[Chuck Roots' weekly columns are written for his
hometown newspaper, the Ripon Record.]

Just Say Thanks
July 2, 2003

I was asked recently to write concerning our men and women in uniform and how they are handling all the negative press that has been popping up from various quarters back home. In a word: it’s demoralizing.

To put it simply, everyone wants to go home. But these members of our military are unsure of the reception that awaits them. A number of us here are Vietnam veterans. We remember only too well the reception we received in those dark days of that other conflict. Yet, today, uncertainty permeates the thinking and attitude of many of our courageous warriors. They wonder, “How will I be welcomed back home?”

Is there still fighting going on in Iraq? Yes, there are still bad guys who want to kill Americans. Many of these fighters come from other countries to fight us. This is still a wild and dangerous land even though Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. He may still be alive, but like Usama bin Laden, he will be caught or killed sooner or later. I have read too many reports of the atrocities this madman has perpetrated on his own people. It sickens me.

One Iraqi gentleman I met while in Babylon had nothing good to say about Saddam. In fact, he constantly referred to the now deposed leader as “Crazy Saddam.” Such a comment only a few short months ago could have cost this man and his family their very lives for uttering such denigrating terms.

When I returned from Iraq, I wrote an article entitled, “By the Rivers of Babylon,” in which I told you about an elderly man who had approached me, saying, “You not leave Iraq.” The reason he said this, in his fractured English, was to express the desire from his own heart that we, who had liberated him and his people, should stay until he and his fellow Iraqis could learn to live free.

I’ve been privileged to talk to many of our warriors, who are quick to laugh about the attempts made by Iraqi men to kiss them as they rolled along liberated streets, often having flowers strewn in the roadway and tossed onto them and their war machines as they rumbled on toward Baghdad. They are proud of the fact that they showed tremendous restraint when engaging possible enemy combatants, often endangering themselves to make certain they were not shooting at civilians. I’ve also sat with those who had held little children, injured by the fighting, often times carrying them to safety and medical care. My favorite photo from the war is the young Marine using the fireman’s carry on a wounded Iraqi soldier, taking him to our doctors for treatment. You see the heart of the American warrior in these moments. And it makes you proud.

One of the ways we travel in the military is in convoys. Rolling through the countryside, and passing through the villages, these convoys are greeted by Iraqi men, women and children, who stop what they’re doing in order to come to the roadside and wave at the passing troops.

Back here in Kuwait, you see signs on the side of the road thanking American and British troops for saving and protecting Kuwait from Saddam’s aggression. Less than a mile from where I sit here at Camp Commando, are two warehouse buildings that have remained untouched since the first Gulf War twelve years ago. The Kuwaitis leave them standing in order to remember. You see, it was in these two buildings that many Kuwaitis were tortured and killed by Saddam Hussein’s army.

I was attending the USO show last week here in Kuwait where we had some eight thousand troops amassed. One of the first people introduced that evening was a prominent leader in Kuwait. He was dressed in his white, full-length robe and headdress. When he spoke, he let it be known that the people of Kuwait love both America and Great Britain for what they have done here. He went on for several minutes, effusively singing the praises of our troops and our nation. He lauded President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Our troops cheered and whistled wildly well after the man left the stage. Then I overheard one of our soldiers casually remark, “I wonder if we’ll be welcomed like this back home.”

As you celebrate this Fourth of July, pray for our troops. Many are returning home now in large numbers, but many more have to stay in order to insure Iraq and Kuwait remain free.

Remember: These are your sons and daughters, your husbands and wives. They are the reason we remain a free nation. And when you see one of these returning warriors, walk right up to them, and just say, “Thank you.”

Happy 227th Birthday, America!