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Iraqis bid a fond farewell to liberating Army infantry
Stars and Stripes ^ | 3/12/04 | Steve Liewer

Posted on 03/12/2004 12:46:49 PM PST by saquin

BALAD, Iraq — As a crowd of Iraqis clapped and cheered, leaders of the 4th Infantry Division unit that brought calm to this city gave a gift meant to symbolize peace and friendship.

Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman and Capt. Matt Cunningham — battalion and company commanders from the 4th ID’s 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment — presented a statue of a dove flying above a map of Iraq. It stands atop a red-tile pedestal and fountain built by local artisans.

The officers dedicated the statue to 1,500 men, women and children from the Shiite city of 170,000 who were slaughtered by Saddam Hussein’s regime after an assassination attempt against the former Iraqi dictator in Balad in 1982.

They also dedicated it to widows and victims of Saddam’s torture campaign; an Iraqi police chief and six officers killed by a bomb in January; and two American soldiers — Capt. Eric Paliwoda and Staff Sgt. Dale Panchot — killed in the Balad area.

“This sculpture represents all the sacrifices this city has made since 1982, and their friendship during the past year,” Cunningham said.

The city was rife with violence when the 1-8 Infantry arrived last June to set up Forward Operating Base Eagle (later renamed Paliwoda in honor of the slain officer).

With aggressive raids and patrols, and creation of a strong informants’ network, the unit was able to capture or kill most of the insurgents.

By October, Balad was peaceful enough to hold the first free elections in Iraq.

Children waved at soldiers aboard 1-8 Infantry’s four Bradley fighting vehicles as they roared down the street to the ceremony, held at a crossroads in the city center decorated with flags of red, green and black.

Several Balad dignitaries spoke, presenting Sassaman and Cunningham with bronze clocks as gifts. They thanked the Iraqis and introduced Capt. Henry Delacruz, company commander from Task Force 1-77, the 1st Infantry Division unit taking over at Paliwoda this week.

“I want these children, and my daughter, to live in a world free of terror,” Cunningham said. “[Balad] is a model for the security of the whole country. I’m confident the new unit will build on our foundation.”

Cunningham’s father, Jim, a retired physiology professor from East Lansing, Mich., designed, built and donated the sculpture. He built it four years ago when his son was assigned to the Sinai to commemorate soldiers from the multinational peacekeeping force who had died there.

“To him, it was a way of contributing to my peacekeeping efforts,” Capt. Cunningham said later. “He’s really happy to participate in bridging the gap.”


Matt Cunningham, commander of Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, spoke Thursday at the dedication of a peace sculpture to the citizens of Balad, Iraq. The 1-8 Infantry arrived in Balad last June and has since smashed a once-active insurgency and presided over the first free elections in the country.


Dozens of Balad's citizens Thursday clamored to pose with Capt. Matt Cunningham, commander of Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, the 4th Infantry Division unit that has brought peace and free elections to this Iraqi city of 170,000 since the chaos of last summer. Cunningham and the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman, dedicated the peace sculpture — designed and built by Cunningham's father, Jim — as a farewell gift to the people of Balad. The 1-8 Infantry is returning home to Fort Carson, Colo., next week, and turning over its duties in Balad to Task Force 1-77, a 1st Infantry Division unit from Schweinfurt, Germany.


Iraqi schoolgirls attended the dedication of a peace monument at a crossroads in the center of Balad, a predominantly Shiite city of 170,000 50 miles north of Baghdad in the heart of the Sunni Triangle.


Balad artisans painted this inscription on the pedestal of the sculpture.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 4thid; army; balad; fallen; homewardbound; iraq; iraqipeople; liberators; memorial; rotation
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1 posted on 03/12/2004 12:46:50 PM PST by saquin
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To: saquin
*BUMP*!
2 posted on 03/12/2004 12:50:29 PM PST by ex-Texan
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To: saquin
I'm sure Dan Rather will be talking about this tonight. (sarcasm)
3 posted on 03/12/2004 12:51:23 PM PST by Spok
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To: ex-Texan
Bet we don't see this report on the CBS News with Dan Rather...
4 posted on 03/12/2004 12:51:39 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: saquin
I wonder how soon the mainstream Press will be reporting on this story?
5 posted on 03/12/2004 12:52:39 PM PST by SAMWolf (John Kerry is not indecisive and wishy-washy. He consistantly gives aid and comfort to our enemies.)
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To: saquin
And I thought US military force was there as an instrument of brutal yellow dog lackey imperialist henchmen of Bush hegemony and big oil.

Sometimes I must be mistaken.

AMERICA will prevail over muslim thuggery, given time.
6 posted on 03/12/2004 12:54:25 PM PST by petertare (truth, justice and the American way)
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To: Spok
Ya.. right... Right behind the next civil political ad we see from the Rats.
7 posted on 03/12/2004 12:55:39 PM PST by Integrityrocks
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To: saquin
There seems to be a common notion here......

