Troops serving in Iraq have their own priorities for giving thanks this week.
Six hundred thirty times since the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment arrived in Iraq last March, they have been attacked by the enemy.Posted by Alan at November 24, 2004 11:08 PMSometimes a roadside bomb blows up next to a truck. A mortar explodes in the middle of the base. Insurgents pop out from hidden positions and open fire with AK-47 rifles on a whole convoy. In Iraq, the front lines are nowhere, and they are everywhere.
At a base like FOB MacKenzie, home of the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, it is hard to find an infantryman, engineer, supply sergeant, pilot or clerk who hasn’t had a close brush with death. Most have had several.
They’ve lived through things they’ll never share with anyone except other combat veterans and fought fear beyond anything most civilians will ever feel. The experience has changed some of them in ways they don’t yet realize.
“These guys are battle-hardened. There isn’t anybody who hasn’t been under attack,” said Maj. Kirk Dorr, 38, of Marlboro, Mass., the squadron’s operations officer. “The logisticians and convoy supporters see just as much contact as our line troops.”
Seven 1-4 Cavalry troopers and one civilian from MacKenzie have died in the nine months since the unit took over the former Iraqi airfield 20 miles east of Samarra. More than 50 others have been wounded.
Hundreds of 1-4 Cavalry soldiers have dodged death by a whisker, aided by luck, pluck or divine providence. Almost everyone here can name three or four or more occasions he should have died, but didn’t.
“I can’t even count them,” said Spc. Joshua Burgess, 25, of Arlington, Texas, a member of Troop B. He has lived through two bomb attacks on his convoy the same day and countless pot shots he describes as “nothing really significant.”
For thousands of soldiers in the war zone, life itself is something to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.
“I’m thankful for having all my fingers and toes,” said Spc. Jose Bartual, 26, of New York City.