|
Sala ad Dihn Province, Iraq--
In the US many Americans barely notice
Veterans Day. The banks and post offices are closed. Federal
Employees have the day off. Some states and local governments
may be closed.
There are ceremonies and memorial services.
But here in Iraq it is another day at
work in a combat zone.
The Soldiers of the 1-28 Infantry, the
Black Lions, went about their work.
I went with a Platoon to the city council
meeting in Ishaki, a small town south of Samarra.
The Platoon Leader sat back during the
meeting and let the Iraqis do their work. After the meeting he
talked about the timeline of some development projects with the Council
President.
The meals were the normal rations heated
up by Army cooks. The big KBR Dining Facilities are for big bases,
not little outposts.
The kitchen at the JCC in Samarra is
of typical design.
If many of the Soldiers realized today
was Veterans day, they didn't show it.
I didn't really realize until I looked
at my pocket calendar.
For decades veterans were older men.
Now they are women and men in their early to mid twenties, many on their
second tour in a combat zone.
They were not drafted. They did
not join when the entire nation was mobilized for war.
They volunteered when the war in Iraq
was unpopular. They re-enlist knowing they will face a fight in
Afghanistan.
They are the ones willing to stand on
the wall that protects the modern culture--the plastic-disposable-drive-thru-strip-mall
culture of America from the people who want to burn it all down.
Too many of the people in the drive-thru
culture went about their day today without realizing what the young
men I was with today do for them.
It is a luxury they enjoy because Soldiers,
Sailors, Marines and even Airmen will leave the plastic world and enter
the real world.
JD relies on viewer support to keep reporting from the war zone. Please hit the tip jar or buy a dvd.
|
|
|
 |
|
