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What Goes Around - Comes Around - Update
By Richard S. Lowry
Last Saturday morning I was going through the press releases I receive daily from Baghdad when I came across a story I knew I had to get out to America. I immediately set out to write a short post while my wife was preparing breakfast. She finished before I did and was calling me to the breakfast table, warning – “It’s getting cold!”
I made a few quick proofreads and a couple of changes and posted the story of Iraqi soldiers donating $1000 to the victims of the fires in San Diego: http://op-for.com/2007/10/what_goes_around_comes_around.html. I made it to the breakfast table before my eggs were cold. I thought nothing more of my post for the rest of the day. When I checked later, I noticed that the story was beginning to propagate over the web.
If you would like to personally thank the Iraqis who contributed to the San Diego fire victims - Read More
Richard S. Lowry is the author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.
By Monday morning, it was apparent that many Americans appreciated the Iraqi soldiers’ gesture. So, I decided to do a follow-up posting. I made some inquiries and found Colonel Darel Maxfield. Now! I would like to collect ‘thank you’ comments and forward them to Colonel Maxfield and Abbas so that they know how much this act of compassion has touched America.
Colonel Maxfield has told me that Colonel Abbas was “the first Iraqi to enlist in the new Iraqi Army and he has the ID card with the date and number to prove it.” He is gregarious, friendly and staunchly pro-American. He views his American compatriots as “brothers” which, in the Iraqi culture, is a high position of honor. Colonel Maxfield went on to say, “the bad guys send people to try to hurt him.” Abbas’ daughter was killed by a Mahdi Army RPG launched into her bedroom and his father died of a heart attack in another attack on their home. Maxfield said, “He’s the real deal and he’s one of the locals that has a chance to make a difference in a positive way here.”
Colonel Abbas also works hard to help his own countrymen. He and his men recently completed a joint medical operation with his American counterparts. LTC Mark Werner, the Senior Advisor at the Besmaya Combat Training Center, just wrote me about this mission. “We just did a joint medical operation with a Coalition unit providing medical support and items for kids in a local village. By joint I mean Iraqi medical and Docs and ours working together. Our force protection and theirs.”
Locals waiting in line at medical clinic
This was not the first time that Colonel Abbas has reached out to help fellow Iraqis or has passed the hat among his men to help Americans in need. On September 5, 2005, Colonel Abbas presented 1,000,000 Iraqi dinars to his American counterparts at Taji for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. In that presentation he said, “We are all brothers. When one suffers tragedy, we all suffer their pain.”
Some have already commented on the Iraqi soldiers’ generosity. The enlisted soldiers make around $300 per month. The most senior officers, like Abbas, make only $1000 per month. They are targeted when they travel home to bring their pay to their families and yet they continue to work to bring peace to their country. And, they reach out to help the families of the Americans they work with daily.
Don’t forget our own service men and women who are far from home. Colonel Maxfield concluded his email with, “Please let anyone who will listen know that our services-the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force have the best young men and women in the world. Our NCO’s form the backbone of the most effective military in the world. Those young men and women are doing a great job and their leadership and performance in VERY difficult situations should make every American proud. Those men and women are real heroes.”
In closing, please help me in thanking all the Iraqi young men who are stepping up to the plate and working under difficult conditions to bring stability to their homes, families and country. It is these brave Iraqis who will eventually take the reins and allow our sons and daughters to come home.
I will collect your comments of gratitude and forward them through Colonel Maxfield to Colonel Abbas and his men. Let’s show them our thankfulness. Please leave a comment below:
Richard S. Lowry is the author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.
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Comments
Dear Col. Abbas and your men: We are extremely grateful for your contribution to the people of San Diego. Most importantly, we salute your extreme bravery in fighting terrorists in your country and we weep at how much we have longed to hear how you really feel about us. Please know that our beloved soldiers want only one thing for you, and that is to have a country that is free and safe, and we know that your soldiers and ours have died for that cause. Do not believe what you hear in some media - we know you are trying very, very hard and that this cause must be won. Thank you, again. From Carroll in Wichita, Kansas.
Col. Abbas,
Your attitude and generosity toward Americans is well appreciated. May you and your men be blessed.
Thank you, both for your incredible generosity and for giving me more information so I can fight disinformation that goes around.
I wish you peace and freedom.
COL Abbas - Thank you very much for the generous donation from you and your team during our time of need.
andrewdb
San Diego, CA
Col Abbas,
The generous gift from you and your men means far more than the money. Thank you and best of luck to your team. Fight the good fight!
Adam
Dear Col. Abbas:
In such gifts are the blessings of friends. The generosity you show is immeasurable and much appreciated by many. My family thanks you, your soldiers, and their families for thinking of the people of San Diego in such difficult times.
Col. Abbas ~ Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity to the people here in San Diego. It means so much!
May you come to a peaceful time very soon in your country.
Col. Abbas,
May God smile upon you and your family. Your expression of love and respect has touched us deeply. You and your family are our brothers and sisters and we pray for you daily. May you and your souls be blessed in eternity.
-James
Col. Abbas and your Iraqi troops:
Thank you so much for once again demonstrating your basic human goodness towards people suffering from a natural disaster. May God bless all of you, and may he help you create a safe country in which all of you will prosper. We are indeed all brothers.
Michael
Col. Abbas,
Your generosity to your brothers here in the United States shows the courage we share in this little world. God has blessed you with wisdom and kindness, something we should treasure humbly by your gift. Please take care of your soldiers and let them know that their safety is our concern as well as yours. May God smile upon you and your family.
I live in San Diego.
Please tell Colonel Abbas that I embrace him and his men as brothers, with gratitude for their gifts.
Col. Abbas,
Thank you very much for your generosity. We are truly blessed to have friends such as you. The gift you sent means more than you will ever know.
Dear Col. Abbas:
I can't begin to tell you how much you and your troops generosity moves me, but I am grateful that Americans like myself can count you and many other Iraqi citizens and soldiers as our friends. God Bless and keep you all and all my best wishes for a brighter future for us all. Respects.
Dear Col. Abbas,
Much of my family lives in San Diego. God spared them from the fires, but they all hurt for their fellow neighbors who were not spared. When I read about the kindness shown by you and your troops, I immediately sent the article to my sister in San Diego. You will never know how much reading of your kindness warmed her heart! She is sharing the article all over San Diego. Thank you, and God bless you!
God bless America and Iraq, and may they be brothers forever!
thanks sagol kardeş
COL Abbas and men,
What you are doing is so incredible brave that I cannot fathom it. All I can do is admire you and your men. Thank you.
May Iraq soon become the cultured country of books again.
I like this video a lot!
www.metacafe.com/watch/726018/easily_see_your_dna_at_home/
thank you man
WOW! Are we hurting that much that we're getting handouts from the country we invaded. I'm confused. I don't mean to be an @$$ about it, but I thought we we're suppose to be helping them, not the other way around.
D Digital, it all depends on what media you watch or read
thank you
evry good
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Rich;
It is stories like this I had believed we may have to wait about 10-20 years to hear. I am heartened that the process of showing others a way to a functioning society is already leaving it's mark for the good.
To Col Abbas and men;
Your kindness and that of your men, in the midst of your circumstances, is courageous and humbling. Thank you for seeing how we can all work towards being brothers and sisters when we take that higher vision of the meaning of life.