Sunrise Over Fallujah: List 3

I saw what the M-16s could do. I don’t know why the kid started to run. Maybe he was afraid. But what happened was that he was killed, and we left him lying on the ground. At first I was really sad, depressed. Then I felt myself trying to shut it out.

One moment he was alive and he was scared, as I was scared with him and for him. And then he was dead. I had never been that close to anyone who was killed. I had heard the boy talking, had seen his dark eyes darting around the room. Then I saw his body jerking in the dusty street, as if he had already been separated from it. I wanted not to think.
Marla was back up in the gunner’s turret and I headed back to the Humvee.

I felt vulnerable in the turret, as if every gun had an eye on the end of it that was looking for me.

In training I used to like the night exercises. We used tracer bullets along with our regular ammo and you could see them streaking across the darkness toward their targets. But here, so many miles from home, in the gathering darkness, the explosions were terrifying.

Coles confirmed it. He told us to hunker down and stay alert. “And keep your body armor on!”
We stayed put all night, taking turns sleeping, or trying to sleep.

Somebody shot off some grenades and they exploded, lighting up the area they hit for the split second needed to produce eerie silhouettes.

Somebody shot off some grenades and they exploded, lighting up the area they hit for the split second needed to produce eerie silhouettes.

The guys searched the males, and Marla and the female medics searched the women. They didn’t have weapons.
Only one person had been shot. All the others had either been burned or hit with shrapnel or flying debris.

The guys searched the males, and Marla and the female medics searched the women. They didn’t have weapons.
Only one person had been shot. All the others had either been burned or hit with shrapnel or flying debris.

An image of my mom, sitting at our kitchen table in Harlem, flashed through my mind. If I were killed she would cry, I knew. It would hurt her so much, and as I stood watching the ritual of gathering the dead, I felt sorry for her. I knew what Jonesy was saying, that the dying hurt everybody.

“He’s saying that he’s been a good man all of his life,” Ahmed replied. “He’s made his Hajj and does God’s will. He says he’s an old man and doesn’t know why we want to kill him.”

“If you’re in a fight and you’re winning, it’s fine,” Captain Coles said. “But if something looks fishy and you need some backup in a hurry, it would be good to know where the cavalry is.”

The first two Humvees had already passed an old wagon. Its right side was broken down and it leaned precariously. One of the Iraqis was unhitching the two old mules that had been pulling it, while two other men argued with each other.

“Nobody’s got a tow chain,” he said. “If they try to push us out we’ll all be stuck here.”
I got out and sank into a foot of warm, stinky mud. It smelled like human waste; I wanted to gag. I slogged my way up to the road until I was on solid ground.

“Nobody’s got a tow chain,” he said. “If they try to push us out we’ll all be stuck here.”
I got out and sank into a foot of warm, stinky mud. It smelled like human waste; I wanted to gag. I slogged my way up to the road until I was on solid ground.

“Man, y’all smell baaad!”
“Shut up, Sergeant,” Captain Coles snapped. He was trying to wipe the bottom of his fatigues off with hand wipes.
Harris went back to the other squads and soon they were all around us, offering helpful comments about personal hygiene.

“Man, y’all smell baaad!”
“Shut up, Sergeant,” Captain Coles snapped. He was trying to wipe the bottom of his fatigues off with hand wipes.
Harris went back to the other squads and soon they were all around us, offering helpful comments about personal hygiene.

It’s over! I didn’t think I would be so relieved, but I am. Everybody here is celebrating. We rolled into Baghdad early this morning and people on the street were waving to us. Whoa! It’s like winning the Super Bowl or something.

We picked up a Marine escort and they asked us if we wanted to go to Firdos Square, which is like the main square in Baghdad, I guess. We said yes, of course, and they took us to where the statue of Saddam was torn down.

P.S. Another rumor is that they have found a mountain of poison gas canisters and some other suspicious material. I guess those are the weapons of mass destruction that everyone was talking about.