January 27, 2005
Life on the inside as an "Embed"
Houston radio talk show host Edd Hendee (from KSEV/AM 700) is an "embed" with the US Marines in Iraq.
His tales are being chronicled on the excellent (and new member of my blogroll) Lone Star Times.
At 4:14 am my friend Baraka shook me awake – “We have casualties.” was his grim statement.Edd's journey continues at Lone Star Times. It will show you what the MSM refuses to show you: the courage and true sacrifice of the men and women on the front lines.Baraka is a reporter for WABC-7 New York. We met a week ago in Al Asad the first day in country and had become friends pretty fast. “I’ll meet you up on level 10.” he said as he rushed out of the room.
I threw on my clothes and grabbed my Bible – and began to pray for these fine men.
The hospital is right up on the roof – about 100 yds. from the helo pad. The area outside the doors was filled with quiet Marines listening to the Navy Corpsmen inside shouting instructions as they prepared the wounded for transport. One look at their faces told the story – this wasn’t routine.
I knelt to pray outside the door for these guys and their families. The thump-thump-thump of the inbound Blackhawk Med Evac helo was a comfort and promise of the best medical support in the world. But it was also a signal to immediately get ready to transport.
Tuesday had been an amazing day. We did 3 hours of broadcast beginning with a 6am Texas time (1500 Iraq) broadcast to KMSR in Dallas and then 2 hours back to Houston. We lined up Marines from their respective cities and hooked up phone calls to their loved ones at home. Sons talked to moms and dads, husbands to wives and their children. They were at ease in these responses yet they all stated again and again their conviction to be here and the importance of their mission. They make you so proud to be an American.
Go read it. Now. It's that important, and that moving.
Posted by mhking at January 27, 2005 11:33 PM