Thanks for the post.
8 posted on 03/12/2004 12:57:08 PM PST by nuconvert (CAUTION: I'm an acquaintance of someone labelled :"an obstinate supporter of dangerous fantasies")
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To: Ragtime Cowgirl
PoNg
9 posted on 03/12/2004 12:58:00 PM PST by nuconvert (CAUTION: I'm an acquaintance of someone labelled :"an obstinate supporter of dangerous fantasies")
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To: saquin
Bringing peace, security and tranquility to an Iraqi city. This is how we make friends and it happened because America is good.
10 posted on 03/12/2004 12:58:14 PM PST by 17th Miss Regt
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To: 17th Miss Regt
bttt
11 posted on 03/12/2004 12:59:44 PM PST by Pikamax
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To: saquin
Makes one PROUD to be an AMERICAN represented by such men as these. GOD BLESS the 4ths 1-8. You did your DUTY and while you were at it.......FREED A NATION!!!!!

Well Done! Now come on home!!!

Wonder if this ceremony will be televised by the major networks and covered by the mainstream media??? I for one wouldn't bet on it!!

12 posted on 03/12/2004 1:00:43 PM PST by PISANO (Our troops...... will NOT tire...will NOT falter.....and WILL NOT FAIL!!!)
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To: saquin
This story warms an old Vietnam vets heart. Both of my sons are back now and are proud to know that they had a hand in the liberation.

Compare that with what I just read over on DU. Truly saddening. I really feel sorry for this mans sons. Wish there was some way to give them the guidance that they need. Obviously his older son started out on the right foot but was corrupted by the old man.

FROM DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND:

about once a month, the u.s. government calls here, asking for my son to enlist. the last several times, i picked up the phone and yelled '---- ---!" and slammed it down. today, he received his official registration notice, so i guess by law, he has to sign up.

my oldest son, who is 33 now, wanted to join up during the first bushwar, out of a sense of misguided patriotism i think, and i talked him out of it, pointing out that the cause was not a noble one.

i remember during the viet nam draft, many men i knew did everything imaginable to avoid being drafted, including one guy who shot himself in the foot. (didn't help) and another guy who tried to act gay. and one more who pretended to be nuts.

dick cheney got about 5 student deferments, ("I had other priorities") and i was wondering what legal deferment options i might take advantage of, besides the student one.

i thought since i was a crippled up old man, i might make him my legal 'assistant helper' or whatever the terminology is.

if my son wants to enlist, i won't stop him, only discourage him from it. but i don't want my son to be sent against his will to fight and die for an evil purpose, namely, the enrichment of billionaire maniacs.

if anyone knows, or remembers, i'd like to know just what the deferment options are. if dick cheney can do it, i want my son to have the same breaks.

13 posted on 03/12/2004 1:00:45 PM PST by ladtx ( "Remember your regiment and follow your officers." Captain Charles May, 2d Dragoons, 9 May 1846)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
Yes, after all, we are just after their oil, right? At least, that's what we hear day in and day out from the democrat party, the "mainstream" media, and a host of assorted fruits and nuts (ie, "California Blend").
14 posted on 03/12/2004 1:02:20 PM PST by astounded
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To: astounded
"Deferment options" I didn't know the draft was still in effect!
15 posted on 03/12/2004 1:08:03 PM PST by MattMa (I'm not a victim, I am a conservative and if you get to close, I just may bite.)
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To: saquin
God bless all those who sacrificed so that others they did not even know could be free. The pictures should bring a tear to everyone's eyes.
16 posted on 03/12/2004 1:11:50 PM PST by doug from upland (Don't wait until it is too late to stop Hillary -- do something today!)
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To: MattMa
"Deferment options" I didn't know the draft was still in effect!

You are right, only registration is required. And deferments for school have changed significantly (basically not there any more). And his idea of designating his son as a "legal assistant helper" won't go very far either, especially if there is anyone who could be considered a helper "legally defined" or not.

17 posted on 03/12/2004 1:17:17 PM PST by !1776!
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To: saquin
But, but, but...this can't be true. They hate us. Dan Rather said so.
18 posted on 03/12/2004 1:21:03 PM PST by Bahbah
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To: PISANO
"Wonder if this ceremony will be televised by the major networks and covered by the mainstream media??? I for one wouldn't bet on it!!"

We should email Fox or Hannity to show this. Our soldiers never get credit for all the positive things they do there.

At least once a week - there should be some time devoted to them.

19 posted on 03/12/2004 1:27:55 PM PST by LADY J
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To: Eric in the Ozarks; Spok
No, he's going to be talking about the wannabe Jihadist who says he was captured by Iraqi's and sold to the Americans for $100 and how he was tortured in prison.
20 posted on 03/12/2004 1:30:37 PM PST by Guillermo (It's tough being a Miami Dolphins fan)
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