Note, this is a different young man than I have posted before. This is legit and not fabricated (danmurphyjr), so please no thread hijacking. I have the original header and also a picture that was sent with the email, and this is a friend of a friend. If you like it and think it's nice and a different perspective than I did, great! If you think it's bs, keep it to yourself. Thanks
To All,
Another month is gone and with it, a lot of tragedy and joy intermixed. As you may have heard, on Saturday night we had a rocket attack that hit the Embassy. It went through the roof, and landed right in the middle of an office right down the hall from mine, killing two people and wounding four. The rocket must have almost directly hit a woman, whose name was Barbara, because they had a difficult time recognizing her remains. The man who was killed had a wife and two kids. I knew both of those people.
The rocket hit in my roomate's office and he saw the rocket
hit and was the first person on scene. He helped a good
friend bandage his wounds and rushed him to the hospital, probably saving his life. Needless to say, my roomate, JD, was pretty shaken. He will always be a hero to me, though.
The crazy thing about it was that the rocket didn't
actually explode... it was a dud. If it had exploded, there would have been scores of dead people. I know that there have been hundreds of Americans die in this war, but the numbers don't really hit home until someone you know dies right next to you. It's a horrific, needless tragedy, and it is hard not to feel hatred towards those who robbed them of their lives.
On the other hand, election day was a triumph over those fanatics who would kill innocent people. I heard stories of Iraqis who stood in line to vote even after seeing nearby explosions. In fact, they started chanting "We are NOT AFRAID!" while shaking their fist towards the explosions. It was their day to finally come out of their homes and show that they were proud to be Iraqis and that they weren't going to succomb to terror. As the stories and pictures poured in here, I think we all felt a great sense of excitement, emotion, and pride.
This morning, the 2-star general who is our boss (the
Deputy STRATCOM commander) called everyone who worked for
him together. There were about 50 of us there.. He told us
that even as we continue to work, we should take a minute
to consider the significance of this historic occasion. For
the first time in history, the cradle of civilization was invaded, not to dominate the people, but to give them freedom. And we had just been witnesses to the first free elections these people had ever seen. It was a great speech and inspired a lot of pride within us.
As he finished, an Iraqi interpreter in the back of the
room stood up and raised his hands. With his voice shaking
and tears in his eyes, he said "As the only Iraqi here in
this room, and as the person who was able to vote yesterday
for the first time in my life, I would like to say 'Thank
You' with all of my heart. Thank You on behalf of all the
Iraqi people. It was a great day for my country and today
we are proud to be Iraqis. God bless you." We all started cheering and gave him a standing ovation and I don't think anyone in the room had dry eyes.
Those two events - the rocket attack and the elections -
really brought the meaning of this war home to me. We are striving to bring dignity and freedom to a people who have been oppressed, lied to, and terrorized all their lives. And THAT is a worthy goal to fight for, and a worthy goal to die for.
To All,
Another month is gone and with it, a lot of tragedy and joy intermixed. As you may have heard, on Saturday night we had a rocket attack that hit the Embassy. It went through the roof, and landed right in the middle of an office right down the hall from mine, killing two people and wounding four. The rocket must have almost directly hit a woman, whose name was Barbara, because they had a difficult time recognizing her remains. The man who was killed had a wife and two kids. I knew both of those people.
The rocket hit in my roomate's office and he saw the rocket
hit and was the first person on scene. He helped a good
friend bandage his wounds and rushed him to the hospital, probably saving his life. Needless to say, my roomate, JD, was pretty shaken. He will always be a hero to me, though.
The crazy thing about it was that the rocket didn't
actually explode... it was a dud. If it had exploded, there would have been scores of dead people. I know that there have been hundreds of Americans die in this war, but the numbers don't really hit home until someone you know dies right next to you. It's a horrific, needless tragedy, and it is hard not to feel hatred towards those who robbed them of their lives.
On the other hand, election day was a triumph over those fanatics who would kill innocent people. I heard stories of Iraqis who stood in line to vote even after seeing nearby explosions. In fact, they started chanting "We are NOT AFRAID!" while shaking their fist towards the explosions. It was their day to finally come out of their homes and show that they were proud to be Iraqis and that they weren't going to succomb to terror. As the stories and pictures poured in here, I think we all felt a great sense of excitement, emotion, and pride.
This morning, the 2-star general who is our boss (the
Deputy STRATCOM commander) called everyone who worked for
him together. There were about 50 of us there.. He told us
that even as we continue to work, we should take a minute
to consider the significance of this historic occasion. For
the first time in history, the cradle of civilization was invaded, not to dominate the people, but to give them freedom. And we had just been witnesses to the first free elections these people had ever seen. It was a great speech and inspired a lot of pride within us.
As he finished, an Iraqi interpreter in the back of the
room stood up and raised his hands. With his voice shaking
and tears in his eyes, he said "As the only Iraqi here in
this room, and as the person who was able to vote yesterday
for the first time in my life, I would like to say 'Thank
You' with all of my heart. Thank You on behalf of all the
Iraqi people. It was a great day for my country and today
we are proud to be Iraqis. God bless you." We all started cheering and gave him a standing ovation and I don't think anyone in the room had dry eyes.
Those two events - the rocket attack and the elections -
really brought the meaning of this war home to me. We are striving to bring dignity and freedom to a people who have been oppressed, lied to, and terrorized all their lives. And THAT is a worthy goal to fight for, and a worthy goal to die for.
