My name is Katie and my brother Sgt. Brian Wood was killed in Iraq on April 16th and since his voice can not be heard any longer, our family is trying to get an email he sent to every American who is willing to read it. We thought this email, sent from Iraq Thursday morning, April 15th, from Sgt. Brian Wood (serving in the 1st Infantry Division) to his Uncle Mike, might help shed some light on the current war situation.
Hey Mike,
Sorry about getting this off kinda late, been pretty hectic around here recently. Not quite sure what you're hearing from the news, I don't get a whole lot of time to follow it. For the most I feel that the Iraqi people actually appreciate us being here. The attacks that are happening are basically a result of unemployment, and a few terrorists (or whatever you want to call them) paying people off to do the attacks. From what I've heard from the locals around my sector they are pretty much just trying to do what they can to improve their quality of life. But when so many people are out of jobs, they will pretty much do anything they can to make ends meet to provide for themselves and their families. There are many issues that need to be resolved as far as rebuilding their country. And though the people want as many issues resolved as quickly as possible, they can't be resolved that way in an efficient manner. There are already many Iraqi police and ICDC which are basically the guys we are going after, and they use the support of the coalition forces as a cover, so the rest of the people won't be able to fight back. So it may be a long road ahead, but for the large majority of the Iraqi people, they want us here, and they want us to help them rebuild. That always makes me feel good about being here, actually making a difference in these people's lives and giving them opportunities they've never had. It always amazes me how people don't think we should be here. I don't think they really understand what life is like here and how these people were treated. But I suppose most people will never understand that. Well, it's great to hear you're enjoying your new house. I might have to take a trip up there once my time is up. I'll send ya e-mails when I can.
Brian