Posted on 03/04/2005 3:33:54 PM PST by SandRat
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, March 4, 2005) --Operation Happy Feet brought smiles to children of Sadr City as Soldiers of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry distributed sneakers at Marakah al-Taf Elementary School Feb. 28.
Working in conjunction with Civil Affairs, Soldiers purchased 500 pairs of shoes from a local vendor to give out at the northeastern Baghdad school, according to Capt. Timothy Terese, B Co. commander.
“We go around to lots of schools in the area, basically every day, to make sure they have the proper equipment to function,” said 1st Lt. Jason Rocks, B Co. fire support officer and effects coordinator. “Blackboards, pencils, paper – we check that they are able to function on a day-to-day basis.”
Rocks, of Puyallup, Wash., said the missions help foster support for coalition forces in an area once considered firmly under insurgent control.
“Right now, (Operation Happy Feet is) immediate gratification,” Rocks said. “But everything we do for them helps them and their families realize that the Iraqi government and coalition forces care about the Iraqi people.”
In addition to the company of ‘Can Do’ infantrymen present, a squad of Iraqi Army soldiers helped provide security and translations during the visit.
The school is coeducational, meaning girls have class in the morning and boys in the afternoon.
“We’re trying to get the kids of Sadr City some new shoes, and hand out copies of Baghdad Kids,” said Spc. Brandon Wise, 307th Psychological Operations Company, Team 1033, a Missouri Reserve unit. “It’s a fun magazine for kids – it’s got stuff about dinosaurs, outer space, the Olympics – things kids like. It’s got some important safety and hygiene messages too, like ‘remember to brush your teeth’ and ‘don’t point toy guns at Soldiers.’”
Wise, of Greenville, Ill., and Staff Sgt. Travis C. Butler, also of the 307th, handed out bags of school supplies, coloring books and issues of Baghdad Kids.
“It’s really important for us to make a good impression on these kids before they grow up,” Butler, of St. Clair, Mo., said. “The kids are the future of Iraq, and fostering a better relationship now will make for better relationships later.”
The morning’s classes of girls lined up to get their feet measured, and receive the white tennis shoes. The girls quietly giggled as Soldiers passed the shoes forward to Chaplain (Capt.) Steven Hommel, 3/15 chaplain, who handed them out. Several Soldiers remarked at how well-behaved the girls were.
“The American schoolkids back in the states don’t realize how lucky they are, when you look at someplace like Iraq,” 1st Sgt. Donald Rangel, B Co., first sergeant, said. “We passed out these shoes just so the kids here can get from home to school without hurting themselves.
“It makes me feel good to do this for the kids here,” the San Antonio native continued. “I’ve got six kids of my own, three of them in elementary school.”
The Soldiers distributed about half of the 500 pairs of shoes to the girls, and will give the rest to the school’s boys later in the week.
“This is one of many missions we have, providing aid to Sadr City residents,” Terese said. “We come out here every day. We’re also working right now to get a functional sewage system installed in the neighborhood, which will make for a much safer neighborhood for these kids to grow up in.”
Operation Happy Feet helps Iraqi children.
That is one of the nicest stories I have seen.
I am upset that the MSM doesn't shows this story and others like it on prime time.
No one in the MSM wants to show how are soldiers care for the kids over there like their own.
what about all the kids they didn't buy shoes for? ... they are probably poor quality .... what will they do when they wear out? .... they are probably made from animal skins .... did they buy them socks? .... why do they get shoes when they'll probably just sell them on the black market anyway? ... blah blah blah
Our American military - THE BEST OF AMERICA! God, please keep them safe
It doesn't fit Dan Blather's agenda or George Soros' agenda.
the left would complain if you hung them with a new rope. with them the glass is always half-empty, never half-full.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the Lord, who is my refuge then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. you will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. "Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.
AMEN!
Thank you for the Soldier's Prayer!
Thanks for the ping!
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