Happy birthday dear mother, from your womb I was born free
Happy birthday sweet mother, God indeed shed grace upon thee
Happy birthday dear mother, your sons will defend you
Happy birthday sweet mother, your daughters bear fruit and life anew
Happy birthday dear mother, my home, the nation, my heart yearns for thee
Happy birthday sweet mother, cherished land of liberty
Monday July 4th 2005, this day is nearly over for the men of the 1st Battalion 184th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. In 25 minutes this day shall be a thing of the past, in time it will fade from my memory as just another Monday that I was in Iraq. When I cross it from my calendar, I will have roughly 190 days left here. This day has passed virtually without incident. For that I can only thank God, whoever God is. The air today was vindictively hot, despite the dust clouds overhead it appeared we were forced to trade the relative peace of the day for more heat. Today there were no fireworks in our sector, today no one was hit with an IED in our sector, and no one was injured. Today was a good day. Today one of my dearest friends asked me to be his best man 365 days from this day. He will be a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps. I have known him since he was a young Lance Corporal. He will soon wed, and he will soon be here. It's amazing what can happen in a year.
Today was a good, day. No one died. Tomorrow is another day, we shall see what tomorrow holds. For now, I am grateful for your emails, prayers, and well wishes. For America it was her birthday, I hope she is treated well. Give her a kiss for me,if you can find the time. Let her know that you love her as much as I do. I have spent a lot of time away from her over my 17 years of service, and despite all the pain, suffering and heartache; I'd do it all over again is she so asked.
Today was a good day, no one died. We watched the news, and joked with one another, silly pranks were all around, a news paper article displaying Turkish wrestling was plastered on Murph's door. CPT A, posted a "Cartman" likeness near the Intel shop and the name tag said MAJ K, and it demanded that we " Respect his A U T H O R I T I E!!" I had a crude message from Thunder 6 on my keyboard when I walked into the office.
Happiest of birthdays America, fly your colors with pride. Hang the stars and stripes from your homes, in your garages, stand tall as they pass you by. On this day, there should be no Partisan politics, on this day we are all Americans, who owe much to few. Today our patrols suited up and rolled out, today they as I watched them roll by as I stood on the street watching them roll by, I realized something, those kids are the best. Today they earned "our" freedom, so enjoy it. On this day appreciate that there are more important things than us as individuals, on this day; from many...one.
Today was a good day.
Semper Fidelis,
Rusten Currie
Thank you again, RC! I want to share our Texas hill country 4th of July, because you guys were a great part of it. Our little town, just north of San Antonio, had our annual family picnic. Collector cars were on display for our parade later. The local Boy Scout troop (we still have them in Texas) posted the colors, and the National Anthem was sung while we all had our hands on our hearts. We enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon slices 2 for 50 cents, homemade brownies 50 cents a piece. A silent auction with donated treasures benefitted our Police Auxiliary Academy. A barbershop quartet entertained us. We were there from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in 105 degree heat. Anytime any of us heard someone complain about the heat, we reminded them of the awful heat in full regalia y'all were enduring so we could have the freedom for this celebration.
God bless you all, you are in our prayers.
Posted by: DagneyT | 2005.07.07 at 12:54
Thank you for all you do. I am so sorry for the loss of one of your comrades and a true hero. We all have lost an exceptional American. May God bless you and all of our soldiers serving over there with you. Please stay safe and may angels watch over you always!
Posted by: zipcard2 | 2005.07.07 at 00:24
Thank you Rusten. I am so very happy you guys had a respote from thr war if only for a day.
I throughly enjoyed sll your comments. I agree you, Major K and Thunder6 are a very special group of talented men. God Bless you. Thank you and your men for your service, I thank your families too. Be safe.
Posted by: devildog6771 | 2005.07.06 at 20:45
What a sweet and lovely post, Rusten! I had a beautiful 4th and I'm glad yours went just as smoothly and with fond reflections.
Posted by: Desult | 2005.07.06 at 20:20
Russ--thanks for the 4th of July wishes. As far as I'm concerned, I think anyday above ground is a good day in Iraq. Thank you for being of service!
Posted by: Pam in Fresno, CA | 2005.07.06 at 20:04
I did. I have. I will.
Your writing is as beautifully creative as ever, with much meaning. Concise meaning. The best. Thank you.
PS. The package did not come in the mail today. I will look again tomorrow. :(.
Posted by: Rosemary | 2005.07.05 at 18:24
THANK YOU!!! Wonderful post...
Posted by: Karen | 2005.07.05 at 17:55
I am so glad I found your blog. Thank you so much for your service and for sharing your days with us. Great posts.
Posted by: Karen | 2005.07.05 at 09:34
Glad everything went well. You were all very much in our thoughts and prayers yesterday! Then again... you are EVERY DAY!
Stay safe as you can.
Posted by: Kat | 2005.07.05 at 04:15
A big "Thank You" for giving us another Independence Day. God bless America and all her mighty military.
Posted by: Chevy Rose | 2005.07.04 at 22:04
Hi Rusten,
You, MajK and T6 are three incredible people. Of course, all serving this nation are --- but your blogs are powerful voices.
Thank you all, we owe all service personnel so much for their sacrifice.
And, yes, Parisian must have been a Sleudian Frip.
Posted by: Edward | 2005.07.04 at 19:58
Did you mean to say "partisan" politics, or was Parisian correct?
Posted by: LotharBot | 2005.07.04 at 17:08