing democracy. Both of those tasks will take time, but I remain confident that at the end of the day, America will once again succeed. Living out here hasn't bee the epitome of pleasantness (understatement), but it's all been made easier to endure by the incredible and very generous support from home. Along those lines and on behalf of my entire Platoon, I'd appreciate you telling our family and friends how much their love, words, and goodies have impacted us.

I've tried my best to thank people who've supported us in so many different ways. Given our limited free time, I haven't been able to respond to much of the mail that's come in. However, I want everyone to know that whatever they sent, be it a postcard with a New York hot dog vendor on the front (Mara Leventhal) or a bottomless box of spirit boosters, they contributed to our mission and morale in a very important way. This past week the battalion chaplain gave us a talk called the "warrior transition brief." It was about adjusting back to life in the states and all the things that come along with interacting with civilians, vs. Marines 24/7. As you might imagine, many of the Devil Dogs in the audience were rolling eyes, but it actually gave me a good feeling that he was giving this brief.

I don't foresee myself having any trouble adjusting back, but who knows? Some of my fellow Marines who are not too far out of high school have been pretty shaken up out here, and it's good to know that the Corps is being proactive about keeping them from whacking out when we reach the land of fast cars, alcohol, girlfriends, family, and most of all, freedom.

But just to give you a heads up, if I tell you I have to make a head call and you see me going out to the back yard with a shovel, you have my permission to smack me around. Or if we sit down for a nice meal and I'm done with dessert before the rest of the table has finished their soup, you have my permission to give me a sharp under-the-table kick (to the shin, not groin). Or if we're driving down the street and I stop the car to inspect every garbage bag on a tree lawn, you have my permission to place me in the trunk. Well, you get the picture. But don't worry, I'm coming back just fine upstairs (or as my beloved Corps calls it, my "brain housing group").

A while back I wrote you about one of my fellow Marines who played us a recording of his baby's heartbeat sent from his pregnant wife. That Marine is about to become a dad any day now and we're all pretty excited for him. In a way, it's situations like that that remind us who and what we're fighting for.

My who and what is made up of many memories of home and many hopes for America. Within that is you and the way in which you've always been there for me as parents. You've taught me to treat people with kindness and respect and have instilled me with an appreciation and love for family. You raised me to want to serve my country and for that I'll always be grateful.

I have to end this letter now, so farewell from the other side of the globe. Please travel safe out to California and tell Rachel the same coming from Chicago. I love you and miss you and can't wait to see you. Signing off from the big sandbox and looking forward to the big reunion at Camp Pendleton.

Your loving son,

Josh

HOORAH!

[Load SM5]

Upping this with something I heard on the radio today, about little Iraq girl who is a hero.

December 16, 2004
The Heart of America
Via Seamus, this email is a thank you from a Marine Gunnery Sergeant in Iraq. It was sent two days ago:

Just wanted to write to you and tell you another story about an experience we had over here.
As you know, I asked for toys for the Iraqi children over here and several people (Americans that support us) sent them over by the box. On each patrol we take through the city, we take as many toys as will fit in our pockets and hand them out as we can. The kids take the toys and run to show them off as if they were worth a million bucks. We are as friendly as we can be to everyone we see, but especially so with the kids. Most of them don't have any idea what is going on and are completely innocent in all of this.
On one such patrol, our lead security vehicle stopped in the middle of the street. This is not normal and is very unsafe, so the following vehicles began to inquire over the radio. The lead vehicle reported a little girl sitting in the road and said she just would not budge. The command vehicle told the lead to simply go around her and to be kind as they did. The street was wide enough to allow this maneuver and so they waved to her as they drove around.
As the vehicles went around her, I soon saw her sitting there and in her arms she was clutching a little bear that we had handed her a few patrols back. Feeling an immediate connection to the girl, I radioed that we were going to stop. The rest of the convoy paused and I got out the make sure she was OK. The little girl looked scared and concerned, but there was a warmth in her eyes toward me. As I knelt down to talk to her, she moved over and pointed to a mine in the road.
Immediately a cordon was set as the Marine convoy assumed a defensive posture around the site. The mine was destroyed in place.
It was the heart of an American that sent that toy. It was the heart of an American that gave that toy to that little girl. It was the heart of an American that protected that convoy from that mine. Sure, she was a little Iraqi girl and she had no knowledge of purple mountain's majesty or fruited plains. It was a heart of acceptance, of tolerance, of peace and grace, even through the inconveniences of conflict that saved that convoy from hitting that mine. Those attributes are what keep Americans hearts beating. She may have no affiliation at all with the United States, but she knows what it is to be brave and if we can continue to support her and her new government, she will know what it is to be free. Isn't that what Americans are, the free and the brave?
If you sent over a toy or a Marine (US Service member) you took part in this. You are a reason that Iraq has to believe in a better future. Thank you so much for supporting us and for supporting our cause over here.
Semper Fi,
Mark
GySgt / USMC

[-Carnifex-]

I like how one-sided these are.

[drg]

This picture of the statue was made by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. This artist was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country, he melted 3 of the fallen Saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the American soldiers and their fallen comrades. Kalat worked on this night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms. It is currently on display outside the palace that is now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas.

According to the Army News Service (ARNEWS), the text reproduced above is a relatively accurate description of the statue shown in the photograph accompanying it.

It's actually quite inaccurate in some very important areas: http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/kalat.asp

I know it's going to be unpopular to bring that up here, but the truth should never be run roughshod over. If nothing else it's food for thought. Always think critically. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[Beemer]

It's actually quite inaccurate in some very important areas
Thanks for the info. I should have seen that before I posted.


Always think critically
You can if you want, I prefer to think positively. Always doesnt always apply


I like how one-sided these are.
Ya me too. I see enough of the other side.