Posted: 1/18/2004 12:18:08 PM EDT
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...was in my church this morning, having just returned from visiting the troops in Iraq. I figured I'd post this, since there was a debate going in another thread about whether we are wanted in Iraq. He told of flying over towns in a Blackhawk. People were running out onto their roofs waving and blowing kisses at our guys as they swooped by. He told of the countless Iraqis who express their appreciation and gratitude for American soldiers relieving them of the Iraqi WMD, Saddam Hussein. The people are having their first tastes of freedom and they love it. However, you won't see that on the network news shows. If a thousand people in the Sunni triangle have a protest march it is trumpeted as the latest crisis. If ordinary Iraqis say they are thankful for the Americans being there you won't hear about it. Just because Dan Rather said it doesn't make it gospel. BTW, for those of you who haven't heard of him, Dave was a Brown Water/Black Beret sailor in Vietnam. He and his team beached their boat on a riverbank and he was getting ready to toss a WP grenade to clear the brush and set off any booby traps that might be waiting for them. When he had the grenade back by his head to throw it, it went off. He threw himself into the water, but of course that doesn't extinguish white phosphorus. Later doctors discovered a bullet hole in the back of his hand, and that's what set off the grenade. I've heard him tell the whole story a couple times, and it's a lot to put in a post. His story is one from tragedy to triumph, and he is one of America's heroes. |