Subject: A Glimpse into Iraq

I imagine that some of you may be corresponding with troops in Iraq, but I
thought, if you are not, you might appreciate a "window" in the world of one
of our soldiers. Chip is a Centenary graduate and serving with a medical
unit in the Navy Corp. See his most recent message to me below. Regardless
of our politics, my correspondence with Chip reminds me to keep them all in
my prayers as I go about my everyday life in this world so far from his.

Betsy Eaves

Tue, December 6, 2005 6:42 pm

Betsy,

Hi there. How are you??

Life in my part of the world?? Hmmmmmmm...after being home for 15 days,
it's just that much more amplified as to how different it is from home.

With my days, I see patients. Sometimes it's routine sick Marines, Iraqis,
foreign military, and civilians. Most of it is stuff that you would see in
any Family Practice clinic in the States. Unfortunately though, there are
days when I see tons of bleeding and death. The car bombs and roadside
bombs are so deadly. I've seen people die that I know, and I've had people
live because of the things that I do or how I reacted at the right time.
It's not a glorious job at all. But, it's a necessary job.

The best part about it is that the Marines trust you with their lives.
They are able to give everything that they have in combat because they know
that there is a Navy Corpsman by their side at all times. If they are
injured during combat, they know that if there is anything that can be done
to save their lives, the Corpsmen will do it. Otherwise, they weren't going
to make it anyway. It's a good feeling to know that "The Few And The Proud"
trust you with all that they have to give.

The worst part about it is when you lose a Marine. What's even worse is how
fast you have to get over it when that happens. It's hard to get close to
people out here because of the nature of our jobs. The closer you get to
people, the harder it would be if they were killed. It's hard to get to
know people here anyway with such a conservative military.
Being who I am, I have to pretend to not be so liberal.

I wish that y'all in the States could see things that we accomplish here.
All you see on CNN are car bombs, roadside bombs, shooting, and death. Why??
Because that's what makes headlines. You don't see about all the work that
the Navy does to traing Iraqi soldiers to take care of their own people in
combat. You don't see all the work the Marine Corps does to train Iraqi
soldiers to defend their own land without the help of America. You don't
see the American civilian police officers who train the Public Order
Battalion (their police system) to keep the crime off their streets. You
don't see that after nearly 40 years of dictatorship, the Iraqi people have
had a free election where women can vote and where people don't have to be
afraid to say what's on their minds. Unfortunately, no news channel wants
to broadcast that info to America.

I will spend Christmas here on Camp Fallujah. The chow hall will serve
Christmas food. It's not bad. It's pretty nice for being out in the
desert. I will try to take pictures when the time rolls around and post
them on my LiveJournal for you to see.

Anyway...thanks for the interest. Write back when you get a chance.

-Chip

Very Respectfully,
HN (FMF) Lawrence D. LeDuff III, USN
RCT-8 (RAS)
Unit 73915
FPO AE 09509-3915