Mixed Signals from Iraqis, Little Girl in Shock
1 July 2003 (Well now it’s 0115 2 July 2003)
I was studying German, and then heard a loud explosion. That was just a little while ago. I went down to the operations center to find out what happened. Another Hummer got blown-up outside our gate on the road. Two casualties evacuated for shrapnel. See, this is the second incident in the same place. Iraqis are taking artillery shells and rigging them with detonators by the sides of the roads. Army truck goes by – BOOM! There was just another loud explosion, but I don’t know what that one is yet. I need to brush my teeth. Conroy just came in and sat down. He needed to talk. He is getting worse and worse every day. I suspected this, but he hides his feelings in a stoic, country manner he probably learned from his dad.
“Thompson, there was a Hummer blown up tonight. I saw it. This is starting to happen more and more – and I don’t like it. We sat there for an hour waiting for a tow truck for the Hummer! Then people started to crowd around us saying, “FUCK YOU!” getting right up on us. Sergeant Daniels said I should go to the other side of the truck just in case someone shoots. But it doesn’t matter! Then they started playing music. Thompson (he looked really nervous), you and me don’t belong here. We need to be missionaries.” He didn’t really mean that, but I got the point – he’s scared. He’s getting shaken. “All I want to do is be a racecar driver. Good night.”
I’m starting to get angry with Bremer and Bush right along with the Iraqis. Then, today, some soldiers were around a little girl who was shaking in convulsions. Her mom and dad were there and Sergeant Smith and Brown the “medic.” The same Brown who likes flirting with little girls all day – makes me sick. So they think the girl has head injuries. But Sergeant Smith is moving her head all around and rubbing ice all over her. She wasn’t awake, but twisting around so much. Then Brown puts a needle in her to give her fluids, but the needle is too big. I took her pulse at 120 beats a minute. I realized what was happening:
‘Get the fuck away from her! YOU ARE PUTTING HER IN SHOCK!’ I yelled angrily.
“Calm down T,” Sergeant Smith said.
‘No, you get the fuck away, NOW!’ I yelled again. Sergeant Watu looked at me and nodded, I could tell that he knew what I was thinking. So I told Brown to get away from the girl. I threw the ice away and straightened her head and stabilized it just in case her spine was damaged. Soon, her pulse went down and breathing went normal. The Army ambulance showed up and took her away. They gave her an I.V. to get fluid in her system and she’s OK now. You see though, these Army people are stupid, they think they are heroes, but they are idiots! They could have put the girl in cardiac arrest. She ended up being dehydrated. You’re supposed to move the victim to shade, wet their lips, pat them with a wet cloth. The ice was causing her to shake! I was so angry and asked Brown if he even knew what he was doing. I didn’t even want to look at Sergeant Smith. When he rubbing the ice on her skin, he was kinda laughing saying, “Well, she can feel it! Hehe!” These people are so stupid, and they are in charge of a country?!
Foley just came in. It seems the colonel’s patrol came across a drive-by. One child’s lifeless body was laying in the street. So I guess it was a victim. They think they found the gunmen though. They are in our prison right now getting roughed up. There is also one guy there who was released from the hospital – the one who got shot in the ass after throwing a grenade at our guys. He’s laying all bandaged up on a stretcher. He’ll be moved to the prison center at the Baghdad Airport soon.
This place makes you hate war, makes you despise human nature, makes you constantly think about your life, and about death. I am ready to come home and get out of this Army, this society of death and stupidity. It truly is terrible. DO NOT EVER, DAN, LOOK BACK ON THIS WITH PRIDE, DON’T EVER SPEAK OF THIS WAR WITH PRIDE! This is a disaster, and I can do better than this – and I will!
I was studying German, and then heard a loud explosion. That was just a little while ago. I went down to the operations center to find out what happened. Another Hummer got blown-up outside our gate on the road. Two casualties evacuated for shrapnel. See, this is the second incident in the same place. Iraqis are taking artillery shells and rigging them with detonators by the sides of the roads. Army truck goes by – BOOM! There was just another loud explosion, but I don’t know what that one is yet. I need to brush my teeth. Conroy just came in and sat down. He needed to talk. He is getting worse and worse every day. I suspected this, but he hides his feelings in a stoic, country manner he probably learned from his dad.
“Thompson, there was a Hummer blown up tonight. I saw it. This is starting to happen more and more – and I don’t like it. We sat there for an hour waiting for a tow truck for the Hummer! Then people started to crowd around us saying, “FUCK YOU!” getting right up on us. Sergeant Daniels said I should go to the other side of the truck just in case someone shoots. But it doesn’t matter! Then they started playing music. Thompson (he looked really nervous), you and me don’t belong here. We need to be missionaries.” He didn’t really mean that, but I got the point – he’s scared. He’s getting shaken. “All I want to do is be a racecar driver. Good night.”
I’m starting to get angry with Bremer and Bush right along with the Iraqis. Then, today, some soldiers were around a little girl who was shaking in convulsions. Her mom and dad were there and Sergeant Smith and Brown the “medic.” The same Brown who likes flirting with little girls all day – makes me sick. So they think the girl has head injuries. But Sergeant Smith is moving her head all around and rubbing ice all over her. She wasn’t awake, but twisting around so much. Then Brown puts a needle in her to give her fluids, but the needle is too big. I took her pulse at 120 beats a minute. I realized what was happening:
‘Get the fuck away from her! YOU ARE PUTTING HER IN SHOCK!’ I yelled angrily.
“Calm down T,” Sergeant Smith said.
‘No, you get the fuck away, NOW!’ I yelled again. Sergeant Watu looked at me and nodded, I could tell that he knew what I was thinking. So I told Brown to get away from the girl. I threw the ice away and straightened her head and stabilized it just in case her spine was damaged. Soon, her pulse went down and breathing went normal. The Army ambulance showed up and took her away. They gave her an I.V. to get fluid in her system and she’s OK now. You see though, these Army people are stupid, they think they are heroes, but they are idiots! They could have put the girl in cardiac arrest. She ended up being dehydrated. You’re supposed to move the victim to shade, wet their lips, pat them with a wet cloth. The ice was causing her to shake! I was so angry and asked Brown if he even knew what he was doing. I didn’t even want to look at Sergeant Smith. When he rubbing the ice on her skin, he was kinda laughing saying, “Well, she can feel it! Hehe!” These people are so stupid, and they are in charge of a country?!
Foley just came in. It seems the colonel’s patrol came across a drive-by. One child’s lifeless body was laying in the street. So I guess it was a victim. They think they found the gunmen though. They are in our prison right now getting roughed up. There is also one guy there who was released from the hospital – the one who got shot in the ass after throwing a grenade at our guys. He’s laying all bandaged up on a stretcher. He’ll be moved to the prison center at the Baghdad Airport soon.
This place makes you hate war, makes you despise human nature, makes you constantly think about your life, and about death. I am ready to come home and get out of this Army, this society of death and stupidity. It truly is terrible. DO NOT EVER, DAN, LOOK BACK ON THIS WITH PRIDE, DON’T EVER SPEAK OF THIS WAR WITH PRIDE! This is a disaster, and I can do better than this – and I will!
posted by American, Interrupted at 1:15 AM
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