confident we would win. As we approached the city, I claimed Psalm 91:7 again: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” We continued to march forward though the odds were not in our favor.
Upon entering the city, however, we were alone. The Iraqi soldiers, all thirty thousand of them, had retreated by the time we arrived. Not one was left. We took the city without incident or injury, and I praised God for his protection once again.
“What are we fighting for, anyway?” I can imagine the Iraqi soldiers asking each other before retreating. They served a tyrant. From the 1991 Gulf War until 2003, the former Iraqi government systematically expelled an estimated 120,000 Kurds, Turkmens, and some Assyrians from Kirkuk and other towns and villages in this oil-rich region. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government resettled Arab families in their place in an attempt to reduce the political power and presence of ethnic minorities. The Iraqi authorities also seized minorities’ property and assets; those who were expelled to areas controlled by Kurdish forces were stripped of all possessions and their ration cards were withdrawn.
The reason why Americans have been as successful as we have in war is that we have something to fight for something worth coming back home to. That’s why I believe we would have held up in battle, even outnumbered as we were. But I’m still glad we didn’t have to.
Lord, give me the courage and strength to march forward into the unknown, knowing you are with me.
“If you make the Most High your dwelling even the LORD, who is my refuge then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.” (Psalm 91:9, 10)
December 30
EXPOSED
It was one o’clock in the morning when a shot rang out above us. It was the night guard standing watch on the roof of our safe house in the middle of the city, warning us by firing his automatic weapon that our safety was being threatened either by the enemy trying to penetrate the property or attack us from any distance.
In a flash, our entire company of about one hundred and fifty men jumped out of bed, grabbed their weapons, and rushed outside to reinforce whatever was necessary. None of us had any clue what was going on we had just awaken literally seconds ago. All of us were laying down and firing into the darkness. We were still in our pajamas, barefoot, and with no body armor on to protect ourselves. Nothing was between our feet and the rocky ground beneath them. Nothing was between our bare shoulders and the M-4s we steadied against them. And nothing was between our exposed flesh and the enemy fire that was aimed against us.
That night the enemy fired seven rockets at us, each a little bigger than a baseball bat in size. One hit the roof and bounced off and the others didn’t come near us. The Iraqis didn’t have the technology we do that perfects aim, so they shot the rockets off in our direction from unstable launcher pods, just hoping that it would hit something.
When dawn came the next morning, there was nothing left to indicate what sort of casualties we may have inflicted on them. They either ran away or pulled all their men out. I’m sure that with so many of us firing in their direction, they changed their minds and turned tail to dodge the bullets. And none of the pajama-clad warriors were harmed
Lord, give me the confidence to do the right thing, even if I feel vulnerable and exposed while doing it.
“You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.” (Psalm 91:5)
December 31
REBUILDING KIRKUK
This war wasn’t all about firing weapons. In fact, we spent 90 percent of our time not fighting the enemy, but doing reconstruction: fixing the hospitals and schools, reprinting school books, rebuilding streets, securing supplies, training their police force, getting the water and power turned back on. At Christmas time, our families sent toys for us to deliver to the children, and money for the adults so they could heat their homes and cook a little easier.
The children in general loved us, and we loved spending time with them, too. We spoiled the girls a little more than the boys and always gave our candy from our MREs to the girls. That, in itself, was hard for them to understand since females are considered less valuable in that culture.
One day I gave a pack of Skittles® to a little girl, and a little boy snatched the Skittles® out of her hand.
“Give those back to her,” I told him as I grabbed his collar. I knew he didn’t understand English, but after a few tries he got the message.
He looked dumbfounded. What are you doing? I’m a guy, I’m one of you, his eyes seemed to say. But he handed them back to the little girl and looked at me again, this time with an expression of epiphany on his face. It’s like a light went on in his head, as though he were thinking, What if girls are important after all? Maybe we shouldn’t treat them like we do. He walked away very slowly, as if he had a lot of thinking to do after that. I bet that was the first time someone stuck up for females in his life.
I’m sure we affected the children of that country more than we affected people my age and older. Adults are set in their perceptions, but when children saw us caring and giving people dignity, it might have been life-altering. When they grow up, they’ll know Americans aren’t evil; we just want everyone to get along.
Lord, help me be a peacemaker and pursue true reconciliation wherever I go.
“Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” (Psalm 34:14)
Acknowledgments
I consider working on this book as a privilege and an honor. Our interviews with those who have sacrificed for this war have revealed new angles on history-in-the-making, and it’s been an exciting journey. So to those people who have shared your stories with me, I thank you for giving us your unique perspective: Jessica Alley, Joseph Bills, Brian and Melanie Birdwell, Bill Butler, Christopher and Leah Dubree, Oaken Ewens, Stephen Ewens, Carol Pinkerton-Ewens, Gene Fowler, Kevin and Kristin Hamilton, Steve Harrold, Kerri Hartwick, Starlett Henderson, Sara Horn, Daniel and Wendy Gade, John Gessner, Jay Johannigman, Deborah Johns, Tom Joyce, Shane Klein, Benita Koeman, Jason and Sonja Mannarino, Carrie McDonall, Mark Murphy, Joe and Stephanie Olsen, Dave and Vanessa Peters, Jim Powers, Nate Self, Patti Smith, Christopher Taffoya, Donna Tallman, Frank Vozenilek, Mark and Marshele Carter Waddell, Andrea Westfall, and Amanda and Stuart Zeigler.
Sincere thanks and appreciation also go to my family for their support during this project: to my husband Rob for cheerfully watching our young children and settling for frozen dinners many times, to my parents Peter and Pixie Falck, to my aunt Carmen Ingham, and my cousin Carrie Christensen for all their help with childcare so I could focus
