U.S. Army Soldier Brings Back Stories from Baghdad

WLBT ^ | 02/21/04 | Joanna Gaitanoglou

[yonif]

Most of us rely on the media to tell us what's happening in Iraq. Now you'll read about a Pearl native who spent almost a year there fighting against enemy forces and rebuilding the city of Baghdad.

Last March, U.S. Army soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division were packing and preparing for war. Almost a year later, one of those soldiers was able to come home to tell others about his time in Baghdad.

"The experience out there, I wouldn't trade for anything," said Sgt. Derrick Brownlee of Pearl. "Being with my team and being with those guys ...we're like family now."

Brownlee says the team he traveled with was made up of about 16 soldiers. The Mississippi native says he arrived in Baghdad just after Saddam Hussein's regime had fallen.

"Once we were inside Baghdad we were just in charge of security and sustainment and kind of helping them rebuild Baghdad, helping them with their water and their power."

Brownlee showed WLBT how Iraqi forces would prepare to attack U.S. soldiers with declassified footage from an Apache helicopter.

"They would drop off weapons and someone would come pick that weapon up with intent to use against U.S. Forces."

Brownlee also showed WLBT the once splendid palaces of Hussein.

"You could tell it was a beautiful place, but it's just all destroyed now," said Brownlee. "There was just rubble everywhere."

He says Hussein's people never saw such luxury.

"The citizens of Iraq were just living horribly. Most of them had no power, no water, they were building houses out of whatever they could."

Brownlee says even though the coalition forces did not get their hands on the weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. Soldiers did help restore a city and country that was terrorized.

"I wouldn't say most but a lot of Americans can't see what we did, but if they could, they would understand that it is a good cause us being there."

And Brownlee says he's thankful he was able to return safely to tell the rest of the war story.

"My team, we got out unscratched. I really thank God for that."

Brownlee left for Baghdad on Valentine's Day of 2003 and returned to the U.S. on January 29th.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The media is not working at all to tell this story. Instead they are working on this kind of a story:

Tents in Kuwait Serve As U.S. Mortuary

[yonif]

I posted that story a little while before I posted this one, to show how local stories don't make it to the national scale, and that the media could care less.

[McGavin999]

Welcome Home!

[Calpernia]

Pro Military, Pro Coalition, Pro de-Baathification News!

Last March, U.S. Army soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division were packing and preparing for war. Almost a year later, one of those soldiers was able to come home to tell others about his time in Baghdad.

Thank you for the post Yonif!

Private Mail to be added to or removed from the GNFI (or Pro-Coalition) ping list.

[windchime]

Bump!

[FatherOfLiberty]

Thanks for the article. A member of my church is an Army Reserve nurse - she's been in Kuwait manning a military hospital for almost a year now. She e-mails me great stories passed on to her by wounded soldiers. She also speaks of the demoralizing effect that most of the U.S. and British media reporting is having on the troops. Very sad.

I couldn't get past this line without laughing a bit: "Brownlee showed WLBT how Iraqi forces would prepare to attack U.S. soldiers with declassified footage from an Apache helicopter." After reading that I was wondering how the Iraqi's were attacking us with declassified footage - and how they got an Apache helicopter to drop it on our troops. The reporter needs a little work on syntax.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I see it!

[Khurkris]

Good post. Thanks Yonif.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Blake#1]

They care! They (major media) want the Democrats in power. That way they make more money. So they will always put a "bad face" on any news that makes Bush-Republicans look good.

[SAMWolf]

Soldier's Bump

[ducks1944]

I live in Pearl, Mississippi was not born ed here but have lived here since 1979. I was raised in Indiana. But I'm proud of all our troops and ask GOD to bless them and there families. A special thanks to Sgt. Brownless for he and his troops have done for all of us and those in Iraq. They are the best the of our country and they have made us all proud to be American. May GOD richly bless all of them. I pray that GOD will be with those who have lost love one. We owe them our gratitude. What great men and women we have serving in our Military. This say a lot for there parent and those who raised them. THANK ALL OF YOU ! !

[martin_fierro]

TESTIFY, SARGE! Job well done!

[WorkingClassFilth]

"The citizens of Iraq were just living horribly. Most of them had no power, no water, they were building houses out of whatever they could."

If any of you have noticed, the price of OSB (Oriented Strand Board) at your local building center is about $15-17/sheet. A year ago, the price was about $5-7/sheet. The cost inflation is largely due to the U.S. government's purchase of the material for building in Iraq. No story here.

[Txslady]

"I wouldn't say most but a lot of Americans can't see what we did, but if they could, they would understand that it is a good cause us being there."

We (many) hear these stories from family members who are over there fighting or have come back. You are right and so is this guy, the media just doesn't quite get it do they.

Thanks for posting.

[sandmanbr]

Welcome home Sgt. Derrick Brownlee. Thank you for all you and your fellow soldiers did and are doing for America. You make Mississippi proud.

[PattonReincarnated]

I was just thinking that there will be some 100,000 soldiers returning from Iraq between now and Novemeber. I wonder what kind of influence that will on how people think about Iraq and the job the CINC has done. That would be 100,000 * (mom + dad + 2(grandma + grandpa) + siblings + friends + friends of friends)

[blackie]

U.S. Army Soldier Brings Back Stories from Baghdad ~ Bump!