NOW I KNOW FREEDOM

Written by one of CPT Patti's soldiers, SPC David Guild, 22, of The Woodlands, TX - and published in his hometown newspaper The Villager

Now I Know Freedom

I am an American soldier stationed in Baghdad. I have not only dodged rockets and arrested Iraqi criminals, but I have also spoken with former members of Saddam's army and with people whose family members have been executed. I have taken our own fallen soldiers, my brothers, to the airport so they could be flown home to their families to be buried. These experiences have provided me with insight as to how truly lucky we are to be Americans. We are a people who realize the beauty of our freedom and wish others to share it as well.

Before coming to Iraq, I did not fully comprehend the meaning of freedom, and I took it for granted. Now I know what freedom is. Freedom is being allowed to make decisions about how you feel your country should be run. Freedom is equal rights for men and women. Freedom is being allowed to get an education. Freedom is not living in fear of your government executing you and your family for your beliefs. Freedom is not free. It has always been fought for. My life would be a small price to pay for freedom.

These people we have liberated deserve their freedom, too. That is why we must stay here until the Iraqi people can establish and maintain a fair government and police force. This will enable them to enjoy and prosper in the benefits that a free society like ours has to offer. After all the violence, oppression and mistreatment these people have been exposed to for so long, they deserve at least that chance.

However, you cannot do something like this quickly and expect to do it right. This will not be a rapid process. We have embarked upon this missionand must proceed until it is finished properly. We owe that to every soldier who has already perished here believing in this very cause - Iraqi freedom.


Indeed.

Would that some of our more vocal elected officials would quietly read - and mind - the words of a young soldier.