New Hampshire Soldier in Iraq Shares his Ongoing Story Part 6

  You can read here about Lt. Col. Jonathan Sistare, a New Hampshire soldier in Iraq who has been writing an ongoing article for the New Hampshire Union Leader. This is supposed to be his last part because he will soon be on the way home. I hope after he comes home he will write one more piece to tie everything up.

  In this latest part he talks about the joy he feels knowing he will see his wife and three boys soon, and also the saddness he feels knowing he is leaving some friendships that were forged in Iraq behind. I don’t think any one who hasn’t been through something like this to be able to truly be able to understand the friendships he is talking about. Just knowing your life depends on everyone around you twenty four hours a day and building the kind of trust and love for you fellow soldiers  is something I will never be able to grasp fully. But it’s not just his American counter-parts he will miss, he will also miss the Iraqis he has been fighting along with. Just imagine the trust and bond that had to have developed there.

  Here is how the article ends.

However the situation here in Iraq ends, it will not bring an end to the threat of terrorism which we all face now and which we all saw so tragically on 9/11 six years ago. President Bush saw Iraq as a threat, and most of the country, including the Congress, agreed at the time, and here we are. After making so much effort to get here and to destroy the threat at the time (Saddam), turning and saying “see ya” before we help Iraq get back on its feet would be a far worse mistake than it might have been to come here in the first place.

It is to those that suffered and died, and to those that have served and continue to serve here and throughout the world, that I am eternally grateful for what my family is able to enjoy every day.

Thank you for reading this. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I’ve enjoyed conveying the message of a hick from New Hampshire who was able to see history being made here in Iraq.

  Thank you, Lt. Col. Jonathan Sistare