Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 6 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
MSG Jones, a former Delta soldier, is one of the first out of the vehicles to pull security. Once we have determined the current threat level! we begin mixing with the general population. The older citizens are cautious about associating with U. S. soldiers in fear of retaliation from surviving members of the former Baath Party, but the children are so different. They see the soldiers and their eyes light up.
These little people just crowd around the vehicles waiting for a handout—asking for morsels of food, candy,’ water, or anything that would help with the hunger they experience.
My OPS Sergeant and myself tried to entertain the young citizens of Iraq. We had no food or water to give, and forget candy, we rarely have any left from our Meals Ready to Eat (MRE). We let them talk with us and I even got a few pictures of the crowd with MSG Jones. That is what we were calling diplomacy at the lowest level.
You have to show the country of Iraq that not all people are like Saddam Hussein and his “Blood” Baath party. This is not my particular mission, but doing all that I possibly can to show the world to these future leaders of Iraq. It will hopefully lead to a better place for them to live and maybe end the violence in this war torn country. The more we expose these people to hospitality, the more the people might see that we are not power hungry heathens.
SPC Justin Purgason
BIAP, Iraq
98.0%