The Garden of Eden

Fallujah was the insurgent strong hold that had taken the dead bodies of Blackwater contractors and hung them from the bridge in celebration seven months prior.   The week leading up to November we had to move. closer to the fight. 

Nov 1, 2004

    Everything has changed. I forget what day but we packed up and moved from probably one of the safest places in IRAQ to the most dangerous, Fallujah.

    The first day here just my vehicle and one other went on a leader's recon and shadowed the army. I found myself on the banks of the Euphrates's river, just across Fallujah, sweeping through orchards and crops looking for weapons caches and realized that I was in the birthplace of civilization. "The Garden of Eden" I can see why. From where I was in the middle of the desert to where I was standing was night and day. There were forests of Palm trees, blue water, soil not sand, and then gunfire.

    It was only one, maybe two shots coming from the Fallujah side of the river. A soldier said that he had heard the round fly over his head, as we looked for a gunman another single shot. This was the first one I actually heard and it sounded like a twig snapping but it was not close and I was not concerned. But it was a good feeling to actually be in danger. After the few months in KV I never got that feeling. I was pissed off that I had put my life on hold to come back and fight a war and I thought I would get off the plane shooting and ended up chasing guardrail thieves.

    Later that first day while driving back to base, Camp Manhattan, we stopped suddenly and angled the vehicle to block traffic and dismounted scouts. I was not in my usual seat with the radio to my ear, because we had brought Lt. Pittson, the 3^rd Platoon commander for the leaders Recon, so I never heard why we stopped but we jumped out and pushed out about 20 meters to stop traffic. The Captain said "if a car made it to us they would engage with the 25mm" so I knew he wasn't messing around. It was a busy road and cars did not need to be told to turn around the 25 mm told them that. Most of the cars were stopping and jumping the median about 100m from me. I thought I was going to have to shoot when a brown jeep speed past that invisible line,  I took three steps towards him  fast, bringing my rifle up into my shoulder. He locked up his breaks and cranked the wheel coming to a stop, across the median. It was a fun day. I felt like we were actually working and that I was actually at war, and it only got better... and worse.