By Spc. Andy Miller
LATIFIYAH, Iraq - The soldiers of Task Force 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division value the relationships they've built with the children of Iraq.
In keeping with this philosophy, Task Force soldiers distributed gifts of shoes, clothing, school supplies and toys to the residents of Latifiyah, Jan. 24. Most of those residents were of the younger variety.
"Its good for the unit," Spc. Derek Thorpe, a medic from East Montpelier, Vt. said. It definitely shows a lighter, more caring side of the Army. It's a struggle sometimes for the public though. They aren't always as quite receptive.
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"Some of [the locals] were too scared to come over. They were intimidated," he explained. "It's tough, because they see us in one light, and we're trying to do something in the other light. It's a good thing, but it's not always easy."
But the kids are not afraid, according to Capt. Ryan Mitcha, the task force's fire support officer, from Houston.
Mitcha started working with other soldiers from the Task Force after he went on a civil affairs school visit last fall. The civil affairs soldiers were passing out backpacks and school supplies when they got mobbed by the children.
"We were doing it real orderly at first," Mitcha recalled. "And the kids would kind of peak out of the rooms and wave to you and stuff like that. And then, finally, they got to a point where the teachers couldn't hold the kids back anymore."
When it was time for the soldiers to leave, the children followed them to their vehicles, and chased them down the road. It gave Mitcha an idea.
"I e-mailed my mom, and said, "Hey, we did this thing today, and it was pretty cool, just to see. The reaction made me feel really good, and it makes the Soldiers feel really good,"" Mitcha explained. "So my mom blasted that out to like 300 people."
After that, the boxes started coming in. Big boxes ... and there more than 35 of them filled with school supplies, clothing and toys. They came from all over the country: Texas, California,, Virginia, Washington state; even some from India. Mitcha had so much stuff that he shared some of it with Soldiers of the 256th Brigade, who took over patrolling parts of the Abu Ghraib area of Baghdad for Task Force 2-12 a few months ago.
"These kids have nothing," Mitcha said. "You go into a house, there's no furniture, the kids have no toys, and they don't have any school supplies.
"You can see the difference when the soldiers are out there, and they start passing stuff out to the kids," he continued. "You can see Soldiers think differently of the Iraqis. It's kind of like "hey, not everyone's trying to kill me"."
Capt. Dave Perry, an assistant operations officer, said he felt the same way about the kids in the Abu Ghraib District of Baghdad. Perry commanded the Task Force's attached Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, when they had responsibility for military operations in Abu Ghraib most of last year.
Perry developed such a report with the children of Abu Ghraib's White Gold village, that they would call him by name: "Mr. Dawoo," which is Arabic for David.
"I could go into White Gold village, and within minutes I"d be surrounded by kids," Perry recalled. "Of all the villages in Abu Ghraib, that was the absolute most destitute. Families in that city, they had nothing."
Perry said he developed a special appreciation for the children and residents of White Gold village during his tenure in Abu Ghraib. While there were daily attacks on him and his Soldiers in Abu Ghraib for most of the year, he said he didn't have to worry about getting attacked in White Gold.
Perry, who has children of his own, said it was the children of that village that kept him going during some tough times for the company.
"Kids are the same wherever you go," he said. "They don't hate until someone teaches them to. Sometimes the kids are the only thing that keeps you human over here, because you get so frustrated dealing with the Iraqi males and the population.
"You go back out and look at these little kids and it changes everything.
They run up to the road, and it makes their day. All they want is some attention from an American soldier. That's all they want. And it puts it all back into perspective for you instantly."
| Date Taken: | 02.04.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 02.04.2005 15:28 |
| Story ID: | 1111 |
| Location: | LATIFIYA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 26 |
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