Stryker Brigade News

The convoy left in the morning toward the Asim Bin Omar School, near Taji, where they were joined by a group soldiers from the IA.

After a short conversation with the school administrator, the group was led into classrooms to hand over school supplies and toys to the children of the school.

“These toys were sent to you, children, with lots of love from the American people,” said Bowen, from the front of the classroom to the children.

Soldiers from the U.S. Army and the IA group both helped with the distribution of the toys and school supplies among the rows of children in the classrooms. After the distribution of gifts was done, and after a signal from the teacher, the children said out loud: “thank you very much,” as a token of friendship.

Sgt. 1st Class Yvonne Barnes, a Lane, S.C., native, said it was an honor to deliver American goods from our American children to the Iraqi children.

“It was my first contact with Iraqi children, and I was impressed of how well the children verbalized English phrases such as ‘thank you very much,’” said Barnes, the operations sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 225th BSB.

Then the convoy headed toward the That Al Natakhein school, also at the town of Sab Al Bour, where phase two of the mission took place. Toys and school supplies were distributed among the students by Soldiers from both armies once again under the supervision of school officials.

The event was closed with a promise from Bowen to return to both schools with more gifts from the American people.