Our Heroes - From Baghdad...


US Troops secure the scene where an armoured vehicle was overturned after a roadside bomb exploded along a highway south of Baghdad. (AFP/Ali al-Saadi)



US soldiers survey the scene after an attack on their convoy, in Baghdad's Dora district, Friday, Jan. 14, 2005. Two soldiers were wounded when a roadside bomb overturned their armored vehicle, witnesses said. There was no immediate information on the incident from the US military. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)



U.S. Army nurse Sgt. Charles Sandy helps Iraqi boy Ahmed, 10, to stand during a physical therapy session at the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq Friday, Jan. 14, 2005. Sandy said that U.S. forces had shot Ahmed in the hip a month before as he was setting a roadside bomb. (AP Photo/John Moore)


...to Mosul

U.S. soldiers patrol through Mosul, January 14, 2005. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra



US Soldiers in Mosul. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra



A U.S. Soldier patrols in Mosul on January 14 2005. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)



U.S. soldiers patrol through Mosul, January 14, 2005.



U.S. soldiers from Alfa 3rd Battalion, 21th Infantry hang posters in downtown Mosul January 14 , 2005 urging the people of Iraq to report any information they have of insurgents operating in the area and urging residents not to live in fear, ahead of the January 30 national elections. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra



A U.S. soldier hangs posters in downtown Mosul January 14, 2005 urging the people of Iraq to report any information they have of insurgents operating in the area, ahead of the January 30 national elections. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra



A U.S. soldier walks a patrol in Mosul, January 14, 2005. In the latest attack, insurgents killed two Iraqi National Guards with a roadside bomb in Mosul on Wednesday, the U.S. military said. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra



U.S. soldiers secure an area in Mosul, Iraq, in this January 13, 2005 file photo. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

Hi,
Joey needs your prayers; he is scheduled for surgery next Wed., 19th, for an aneurisim on his left wrist. The doctors are doing a full body scan to check for any others. They will either take a vessel from his leg and insert or place a stint; I don't which they will do yet.
Today, Thursday the 13th, he and Jayme moved into the Mologne House to room 266 just a few doors down from me at 254. This will make it easy for me to help in the mornings with his preparation to the hospital for therapy. The Mologne House is behind the hospital and is an 8 minute walk. Of course, Joey will be riding his electric wheel chair. The walking is doing great for my health. I did hear today from TIME magazine and they are doing the article on Joey alone, instead of 3 soldiers, as they liked his story and interview best. The interview is scheduled for next Wed., but of course this has to be re-scheduled because of the surgery. I will let you know more. Also, CBS emailed me this week to say that they may soon be having the interview on the air. I'll also keep you informed. I also heard today from Matt at Blackfive that the chaplain in Germany was an Air Force chaplain named Joel Warren who sat with Joey for 3 days and 3 nights in Germany. Matt also sent me Captain Warren's email address and I will be contacting him. Yesterday, Joey and I were at the Family Affairs office getting Jayme on his orders when a lady my age approached Joey and said that her son had just arrived from Iraq and had lost eyesight in one eye and lost his right arm. Joey asked if he could visit her son and she replied with tears, "NO, he will not let me in his room and he will not let me love him; his wife will not let anyone come in because of his attitude." Joey replied, "You can love me!" She immediately bent over and hugged him with tears streaming down her face. So many of the soldiers turn away from their mothers during these trying times and I have talked with several mothers who have cried about the depression and the negative attitude of their sons. I told Joey that he had never treated me like that and that I had gained my strength from him. Again, today at lunch, Joey and I were sitting beside an elderly,WAVE, woman at the handicap table. She was in a wheelchair with oxygen trying to eat when she got choked and scared us both. Joey looked at her and said, "Are you alright?" She replied, "I am ok." Joey left to get more soda and she looked at me and said, "What a nice young man; in his condition he was concerned about me. He touched my heart." I replied, "That is my son, Joey." This is the God given gift that Joey has to touch people's hearts. The pic below is Dr. Hampton, Joey's orthopedic surgeron here at Walter Reed. He did the surgeries on Joey's legs and arm. Another dr. did the hand. Joey and I have come to love and respect Dr. Hampton through these many surgeries. Dr. Hampton reconstructed a kneecap for Joey by using the calf of Joey's leg. The whole side of Joey's leg was gone and the kneecap was severed and destroyed. He said he wanted to save as much of the stump as possible to make it easier to fit a prosthetic. Pray about this left leg and knee that it will heal well for Joey to bend and walk. The leg pic was taken yesterday. Thanks for your love and support.
Gail, Joey and Jayme

