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After the painting was finished, the POB soldiers grabbed the goodies from the back of the vehicles as children and elderly men clamored for soccer balls. The students were also given backpacks filled with pencils and paper as well as Beanie Babies, which Valdez said are quite the rage with the children of Iraq. To show their appreciation, the children serenaded the soldiers, much to the delight of both the Americans and the Iraqis.
Staff Sgt. Ron Eberhardt, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, was at the event to help coordinate the Iraqi media’s coverage of the occasion. “We wanted to show the people of Iraq through newspapers and television how the Iraqi Security Forces cooperate with the U.S. troops,” Eberhardt said. For Valdez, the key to the mission was to show the community the partnership between Iraqi and American forces. “It shows the local nationals that Coalition Forces aren’t out there by themselves and the ISF aren’t by themselves — they are working in concert,” he said. “For the locals, they can see this is one team — we are working together toward one common goal.” Some people might say that painting over graffiti and handing out stuffed animals is not going to make much of an impact with the Iraqi people. Valdez believes the improvements might be small, but “the gesture is grand.” “Right now we have millions and millions of dollars slated for big projects but the problem is the time from start to finish is so long that people get upset and frustrated,” Valdez said. “What we are trying to do is give them a little something to keep them going. We do little improvements here and there and all of a sudden the local nationals are saying, ‘Wow, these guys are actually trying to improve the area.’ I know the improvements aren’t the biggest, but we help a couple of schools, put in some new windows, clean up the area — that goes a long way for the people.” |
