Photo By Sgt. Rebekah Lampman | Jim Spiri, freelance historian, interviews Spc. Eddy Carpenter, wheeled vehicle...... read more read more
by Staff Sgt. Paula Taylor
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE MAREZ, Iraq—"This is not a job," said freelance historian, Jim Spiri, during his visit to Mosul. "This is one of those life experiences that I was not going to miss."
The New Mexico native arrived to Forward Operating Base Marez in July and has visited with several Soldiers assigned to the 27th Brigade Support Battalion while in the area to help him connect to his two military sons.
"I have taken this time off to accomplish a few things; most importantly, to honor my sons—my older son, a Marine, who passed away from brain cancer in 2001, and my younger son, who is in the Cavalry, who currently is a CH-47 pilot stationed in Taji, Iraq," he explained. "I covered the Marines first for two months, and now I'm covering the Army."
Spiri and his wife are both contractors who, for the past three years, have worked closely with the troops arriving in Iraq and Kuwait. Now that his job as a contractor is nearing completion, he decided to take time off to travel the country and spend time with Soldiers and Marines.
"My wife of 34 years is in one accord with me on this adventure. She and I have both worked flight lines in Iraq as well as Kuwait. It was always our plan that if our children went to war, we would somehow be there and do our part. This [vacation time] is the only way I can give back something that will benefit the Soldiers as well as the Families. It is not a paid job. It is strictly for the sake of history. I have always had the thought that if the Soldiers have to be here, then I want to document how they overcome and adapt in this war environment. I was not going to miss this opportunity to give back to those that have given much more than I have."
Coming to Mosul seemed like an easy decision for Spiri because, he said, he knew the Soldiers here were from Fort Bliss, Texas, a neighbor to his home state, which would afford him an opportunity to meet with locals and tell their story. Another factor in his decision to visit Marez was because his friend, Maj. Eric Carnahan, was the executive officer of the 27th BSB—someone he had worked with before in Balad, 2004.
"I have gotten to meet several of the 27th BSB Soldiers and had the opportunity to audio interview many," Spriri said. "I was along with them on a trip to Al Qosh, and had an extremely enjoyable and informative time. My impression of 27th BSB is similar to my entire experience of the Soldiers here at FOB Marez—that they are all professional and make me feel at home. It is quite fulfilling to tell their stories. My visit with each one has been beyond what words can describe. All have treated me with a high degree of respect, and the more they see me, the more they accept me into their 'space.'"
To help document the Fort Bliss cavalry Soldiers' deployment, Spiri began a Web log through the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he posts stories and experiences daily.
"The purpose of the blog has evolved into several things over the past three months. I was unaware of what a blog was six months ago. The newspaper in Philadelphia suggested it, and I agreed as long as they did not edit anything. I did not want this to be a political venue, but rather a historical archive of individual Soldiers that I have come to know and travel among. I believe that in 10 or 20 years, what I have written and photographed and recorded on sound of individual Soldiers doing their jobs here in Mosul, and placed on the blog, will be an account that will be cherished by them, their familes and friends alike. The purpose was also to show to the American public that the everyday life of an individual Soldier deployed in Iraq is noteworthy."
In his blogs, Spiri said he concentrates on writing about what Soldiers do on a daily basis in support of the overall mission.
"I have found that everyone, no matter what their job is, has a family member back home that is proud of their service. I like to bring out that aspect in everyone I speak with. Each Soldier here is doing something important, what ever their job is. I like to tell it from an individual angle that otherwise might not get told."
Spiri has connected with the troops on the ground here in Iraq, and said he is proud to claim them as his own.
"All those I meet become members of my family, for I have always considered that all the sons and daughters of America that are deployed here, are mine as well. I would say to every family member to constantly write letters, the old fashioned way, by hand. I believe that is a more personal way of communicating in a time of deployment in a war zone. I would also say that each family member can be proud of their loved ones that are deployed here. They all have paid a price, both those here, and the family members at home."
Spiri said he is hoping to stay in the Mosul area until the second week in September. His blog can be found at: http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/spiri/
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2007 15:42 |
| Story ID: | 12005 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 137 |
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