The 1st Armored Division

07.23.2004

Courtesy Story

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When Soldiers redeploy from a combat zone, they pack up the instruments of war they have utilized to accomplish their mission. Personal gear to armored vehicles and everything in between is made ready for the return journey.

The Iron Soldiers of the 1st Armored Division are currently undergoing this process at Camp Arifjan in anticipation of their much-awaited trip back to where they call home in Wiesbaden, Germany.The wash rack is one of the final stops for redeploying troops before leaving the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater. Months of dirt, mud and grime are rinsed and scrubbed off vehicles. Soldiers smile through soot-stained faces, for they know their work here is almost at an end.

Long hours produce clean M1A1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, rinsing away the stains of a 15-month tour in Iraq. However, long after the last dirt has been washed down the drains and "Old Ironsides" is ready to roll out, there are some things that won't be as easily cleansed.These are the many images and sounds of war that are indelibly burned into the minds of the men and women who are on their way home. Some will fade or perhaps disappear over time as the years pass by.Others will not.

Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Knoop, C Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry, will bring back the sound of a shot ringing out in the Iraqi city of Karbala and the image of a young Soldier lying on the ground, victim of a sniper's bullet.

"Our mission was to clear the enemy out of town," said Knoop, a Shelton, Wash. native, a husband and father of five children. "I was working on a Bradley that had broken down. "There were two Soldiers who were on the lookout for insurgents.

Knoop then recalled an ominous warning one of them gave to the other."You better watch out for those snipers," the Soldier said, to which the other replied, "Naw, they won't get me."One more Soldier who would return home earlier than expected."Of course, it affects you," said Knoop. "But, you also know it's a part of war and you continue with the mission. I took time later to mourn."

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Pinion, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade, has his own war stories to weave. His duties as a platoon sergeant supplied his mind's eye with an entire career's worth of images.

"We were the brigade recon unit," said Pinion, from Newton, N.J., who will bring his mental snapshots back to his wife and five-year-old son. "Our job was to provide security, sweep for improvised explosive devices and conduct raids."The arena for Pinion and his men were the cauldrons of Fallujah and Najaf, two of the most dangerous places in Iraq. This is where his memories would be made.

Of his unit's many missions, one stands out for Pinion."We conducted a raid in July of last year," he said.Fresh in the mind of his men was the unit's first casualty, the victim of an IED blast in Baghdad that had taken the Soldier's life. Intelligence had led Pinion and his troopers to believe the insurgents responsible for the attack were holed up in a particular house.

"We were going to insert three kilometers from the house, then move along the riverbed and set up surveillance of the objective for two hours to confirm the enemy's presence," he said. "We had heard there were 16 of them."The number of enemy troops wasn't a deterrent, said Pinion."It really didn't change anything," he said. "We had a plan."The platoon then maneuvered their way through the wooded area and set up a cordon.

"Everything was still a green light," said Pinion.However, a last-minute curve was thrown at them. It seemed these particular enemy troops were expecting visitors, a fact evidenced by the steel doors on the house. Probably not an original feature of the house, but nothing a little C-4 wouldn't take care of.

"The decision was made to blast the doors with explosives," said Pinion. "Engineers went forward with an assault squad to blow the hinges, so the door would fall."A second identical building underwent the same treatment. Three tanks from a Quick Reaction Force unit on the ground and an EC-130 gunship and unmanned aerial vehicle in the air provided support, if needed.The command was given and within five minutes, it was over.All 16 insurgents were captured. Also, evidence was discovered that connected them to enemy activity in the area."We found evidence they were responsible for the IEDs in our sector," said Pinion.

Pfc. Jonathan Bullard was on his first mission in just his second week in Iraq when supplied with his lasting image.The infantry Soldier from A Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry witnessed a sport-utility vehicle break through a traffic control point he was helping to guard. Of all he experienced during his nine-month tour, that was the scariest, he said.Still, though, Bullard never second-guessed his decision to become an infantryman. After all, it's in his blood, said the native of Columbus, Ga., near Fort Benning."I'm from the Home of the Infantry," he said. "I grew up around it."

For Staff Sgt. Marvin Johnson, a medic with C Company, 501st Forward Support Battalion, he will leave the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater with colorful memories, indeed. Unfortunately, red dominates those colors for he witnessed far too much of his brothers-in-arms blood being spilled on a daily basis.The Houston native and father of a seven-year-old son recalled treating a noncommissioned officer who ultimately lost a leg to an IED blast.

According to Johnson, the Soldier wasn't even aware of the severity of his wound."We just tried to keep him calm and monitor his vitals so he wouldn't go into shock," he said.

It was reminders like this that kept his perspective, said Johnson. "It made me see the reality of things," he said. "Every time an incident happens, you take some time to yourself and then continue the mission."

Now, these Iron Soldiers will leave all of that blood, sweat and tears behind. They will return to their families and begin the process of regaining normalcy in their lives, not only as Soldiers, but as husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. They will be thankful for friends who will make the return trip with them and not forget comrades who won't be going back with them.

After a three-month extension brought their time in theater to a grueling 15 months, Pinion said he could sense what his Soldiers were going through then and now.

"We were in Baghdad, we knew what was going on and that the mission needed to be finished. They understood in their hearts," he said. "Now, they're just ready to go home."Which is where they will go, leaving what they have gone through in the past 15 months to be covered by the shifting desert sands.Some things, though, they will never leave behind.

• Date Taken: 07.23.2004
• Date Posted: 07.23.2004 09:48
• Story ID: 150