Letters From Iraq, Part 1

This e-mail was received on 11/13/06. Letters from Iraq is an e-mail conversation between a father and his son. The picture is of Ryan the “star” of these letters. What is nice about changing blogs is that I can post these letters in an order that they were presented instead of you reading the last one first. I hope you enjoy these letters. I’m quite honored that they were shared with me and I was given permission to share them with you…

“Hi buddy, How are things going? Have any of the packages I sent arrived yet? I have mailed you three. What do you guys think about the Rumsfeld resignation? If you get a chance, send me an e-mail and tell me what they have been having you do. Stay safe and take care.”
Love you bud
Dad and Jan

Dad,
Yes, I received two boxes and a letter the day before yesterday. I think it actually arrived earlier, but I was so busy I didn’t have time to pick up mail until the day before yesterday. I have been flying my tail off. 5 or 6 hours at a time. I’ve already hit 15 hours Combat Flight time, and that’s in 3 flights. I flew today during the day and this place is crazy. I flew two night missions before today, so I didn’t actually see what this place looks like during the day. I guess in Biblical terms this was where life began(Babylon), and some of it is beautiful, however, most of the landscape is scared by war, and the Iraqis burn everything, including sewage, so there is quite an odor in the air. There are thousands of canals branching off the Euphraties and the Tigris Rivers, giving the enemy plenty of places to hide. Anyway, I was really happy to receive mail from home. The Virginia Peanuts are fantastic and my roommate Rich agrees. Thanks for everything, I should be set for quite sometime. The Christmas Tree is awesome and I have it set up in my room. I remember seeing a picture of you in Vietnam with your Xmas tree. It’s strange how we’ve kinda been down the same road in life. I was going to wait until after Thanksgiving to set up the tree, but I said what the heck, I’m in Iraq. We’ll start celebrating Xmas early. The music book and army bottle opener were a very nice touch. Thanks for my American Legion Membership Card and especially the picture of Madelyn Grace, she is adorable. It’s amazing how much she resembles Steve. What a cutie! The Cashews are great and they really help out when I work through meals. We’re almost too busy to eat sometimes. Rumsfeld, I don’t think anyone here cares about him anymore. A lot of guys were pretty happy. I guess the Democrats are back. We’ll see how they handle this war. Hopefully we can accomplish our mission and get home. We would be done here if the Iraqis would get on board and fight for their country. Well, its 1:45am my time and I’m exhausted, must go to sleep now. Thanks again for the packages, you guys are great. I love you guys and tell everyone I said hello. Tell Scott I’m waiting for my email from him. Ok, I’ll talk to you guys soon.”
Your Son,
Ryan
This letter was used as a back drop for an article “Christmas In Iraq.”