BAGHDAD, Iraq -In blistering summer heat and blinding sandstorms, U.S. troops marked Independence Day on Monday with barbecues, volleyball and -for those who have them -dips in the pool. Bursts of gunfire and wailing sirens served as a reminder of why the troops are here.
President Bush vowed during a Fourth of July speech in West Virginia that U.S. forces will stay in Iraq until the fight is won. But one soldier, Pfc. Stephen Tschiderer, simply prays he'll get home safely after surviving a gunshot just above his heart.
Tschiderer, an Army medic from Mendon, N.Y., said he was on patrol in Baghdad two days ago when at least two gunmen opened fire. Tschiderer was standing next to his Humvee when a bullet struck his flak vest, knocking him to the ground.
I opened up my vest
made sure I wasn't bleeding and continued with the mission later bandaging wounds of one of the insurgents, he said. It didn't seem weird until afterward that I was treating the guy who tried to kill me...I'm very proud to serve my country
but I can't wait to get back to live in my country.
For most of the 136,000 service members stationed in Iraq, Independence Day passed uneventfully in the 110-degree heat. A blinding sandstorm grounded most U.S. military aircraft, muting the usual sound of hovering helicopters.
At a base in Taji, north of Baghdad, the storm forced cancellation of a boxing tournament. Other troops continued their usual work of trying to locate insurgents or stabilize dangerous neighborhoods.
To us
it is Independence Day
but our soldiers are still on patrols because the mission is still going on
said Army Lt. Taysha Deaton of Lake Charles, La., serving with the 256th Brigade of the Louisiana National Guard.
At Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq, Marine Cpl. Traben Pleasant, 24, of Long Beach, Calif., quaffed a nonalcoholic beer and thought of home.
This is my third July 4th in Iraq
Pleasant said. I miss my family and friends. At home
I'd be barbecuing on the beach with my girlfriend.
In Baghdad, troops joined in volleyball, Humvee pulls and three-mile runs. The U.S. command threw a big barbecue bash at Camp Slayer, with troops cooling off in a pool overlooking a lake. Some let loose with karaoke renditions of songs like Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly.
Soldiers on four-day rest passes watched belly dancers and a comedy show after roasting a hog at the former Iraqi Republican Guard officers' club in Baghdad. The facility was refurbished after the 2003 invasion and includes a pool with a two-story diving platform and big-screen TVs with video games.
People need to understand that gaining independence is a long process
said Army Sgt. Andrew Chiu of Savannah, Ga., assigned to the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion.
Others said the holiday took on added meaning during their tour in Iraq.
Before
you kind of took it for granted. Now we're seeing what our forefathers went through to gain (independence)
