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Crossing the river....

CNN DOT COM has an article about the 3rd Infantry Division crossing the Euphrates River in a sandstorm. Back in 91' the 24th Infantry Division crossed the Euphrates River in a sandstorm as well. I was 19 years old, noteably shorter and skinnier than I am now, and I remember thinking, "Jesus Christ.....we are getting awful close to Baghdad...when the hell are we going to stop?" At the time we had been taking what they call "sporadic" or "intermittent" fire as the 45th Republican Guard scattered and retreated. Some of the section sergeants were telling us that if we went to Baghdad, "All hell would break loose." We knew that the Regulars had been bombed for 6 months and they were hungry and tired, but we knew that those that refused to surrender would fight to the death if we went to Baghdad. Baghdad is pretty much the Capital of the Arab World. Long before the Gulf War, and the Iran vs. Iraq war, pretty much everyone had heard of Baghdad. Thousands of years old with a rich history it is worth fighting for to the Iraquis, and perhaps other Arabs......God be with our troops when they enter the gates......

WAR CASUALTIES TO DATE

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