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Military Discharged 26 Arabic, Farsi Speakers for Being Gay

JuneauEmpire.com: Associated Press
Anti-malaria spraying begins in Aceh
Masked workers with mosquito-killing spray guns began moving through refugee camps Friday in tsunami-battered Aceh province, trying to prevent an outbreak of malaria. Indonesia, meanwhile, said it is pursuing a permanent truce with rebels in the area, the worst-hit by the disaster.

Israel seals off Gaza after attack
Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip on Friday but signaled it will hold off on harsh retaliation for an attack by Palestinian militants that killed six Israeli workers at a Gaza crossing, giving newly elected Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas a chance to rein in violent groups.


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Iraq, Baghdad


Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq
Iraq group claims killing of cleric's aide
A veteran Iraqi extremist movement claimed responsibility Friday for the killing of a community leader who was working to get out the vote on behalf of the country's top Shiite cleric, and three American troops were killed in persistent violence ahead of this month's elections. Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq


Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Annan Presses Inclusive Election in Iraq (AP)
AP - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that conditions for elections in Iraq were "far from ideal" and Iraqi officials should intensify efforts to make the vote inclusive. Yahoo! News: Iraq

OPERATION POWDER RIVER ROUNDS UP 25 SUSPECTS NEAR AD DULUIYA
CENTCOM: News Release

201ST IRAQI ARMY DISCOVERS ROCKET AIMED AT TIKRIT
CENTCOM: News Release

Iraq group claims killing of cleric's aide
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A veteran Iraqi extremist movement claimed responsibility Friday for the killing of a community leader who was working to get out the vote on behalf of the country's top Shiite cleric, and three American troops were killed in persistent violence ahead of this month's elections. Modesto Bee: Iraq

Iraq Group Claims Killing of Cleric's Aide
A veteran Iraqi extremist movement claimed responsibility Friday for the killing of a community leader who was working to get out the vote on behalf of the country's top Shiite cleric, and three American troops were killed in persistent violence ahead of this month's elections. Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

Bush Mulls Over Things He Might Not Say Again
WASHINGTON — President Bush expressed misgivings Thursday for two of his most famous expressions: "Bring 'em on," in reference to Iraqis attacking U.S. troops, and his vow to get Osama bin Laden "dead or alive." Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

Groups claims responsibility for killing Shiite cleric
Katu.com: Iraq & Terror

States propose paying premiums for National Guard life insurance
Katu.com: Iraq & Terror Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

Half of Iraq Population Estimated to Vote
A senior election official estimates that half of Iraq's 15 million eligible voters will take part in this month's national election and says that to encourage a high turnout, those living in insurgency-racked areas will be allowed to vote in safer communities. Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

3 Kurdish Party Officials Killed in Mosul
Gunmen killed three officials of a leading Kurdish political party in an ambush in the volatile northern city of Mosul, another official of the party said Friday. Yahoo! News: War with Iraq

6-Senate leader hopes Iraq vote can mirror surprise success in Afghanistan .....
KABUL, January 14 (Online): U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Wednesday he hoped Iraq's election would mirror the recent vote in Afghanistan in helping to "squelch" militants and smooth the ... [in Pak Tribune] The US News: Iraq News

Iraqi leader admits voting peril
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Prime Minister Ayad Allawi publicly acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that parts of Iraq probably won't be safe enough for people to vote in the Jan. 30 elections, and he announ... [in Casper Star Tribune] The US News: Iraq News

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Guerrillas attacked a joint U.S.-Iraqi convoy in Mosul on Wednesday, killing two Iraqi National Guardsmen a day after a similar attack in the restive northern city left three Guardsme... [in Casper Star Tribune] The US News: Iraq News

Iraqis face bleak winter amid fuel shortage, high food costs
The doctors at the emergency room of Taipei City Hospital's Jen Ai branch who turned away an unconscious four-year-old girl who had been badly beaten should be [in eTaiwan News] The US News: Iraq News