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Email From the Front

Mar- 2-2005 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

Included below is an email sent by 1LT Fassieux to his family, which describes a recent trip outside the city of Mosul. The scene he describes is similar to those seen in our Smiles From Iraq album.

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We conducted a couple patrols today....we drove through some predominantly Kurdish areas, and it was amazing to see the people. We get so wrapped up in the city dealing with the bad guys, we lose focus of the silent majority who reside just on the outskirts of town, in mud huts, beautifully colorful dresses, and smiles that stretch ear to ear. As we drove our vehicles along the dusty roads, never intended for anything over the weight of a horse-drawn cart, children came out of their homes to wave, some to beg for chocolate, "mista, mista.." as they pointed to their tongues...young women, who too young to be bound by custom, but old enough to show interest, smiled and winked at us from the confines of the homes. Soccer, a sport not bound by class or culture, was being played by the boys of the neighborhoods on makeshift soccer fields of dirt and kerosene tanks for goals. The presence of a bloated ferrell dog carcass punctuated the harsh reality of this place.

Death as a part of life. I tossed candy to the children to shy or afraid of the men in the vehicles....disregarding the hordes now following us. We are truly a site to behold in their eyes. Huge men, hidden beneath layers of armor and equipment used to enforce their inherent right of life and humanity that they cannot enforce for themselves. It is these experiences that re-energize our choice to be part of something greater than ourselves.

To fight not for an agenda, but for an ideal that is slowly being awoken in these people; self-determination. Providing them the opportunities to define who they will be, what they will do, and where they will take themselves.

1LT Phillip Fassieux
Charlie Co., 3/21 (Gimlets)
1/25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team


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