By Staff
Editor's note: In December, we asked our readers to submit letters and e-mails from family members serving in Iraq in order to get an "on the ground" view of the conflict. The following letter is from 2nd Lt. Aaron Squiers, who is serving with the 1171st Army National Guard medical unit from Detroit. Squiers is a graduate of Dowagiac Union High School. He sent it to his family on Oct. 21, 2006, and it is presented here in his own words.
The weather has cooled as it is autumn in Iraq. The high temperatures have been in the mid 90's. Leaves are falling from some of the trees. However, the leaves become pale here, not bright like the fall leaves of the Midwest.
Ramadan is winding down and at night I can hear amplified praying coming from Mosques in the communities surrounding our base. It sounds just like it does in the movies. The praying helps create a strange ambiance, particularly as the dry, dusty winds blow through the leaves of the date trees. These are nearly some of the constant reminders that I am in Iraq.
As hunting season approaches in the U.S., many of us are starting to get "hunting fever". Of course, there will be no hunting for us this year. The best we can do is share stories of past hunting adventures and relay stories from friends and family back home. There have been plans moving forward to show the movie Escanaba in da Moonlight, as well as, hunting videos on opening day. That's November 15 for all of you not familiar with the unofficial first holiday of the Holiday Season.
I assume that most of you are familiar with the movie Groundhog's Day. In the movie the main character, played by Bill Murray, keeps repeating the same day, Groundhog's Day. It's like that around here; nothing changes much day to day. With the lights from flares, dropped from aircraft, and the bangs and booms from gunfire and bombs it's actually more like Groundhog's Day and the Fourth of July combined. That crazy sounding holiday is life in Iraq.
It has come to my attention that I have failed to provide my address to the majority of you. It is as follows…
Aaron Squiers
1171ST ASMC
APO AE 09342
As always things are going well, moral is high and the mission is getting completed.
>From the Front,
Aaron