A soldier's letter to home from Iraq (not a form letter)

[Chewbacca]

To contrast the form letter that recently recieved so much critisim.
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Link to text of letter

A letter from Tikrit: For Stoughton soldier, the enemy, the explosions and the extreme heat are all real By Spc. DANNY PAZYRA National Guard Spc. Danny Pazyra of Stoughton wrote this letter to his family and friends from Tikrit, Iraq, where he is serving with the 1058th Transportation Company, which is based in Hingham. September 1, 2003, Day 212 Well, the summer is gone and also lost is a certain innocence and sense of security that we all had when this journey started. Many things have happened since my last letter that will without a doubt be extremely difficult to put into words. There is no way, even if I lived to be one hundred years old, that I could put into words the emotions that I’ve been juggling in my head over the last month. Between my personal experiences and those of my peers, the end of the summer really went out with a bang, literally. I will start with one of the most horrifying things I have ever seen. I knew it was inevitable, but deep down I hoped that I would never see anything like what I saw that day. We were doing our normal everyday run through the streets of Tikrit. I remember it being very hot out that day, probably around 130 degrees. My partner and I were on the back of the gun truck as usual as we pulled out of the front gate. My partner was standing with his machine gun propped up on the cab while I was holding mine near the rear of the truck. It wasn’t a big run, considering we only had four trucks and as we approached the first overpass there weren’t that many cars around. Then, without any warning at all, BOOM! I didn’t know what had happened at first but I knew something was very wrong. My partner was screaming my name but it was hard to see him through all the smoke and debris. I quickly turned to the front of the convoy and watched in horror as a monstrous fireball engulfed the sky. It was complete chaos. I scanned the area the best I could and everyone looked suspicious. To be honest, I couldn’t really see anything. I feared that the two middle trucks had been destroyed. I didn’t know what I was going to see when the smoke cleared and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, the smoke cleared and we were on the other side of the overpass, moving quickly out of harm’s way. Miraculously, everyone was safe and everyone was accounted for. When we finally arrived at our destination, everybody looked shaken up. Especially the drivers and passengers in the two middle trucks. After examining the exterior of our trucks, we discovered some shrapnel and metal chunks lodged in one of the tires. The piece of metal was two inches from the fuel tank. The drivers of that truck were lucky to be alive. On the trip back to camp, we were instructed to shoot anyone or anything near or under the overpass. The reason: someone had detonated an Improvised Explosive Device when that second truck hit the overpass. The scary part was that we knew they were nearby; they were watching us. They were targeting our trucks. As much as we wanted to retaliate, we didn’t, seeing as though the ride back had no complications. We were all very lucky, but we wouldn’t know how lucky until two days later. That was when we witnessed one of the most gruesome sights that we will ever see in our lives. We were working at the drop-off point where we take our trailers every day. After working for about 15 minutes, we heard and felt an explosion that shook the whole ground beneath us. We all stopped and looked around, but nothing looked out of place. The incident was quickly forgotten and we headed back to camp. About 10 miles up the road, we noticed that the road was starting to become congested on both sides. When we took a closer look we saw the devastation. A truck that was traveling the other way on the highway had hit a land mine dead on. The truck the soldiers were driving was destroyed. Blown to pieces, leaving puddles of oil, anti-freeze, fuel and blood. The driver had suffered minor injuries but the passenger was not so fortunate. His legs were destroyed in the blast, rendering him helpless. A helicopter was flown in to evacuate the soldier, who would later have both his legs amputated from the knees down. Seeing that soldier being pulled from that truck is a vision that will be etched in my mind forever. These experiences have left us with the realization that all we can do now is try to survive. We just want to get home to our families safe and sound. Alive and in one piece. Unfortunately for us, that seems like a lifetime away, but I assure you that we will all come home. But therein lies the lost innocence of a National Guard transportation company from Massachusetts who never thought we would have to fight just to survive on a daily basis. We do what we have to do, and only God can judge us for that. So much of what I’ve gone through has opened my eyes to what we’re really facing up here. I look at the children’s faces, especially the little boys. They look so innocent now, but that’s probably how others like them looked 12 years ago to the men and women who fought before me in the Gulf War. So sweet and innocent. Now it’s those children, grown up, who are attacking our convoys. They’ve been taught all their lives to hate us, to hate all Americans. What they fail to realize is that we can actually help them. We could help all of the people of Iraq if they would just let us, but as the days go by, and with these recent attacks, I fear they won’t. Though it’s hard to believe after everything I’ve told you, things are getting a little easier here. For one, we’re getting into a groove. Every day I get up and it’s like I’m going to work. I know when I start every day and when I will be done. During the day everything is basically the same. People moving and talking, going about their normal business. The nights here are really what get me. When the noise has simmered down and most everyone is asleep, that’s when this camp really comes to life. Certain cliques retreat to their private areas and seclude themselves in conversation and music. The romantic couples disappear into the shadows and spend their only private moments of the day together. But behind all the great experiences I’ve had, there still lurks the eerie darkness of the night. The wind will quietly blow through the tent, breathing life into an otherwise still and silent atmosphere. The moon is always very low and the sky is always cluttered with stars. Nothing like back home. Thousands of stars illuminating the sky, making it possible to see in the tent even when the lights are out. Uniforms hanging will sway back and forth, giving the impression that they are very much alive and well. They move together as if possessed by ghosts of other soldiers who have died here and have been trapped and tangled up in this life for all eternity. That is their time to come out and play. Eventually I will drift off into a hazy state of sleep where sometimes it’s hard to separate dreams from reality. A lot of times I’ll wake up in a cold sweat and pinch myself to make sure I’m really awake. I have very elaborate dreams in which all details are accounted for. I dream in color and I can also smell and taste sometimes. Mostly I dream about going home or being home already. Often I hate waking up. On the other hand, some of my dreams are about being in the heat of battle and while I’m engaging the enemy, sometimes I make it and sometimes I don’t. Nightmares like these make it hard to sleep sometimes. Seven months ago today was the day we all first showed up for our deployment. Now all this time later, I still sit with the same uncertainty I had way back then. Hopefully the fall will bring us some answers that we have long been waiting for. We hope to learn when we will come home. Once again, I would just like to thank everyone for keeping in touch and sending such generous packages. Your letters are the only thing that I look forward to on a daily basis. Reading them is a constant reminder of everything and everyone I care about back home. They always reassure me that I have a lot to look forward to when I come home. I appreciate that you take the time to read my letters, even though they may be a little dramatic at times. I just feel that describing all of the emotions I go through in certain situations and putting those thoughts into writing is the best way to relay to you what it is really like here. Anyway, this is the part of the letter where I would usually make a prediction about when I think I’ll be home. However, this time I’m not going to do that. The truth is that I have no idea. So I will leave you with this one thought: One day I will be home and all I can do for now is hope it is soon. For now, just know that I miss you all so much and I can’t wait to hear from all of you.

[ 10-23-2003, 06:53 PM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]

[LordKathen]

Thanks for that post Chewy. Very insitefull to read.

Hope they all come home soon. Thanks Chewbacca.