posted 07-01-2004 10:25 PM         

American Soldiers distribute supplies to Iraqi school children.

This statue was made by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. This artist was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country, he melted 3 of the fallen Saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the American soldiers and their fallen comrades. Kalat worked on this night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms. It is currently on display outside the palace that is now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas.

posted 07-05-2004 10:45 PM         

It's bad enough that our troops have to be there, it would be nice if they got recognition for all the good things they are accomplishing too.

posted 07-10-2004 12:28 AM         

I pray for a safe return home for your wife.

Here are a few more photos:

Sgt. Robert Fisher, 34, of Peru, Ind., a member of the Medical Platoon, Task Force, 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, receives an appreciative kiss from Iraqi National Guard medic Sgt. Ali Karmel Faeath at Forward Operating Base Summerall in Bayji, Iraq, on Monday. Fisher helped train Faeath and other medics of the Iraqi National Guard for work in the Bayji area.

Pfc. Trelain Whiting, 19, of Havelock, N.C., with 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Brigade Combat Team, is comforted by Spc. Tinklenberg following a memorial service for their fallen comrades at Forward Operating Base Gabe, Iraq, on Thursday.

Iraqi Minister of Defense Hazim Al Shala, left, greets Army Brig. Gen. Michael Jones while visiting a traffic checkpoint in Baghdad on Thursday.

A soldier stands with residents of Sadr City, a predominately Shiite Muslim neighborhood of Baghdad, on Thursday.

Cpl. Maria C. Diaz, 23, from Los Angeles, with the 1st Force Service Support Group disbursing office, holds a baby during a visit to Kabani, Iraq, on Saturday. Diaz accompanied Marines from 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, to the village to check on the progress of a $175,000 water purification complex that the unit contracted to have built. The complex will bring clean drinking water to nearly 3,000 Iraqis from Kabani and another nearby community. The battalion has made regular visits to the village to deliver donated shoes, school supplies and toys to children there. Elements of the battalion provide security for nearby Camp Taqaddum.