THE TENSION: Let Freedom Ring: Spending the Fourth of July in Iraq

The U.S. and Iraqi flags fly side-by-side at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad where members of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division serve during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photographer: Spc. Courtney Marulli, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Public Affairs

Open thread:

Let Freedom Ring: Spending the Fourth of July in Iraq
Story by Spc. Courtney Marulli
07.05.2007

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq -- The Fourth of July is the celebration of American independence, but it’s also a reminder for those deployed to Iraq about just how important freedom is. Being away from loved ones, Soldiers find ways to celebrate America and take pride in what they are doing for another country.

Sgt. Stewart D. Tignor, a member of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division’s personal security detachment, said the Fourth of July is a time to get together with family and friends to celebrate the independence they have, the choices they can make.

Tignor, a native of Huntington, Indiana, is on his third deployment, his second to Iraq, and has missed several Fourth of July’s at home. But that is what makes him even more appreciative of what he’s missing.

“I’d say the best word to describe it is probably humbling,” he said. “You take a lot of stuff for granted, like just to be able to sit on the back of a truck and watch fireworks.”

It’s those small things in life that Soldier’s really miss, especially around the holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those small things are exactly what Tignor said he plans on enjoying when he’s home.

Being away from home on the Fourth of July while fighting for the independence of another country is something that causes conflicting feelings inside.

“It makes me a little bit torn,” he said. “One side makes me want to say, ‘Do something to get these guys their independence and then we can go home.’ But, the other part is proud to be trying to help these people gain independence like what we have and to help them gain rights to live how they want to live.”

Tignor said despite the drawbacks of being deployed, he takes great pride in knowing that he’s part of a cause trying to bring people a better way of life.

Celebrating the Fourth of July isn’t going to stop just because he’s deployed, so Tignor said he’s going to celebrate in his own way.

“I’m going to sit in my room, drink a ‘near beer,’ play guitar with Sgt. (Mark) Zimmerman, tell a whole lot of stories about back home until we have to roll out on a mission,” he said.

Sgt. David L. Williams, a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (currently attached to Company C), is on his second deployment and will be missing another Fourth of July.

The Fourth of July and Veteran’s Day have been very important holiday’s in Williams’ family as his mother takes great pride in being an American, he said.

Williams, who is a native of Boston, said his mother always told him and his siblings about the history of America’s independence and made sure they understood what they were celebrating.

“My mother got me into it,” he said of his American pride and value of Independence Day.

Spending time with disabled veterans is something else Williams said was important as both his mother and grandmother work for Disabled American Veterans.

Williams said he has seen some of the best fireworks shows and attended some of the best barbeques. It also served as one of the only times his entire family, which is quite large, would come together no matter what they were doing.

“Veteran’s Day and the Fourth of July are the only time, along with major holidays, that we all get together,” he said.

Williams said his mother told him that the Fourth of July was a pure holiday as it celebrated independence and wasn’t commercialized like Christmas had become.

“It’s one of the holidays that makes me miss home the most,” he said

Overall, Williams said the Fourth of July means five things to him: the official beginning of freedom, supporting Soldiers, getting family together, barbeques and fireworks.

Being in Iraq changed Williams. He said he always saw advertisements for donating money to help the poor or to help fund the education of children in foreign countries, but he didn’t really understand the need until he came to Iraq.

“Here, you really see it,” he said.

In order to celebrate the Fourth of July, Williams said he will be calling his family and spending a lot of time on the phone. He will also eat dinner and watch the fireworks on television.

Growing up with American pride and pride in the Soldiers defending the freedoms he enjoys, Williams said joining the military didn’t change him, but he sees the change in others.

“It makes me happy to see the change of heart in the other guys,” he said.

Spc. Cody J. Heath, a deployed theater accountability system specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd BCT, 2nd ID, is currently on his first deployment and is missing all the major holidays with family and friends for the first time.

Heath, a native of Tampa, Fla., said it’s hard to be away from his family. I’d like to be home with my family.”

Heath said he loves to cook out and celebrate the holidays with family and friends, but that excitement fades when he knows all he’ll have to celebrate the Fourth of July is food from the dining facility and a few friends to eat with.

Heath is quick to mention that he has it better than most.

“I’ve got nothing to complain about compared to those guys who go outside the wire everyday and sometimes stay outside the wire,” he said.

Being in a combat zone while trying to secure the independence of another country, doesn’t affect Heath. The sacrifice it took to cement America’s independence is something Heath feels he can relate to more now that he’s been in a combat zone.

“People died to gain that independence and now it’s like a replay but for another country,” he said. “I kind of know what they’re talking about.”