The Marine

I was doing my usual duties at the hospital of clearing patients to be aerovaced out. As I was finishing, I overheard a marine asking where a certain location was. He then asked how long of a walk it was. I joined the conversation and said it was about 1-2 miles. He started to leave on crutches, determined to find a buddy of his who was here and he did not have a chance to say good-bye to him nearly a year ago. I have absolute respect for the toughness of marines, but I could not bear to let him walk two miles on crutches. I asked him if he wanted a ride and he accepted, with a certain disbelief, that a LtCol would give him a ride.

As we rode I asked where he was stationed and what type of activity he was involved in. He went on to explain to me that he was in the infantry and he was going house to house searching for bad guys and weapons. His unit was in the west near the Syrian border. He explained what it was like going door to door. He said his battalion had suffered 28 KIAs (killed in action) He described his Major standing behind a concrete wall and when a rocket hit the wall a chunk of concrete hit the Major’s chest with such force that it was essentially removed from the rest of his body. The Corporal had become be very disenchanted with how much the civilians lied about their innocence and now he considers every Arab a bad guy, until proven otherwise. He told me of an incident when two of the sergeants in his unit were in a house they thought was clear. The occupants had proclaimed they were innocent. Then anti-aircraft guns that were hidden underneath the floor started firing instantly killing the two sergeants. He explained to me that he was injured jumping over a barricade when he came under mortar attack and then hurt his hand jumping back to the other side when more firing started. He said that he had no idea how anyone would act when fired upon. He states that his fellow Marines have said that in the middle of fire fights that he has killed enemies; however, he has no recollection of killing anyone. He said that almost everyone they were confronting in the west were not Iraqis but Syrians and other foreigners and they have lots of cash to recruit bombers for missions.

We eventually got to the Squadron where his buddy was supposed to be. Not at all where he had thought it was. It was good that he didn’t walk or crutch there. His buddy was no longer there. Charlie company had moved to the north. The Marine was clearly disappointed not to be able to see his buddy. I sensed he felt very alone and very numb from all he had been through. He talked with almost no emotion, just matter of factly. I was also disappointed that we did not find his buddy but I was blessed to have had the chance to talk to this very brave young man. I have been very impressed with the young men fighting this war and I consider it a great honor to serve with them. I hope when people see a member of the Armed Forces they take the time to ask them what their thoughts are. There is much to be appreciated about these brave warriors and their perspective is first hand not the thoughts of people who have never ventured out of the think tanks of Washington DC.

The Iraqi Colonel

That night at dinner an Iraqi Colonel and his translator sat at our table. We were having our conversation and they were having theirs. I really wanted to talk to the Colonel and after everyone had finished eating I asked the interpreter where he was from. He was from Dearborn Michigan and of Lebanese descent. I asked the Col. the same question and he said, “Babylon”. Imagine having as your home town Babylon. I asked him how the rebuilding of Babylon was coming a long. This question started him down a long explanation of the recent history of Iraq. He explained how Babylon was being rebuilt just about the same time the Iran/Iraq war started. He explained that it was a very difficult war and that neither side won. The war ended as a tired draw. He went on to add that all of the money in the country, over the last 20 years has been spent on war materials and the infrastructure of the country has gone lacking. He then stated, “Well, you know that after the Iran war we were in two wars with the US. You watched the news. You know we ran when we faced you in battle. But now we are Brothers.” He said that last sentence with a big smile on his face. What a professional soldier. Professional soldiers do not hold grudges against their enemy. They realize that war is between the nations not between the individuals; therefore, when the fighting is over it is possible to be “brothers”.

Our conversation then transitioned into the future of Iraq. The gist of his comments were two fold: 1) He thought there will be much less insurgency once Saddam was executed and 2) He knows most of the insurgency is from outside Iraq, sponsored with money that Saddam had hidden during his reign. He also added that Saddam signaled the insurgency to start when 3 months after the collapse of Baghdad he said, “The battle will now begin”.

It was great to talk with an Iraqi who was so well versed in the history of not only the country but the military as well. One of the last statements he made before we said good bye was, “All we need is one year of peace and you will be amazed what Iraqis can do to improve their country.” I pray that peace will come

The Female Marine

After dinner I went back to contingency areomedical staging facility or CASF. This is where those who are injured are prepared for the plane flight out. Think of it an airport terminal with wounded as the passengers and nurses, techs and docs as the service providers. Oh yeah, no Starbucks or Sbarro’s anywhere in sight.

One of the patients I needed to clear for flight was a female Marine. She must have been around 20 years old, 5”6” and about 110 pounds soaking wet. She had a neck brace on and as I approached her she was commenting how tough she was even though she was relatively small. I saw from her paperwork, that she was in injured after the truck she was riding in was targeted by a suicide bomber. She had a stable fracture of her neck and a couple of burns on her fingers but was otherwise in good shape. I asked her how the pain was and she repeated, “I am tough. I don’t need any pain medication.” She smiled as she said she was tough and you could tell she had a great sense of humor, but there was no mistaking that she was a Marine.

She then explained to me what happened to the truck that she was riding on. The truck was carrying female Marines who were involved in searching female Iraqis going through checkpoints. Another example of how we have been bending over backwards to maintain sensitivity to the culture here. Their shift was over and they were on their way back to their base. A car drove up along the truck and a man got out. He had a number of incendiary devices and was carrying a propane tank like we would use with a gas grill. In an instant, he blew himself up. The truck was instantly involved in a fire ball that followed the blast. The Marine remembers feeling very hot and then she woke up outside the truck. She looked around at those with her. There were at least three dead and many of the others, she could see their skin dripping off their body. The girl to the right of her was severely burned. I had actually sent that girl to Germany a couple nights before on a ventilator and with severe burns to her hands and face. The girl to the left of her had bad burns to her face but was not on a ventilator and was also on her way to the burn center in San Antonio via Germany. The Marine maintained a great attitude during the entire conversation and couldn’t believe how little she was hurt. As she was explaining how little she was injured compared to those around her she stated, “Jesus must have been giving me a big hug.” Most people would consider a broken neck a pretty big injury, but compared to her friends she had it good. She said that she was doing well but thought that she would never forget the sight of dripping skin. She wondered why more hadn’t happened to her when so many of her friends had been so severely injured. She also wondered if this would screw her up in the future. What do you say to a person who has witnessed what she had and then questions why she survived and her friends didn’t? I am not sure what is the best thing to say. I took the cue from her saying that “Jesus was hugging her.” and I encouraged her that it did appear that God had protected her for some reason. I did not know what that reason was, but that I believed that we all have a God prescribed purpose and it is our job to seek God and find out what that purpose is. Some never find their purpose and some find it and chose not to fulfill it. Then there are those who seek God and follow wherever He leads. Those are the people that I find to be the most content with their lives.

Three very different people with three very different perspectives. I really enjoyed this day and I felt privileged to have spoken with such quality people in a single day.

As I close this long discourse on my experiences that day, I wanted to add how I was encouraged by the recent speech by Bush and I am sure the Iraqi Colonel would be as well. The President was discussing that many had called on us to pull out of Iraq before it was stable. He answer was firm. “For the sake of our Nation's security, this will not happen on my watch.” No opinion polls support this decision. This is a decision of a brave and great leader, who cares more about the future of America than his poll numbers. I am honored to serve under his command.

Soli Deo Gloria