a couple thousand pound bomb is pretty big, enough to blow up a village and that is what it did. the day before c-mas i was on a patrol... wait, let me back up a bit more....
A couple days ago we were able to attend a ribbon cutting in a village right next to our FOB (the place we live). It was for a school that had just opened up giving the chance for hundreds of poor farming kids a chance to read and write. But it wasn't much. It was a mud pasted building with a couple chairs and a blackboard... no frills, no play ground. but it did have a barb wire and barriers all around it with small sand bag bomb shelters. the opening was a success, until the day after. In Iraq the statement rings true that no good deed goes up punished. so Christmas eve day, a lone van found its way into the sheik's (local tribal leader) village, who was in charge of setting up the school, made a stop in the middle of the small town and detonated. thousands of pounds of shrapnel blasted from the former van smashing into and destroying several of the houses, trucks, cars, goats, etc in a 200 meter radius. when we got on site there was still smoke from the explosions, and a blast crater that you could fit a school bus in. looking around you could see fragments of the suicide bomber's face and body. the Iraqi soldiers around collected the face pieces in order to try and possibly ID the guy. One of my interpreters was so disgusted with the crime that he asked if he could pee on the remains of the fragments. (bad insult).
Only a couple kids were injured, but no deaths... so the bad guys didn't totally win. But the damage was done message sent: try to rebuild, try and improve your life in any way and they die trying to destroy it.
Christmas day (or as the terrorist would say: the day the infidels celebrate their false God) also brought a bad attack of mortars and rockets to US FOBs, killing some, wounding some, but mostly doing their best to cause chaos. How would you like getting a phone call on Christmas morning to find that your son, daughter, wife, or husband has been killed a couple days before they were to come home....?
most units have a memorial to those that have paid the price of freedom here and my favorite has the phrase "All gave some, but some gave all"
I have my blessings that i am grateful for, and events like this just remind me of how precious they really are. So i hope and pray that all of us are thankful that by the grace of God, we have our lives, family, and liberty.
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2 comments:
Merry Christmas! You my kin are loved and appreciated for all you do. We have no idea the price that is being paid on our behalf. Thank you!!May your God continue to bless and watch over you and your friends and others who are protecting us! We are headed to Fallon today, but had to read your blog. Snow in Las Vegas last week and half ago. They closed school. HA! Love you A. Bon
Good Grief! Big enough to fit a school bus? Was it your 'terp' Robin, who was so disgusted? Heartbreaking....and I guess that's just what they want to do -- break people's will to continue to try to improve and gain a new way of life. We are grateful to have been able to skype 2 x's w/ you over C-mas, and that you are in God's hands. oxoxo mom
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