Iraq Experience

Sargent William Epler posted his Iraq Experience here. I will reprint a small part of it, but I urge you to go there and read it for yourself.

The day that sticks out in my mind the most is a day that I will never forget. I will remember this day and think of it every single day for the rest of my life..... Then the back door opens on a vehicle and there is an Iraqi man, clothes covered in blood, holding what looked like a small girl. Then I realized it was a young woman around 18 or so we had seen working in the fields outside our perimeter many times while in the guard towers. Instantly we had a stretcher out. There was no medic with us, but myself and a few other soldiers were combat lifesavers..... We continued to treat her injuries as best we could I remember she had looked up at me. Her one eye just seemed to stare into my mind. She calmed down when we made eye contact for some reason. Our battalion medics arrived shortly after and took over. I watched as they worked very quickly and professionally applying more bandages and they gave her morphine to take away the pain when it became clear that the helicopter would not arrive in time. I was still digesting all that had just occurred. I was still shocked. The medics were as well when she finally died, as for many of them this was the first patient they ever lost..... We all discussed the event and it really helped everyone cope with what had happened. I remember thinking how evil Saddam had to be putting an ammunition holding area in the middle of a farming community knowing the danger he put his people in by doing so. For weeks afterward the focus of our mission in the area was helping farmers rid their fields of hazardous unexploded ordinance to prevent something like this from happening again. Who knows how many lives we saved by helping the locals identify and mark potential dangers and then help them clear their fields. Later we learned she was buried in a coffin that the family kept around just in case..... After this incident took place, however, I began to see the bigger picture. I realized what we were doing there was far more important than anything I have ever been a part of. I was never more proud to be a soldier.

Sgt Epler, I salute you, and thank you for your service.

Hat tip to Greta ( Hooah Wife)