From the Canada Free Press:
Good works by American troops and their allies protecting our freedom in Iraq never find their way to the mainline media. Although virtually ignored by news outlets such as CNN and the New York Times, some of the out-of-the-news stories inspire a well of hope and inspiration.
One such moving story came from an ASA veteran in a regular letter written to a friend back home.
"…Just wanted to write to you and tell you another story about an experience we had over here," he wrote. "As you know, I asked for toys for the Iraqi children over here and several people (Americans that support us) sent them over by the box."
On each patrol some American troops take through the city, they take as many toys as will fit in their pockets, handing them out as they can.
It’s heartening for the young men and women of American forces to see the children take the toys and then run to show them off as if they were worth a million dollars.
True. If you have ever taken toys to an orphanage, or something similar, we may be close to knowing what this is like.
"On one such patrol, our lead security vehicle came to a stop in the middle of the street. This is never normal, and can be very unsafe, so the operators of vehicles lined up behind began to make radio inquiries of the personnel in the stopped vehicle.
"Troops in the stopped vehicle reported that there was a little girl sitting on the road, who was incredibly refusing to budge.
"The operator of the command vehicle instructed the lead to simply go around her, and to be kind and patient about it as they did.
"The street was wide enough to allow this maneuver and so soldiers waved to the little girl as they drove around her.
"As the vehicles went around her, I soon saw her sitting there and in her arms she was clutching a little teddybear that we had handed her a few patrols back," the Marine wrote in his letter. "Feeling an immediate connection to the girl, I radioed back that we were going to stop.
"The rest of the convoy paused and I got out to make sure she was okay. The little girl looked scared and concerned, but there was warmth in her eyes towards me. As I knelt down to talk to her, she moved over and pointed to a mine in the road. Immediately a cordon was set as the Marine convoy assumed a defensive posture around the site. The mine was destroyed."
What can I say? It touched my heart. How about yours?
