8/25/06

Today was supposed to be a special day for the soldiers. DMX, the rap artist was supposed to come and perform tonight, however, we found out late yesterday that he wasn't going to be able to come to the camp. It is bad, everyone, even people here you might not thing would be interested were, just at the very least to them, it was a chance to step away from where we are for a little while.

There was several preparations that had already been made for DMX and his support staff's arrival, unfortunately all in vain.
Not sure why they cancelled, although the rumor is that his parole officer wouldn't grant him permission to leave the country, from that pesky car jacking incident he was involved in at an airport in New York a little over a year ago.
Like I said it was just a rumor, no definitive reason was given for the cancellation. It's really insane though, because all this week I have been putting DMX trivia on a board I write everyday, that I found on the Internet.
One site I found said DMX had donated 1 million dollars not too long ago to the United Negro College Fund, but he is still going out car jackin' folks...hmmm....

This morning after I was relieved off my shift, I was sitting outside enjoying the sunrise and the somewhat relative "coolness" for that time of day. There were Blackhawks buzzing past over me, off in the not so far distance, I could hear soldiers test firing their .50 Cal's leaving out the gate, in preparation to go on patrol.

It reminded me of a couple stories a soldier I was sitting with last night told me. About when he had been out on patrol in Mosul, earlier that day.

He told me in one area of the city they were rolling thru, that they came across 2 young boys standing outside a house. As they passed by them, they both started waving "hi" to the soldiers. The smallest boy, the soldier said, who must have been around 7 or 8 years old, started to run parallel to the convoy, and continued waving and smiling at them.

It wasn't too far from where the soldiers first spotted the two boys, the young boy running along side them tripped and fell into a large puddle of water. The soldier said, all the soldiers in his vehicle were all shouting, "Oh damn". Right about that time, the boy's older brother, probably by only a couple years, ran up to where the smaller boy was, and helped him up out of the puddle.

However, like big brothers are all around the world, after lifting his little brother out of the puddle, he threw him face first back into it, and started laughing as the rest of the convoy rolled past...

Later that day during the same patrol, the soldier told me they were approaching a bridge when they spotted 2 Iraqi men approaching them on a moped.

The soldier told me the guys on the moped were hugging the side of the bridge in an attempt to give the soldier's convoy the most right of way they possibly could, when the guy driving the moped got just a little too close to the edge, started to lose control, and dump the bike.

The soldier told me the man driving the moped struggled hard with the bike but was able to keep it upright and bring it to a stop. His friend however did not fare as well, and tumbled off the back and rolled onto the ground.
The soldier told me he felt bad because there was more than enough room for them both to pass each other on the bridge and they did not have to cut the edge that hard with the moped.

But what the soldier told me happened next he did not expect. After the Iraqi man driving the moped brought it to a stop and his friend was rolling around on the ground. He said he half-heartedly expected them to turn to the patrol, and at the very least glare at them.
He said the guy who was driving the moped practically ignored the convoy and started pointing at his friend on the ground, laughing hard at him because he had fallen down off the bike.

I guess people tripping, slipping, falling, or otherwise losing their footing is fodder for humor in any language.

The unit that lost one of their soldiers to the sniper a few days ago are having a memorial service for him in a few days. I did not know him personally as I haven't met everyone here yet, because they too, as I did, only arrived here in country a little over a month ago.

These services are primarily attended by just the unit involved, and maybe a few other individuals. However, I will nevertheless, go to show my support to their unit, this camp, and the cause.

Unfortunately, we lost several soldiers at the camp I was at previously, and I attended memorial services there.

To see not only the soldiers standing before you at these services. The soldiers who trained, fought, and lived side by side with these fallen soldiers, and how this loss to their unit is affecting them.
On top of that, you start to think about their family in the states, who just days earlier received this terribly bad news, and what this does to them, their future, and their children's future...well...you just can't think about it too long, because it can be just overwhelming.

I know some of you reading this have sadly been to at least one of these, and you have allowed me to proudly stand in the room with you.

However, for those who never have had the honor to stand...and honor these men, these American heroes at such a military service.

I must tell you this of it.

There is a part towards the end of these services, where they do a roll call of the unit, with those present answering up, then at one point they call out the fallen soldier's name. They call out his name several times, and your heart starts to twitch.
Then the soldiers proceed into firing their weapons in the traditional 21 gun salute, to his memory, his honor, and his service to his...our...great country.

The first time I went to one of these services, it practically tore my heart out to watch all this unfold, and it took everything in me to keep my composure.

At the end before I left, I prayed there would never again be a circumstance where another one of these services would be necessary.

I will say that same prayer again in a few days.