2008 Woodie Awards
It isn't easy to sum up the war
Opinion | 4/13/08
As I read, "Analyzing my views on war" [March 26], I was shocked to actually find a deep analysis of the war in Iraq. There have been plenty of articles, of course, on the war since I transferred to Towson last fall, but I hadn't seen one that actually didn't come to one resounding conclusion either for or against the war.
I was surprised by Molly Hooven's inquisitive theme and openness to both sides of the issue. I spent four months in Iraq as part of an Air Force deployment to Balad Air Base in 2006. In response to Hooven's call for how servicemen felt about the war, I figured I'd recount a small story.
If you've seen "Black Hawk Down," you might recall the soldier, Grimes, who quips he "made coffee through Panama [and] Desert Storm."
That was me. I was the Grimes of Iraq. I was an office clerk for my command staff for the four months I was deployed. As much as I'd like to embellish this story with a combat tale, I never saw any combat. Instead of running convoys and patrolling streets, I pushed papers and delivered mail.
On two occasions, I decided to volunteer at the base hospital out of curiosity and a desire to see how military field hospitals worked. I worked in the ward with all the wounded Iraqi servicemen, making them more comfortable and stocking the shelves with supplies. We were only able to understand each other through interpreters and rudimentary gestures.
I met one who had two kids and an expectant wife at home. I escorted another who was fascinated by a video game system the hospital had set up in one of the rec rooms. He had been injured by a suicide bomber while having dinner. He drew me a map of where he came from in Iraq. I drew him one of Gaithersburg, Md.
I remember many of these Iraqis loved the food from the hospital dining facility. One night we had a typical meal of fried chicken and mixed vegetables. It wasn't anything I would've been particularly emotional about, but the Iraqis were so excited to be eating it and commented on how good it tasted.
I was surprised by Molly Hooven's inquisitive theme and openness to both sides of the issue. I spent four months in Iraq as part of an Air Force deployment to Balad Air Base in 2006. In response to Hooven's call for how servicemen felt about the war, I figured I'd recount a small story.
If you've seen "Black Hawk Down," you might recall the soldier, Grimes, who quips he "made coffee through Panama [and] Desert Storm."
That was me. I was the Grimes of Iraq. I was an office clerk for my command staff for the four months I was deployed. As much as I'd like to embellish this story with a combat tale, I never saw any combat. Instead of running convoys and patrolling streets, I pushed papers and delivered mail.
On two occasions, I decided to volunteer at the base hospital out of curiosity and a desire to see how military field hospitals worked. I worked in the ward with all the wounded Iraqi servicemen, making them more comfortable and stocking the shelves with supplies. We were only able to understand each other through interpreters and rudimentary gestures.
I met one who had two kids and an expectant wife at home. I escorted another who was fascinated by a video game system the hospital had set up in one of the rec rooms. He had been injured by a suicide bomber while having dinner. He drew me a map of where he came from in Iraq. I drew him one of Gaithersburg, Md.
I remember many of these Iraqis loved the food from the hospital dining facility. One night we had a typical meal of fried chicken and mixed vegetables. It wasn't anything I would've been particularly emotional about, but the Iraqis were so excited to be eating it and commented on how good it tasted.
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