A Soldier’s Goodbye
This was taken during my first soldier’s memorial in Iraq. The mood was somber as soldier after soldier made their way up to pay their respects to the fallen comrades. It will be one of the things that will stick with me for the rest of my life.
*Taken sometime in 2007 and edited in Photoshop CS2
On this 235th birthday of the United States Army, remember that though we’ve achieved much success and victory, let us not forget how much we’ve lost.
All photos’ rights are reserved for their respective owners.
Bear Tags
I lost that bear somewhere while I was running around in Iraq. It was a present. *crai*
*Taken sometime in 2007 and edited in Photoshop CS2
Silent Night
Got a chance to take this one night while there weren’t any mortar or rocket attacks. I snuck up to the roof of one of the buildings and snapped this (we weren’t allowed all the way up there >.<). Up to that point, the only experiences I had out in the city were long periods of nervousness interrupted by moments of absolute insanity. Funny how things look different at night. It’s easy to associate all sorts of horrible things with this conflict, but this helped me remember that it’s a small group of a people that are ugly, not the entire country.
*Taken sometime in 2007 and edited with Photoshop CS2
Teardrop of War
This is al-Shaheed Monument, also known as Martyr’s Monument in Iraq. As you can see, the thing is HUGE. This was built to remember the Iran-Iraq war. The structure you see symbolizes a single teardrop, split down the middle. Under this monument, there is wall running the circumference of the teardrop. Names of the all soldiers that fell during that conflict are etched carefully into the wall.
*Taken March 2007 and edited in Photoshop CS2
Things to Do
I made this for my brother when I found out that he didn’t understand why I had to go to Iraq. I love him more than anything in the world, and it broke my heart to find out he felt like that. I wanted to let him know not to worry, and that though I’m far away and busy, I’ll always take the time to tell him I love him.
*Taken April 2007 and edited in Photoshop CS2
Treasure Hunter
I saw this little girl when we were out on patrol. She was peeking out of the door near where we were standing in an alley. I thought she was adorable, so I pulled out my camera to take a picture of her. As soon as I pointed it at her, whoosh, her finger went right into her nose and she got back behind the door. I almost laughed out loud. Everytime that I pointed the camera toward her, the same thing happened, finger into nose, and that same apprehensive look. It reminded me of my cousin Vi (the look, not the nose picking lol). After a pretty bad week, it was nice to be able to laugh, thanks to this little girl.
*Taken April 2007 and edited in Photoshop CS2
Hope
There are always times when we lose something so integral to our continued existence. For me, it was my inspiration. For several weeks, I was angry, apprehensive, astray. My belief, gone, my optimism, shattered. I was in a dark place in my heart, wallowing in grief and rage. I was going through my pictures one day when I came across this. Through it, I saw the future. I understood that even though some days that we feel that all good has disappeared, and all our strength is sapped, something good grows through the ever-growing pile of ugliness. Found this section of flowers out in town when I was deployed in Iraq struggling to overcome the trash around it. Funny, how something so small and seemingly insignificant can have more courage than a human being.
*Taken sometime in 2007 and edited in Photoshop CS2
