Story filed 7-04-05

By Edward Lee Pitts
Military Affairs

Soldiers with the 278th Regimental Combat Team, celebrating their nation's independence while serving in Iraq, said their time overseas watching a new government form has given them an appreciation for what America's Founding Fathers went through 229 years ago.

"Just like the new Iraqi government officials here, when patriots signed the Declaration of Independence the Founding Fathers had a large group of people that wanted their heads," said Capt. Rick Walters, the Tennessee-based regiment's information officer.

Capt. Walters said Iraq's current insurgents, led by former Saddam Hussein loyalists, are comparable to those American colonists in 1776 who enjoyed privileges under the English monarchy.

"They did not want independence," Capt. Walters wrote in an e-mail to the Chattanooga Times Free Press about the British. "They hung and killed the families of anyone siding with the revolution."

Other members of the 278th stationed in Iraq, also corresponding by e-mail, shared their Fourth of July thoughts.

Capt. Wiley Hammer, 38, of Knoxville, said he now has seen firsthand the "rockets' red glare" of combat, a sight similar to that which inspired Francis Scott Key to write "Star-Spangled Banner" during another conflict.

Regimental commander Col. Dennis Adams said six months in Iraq have made him realize how blessed he is to be an American.

"I have seen the results of chaos and a dictatorship on children and families," he said.

And he said the experience of leading nearly 4,000 troops always will give the Fourth of July holiday a special meaning.

"I will remember everyone that has been wounded and died for their country for the rest of my life," he said in an e-mail.

Three 278th soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the regiment arrived there last December.

According to Col. Adams, the regiment today will try to re-create home-grown Independence Day traditions in the middle of the Iraqi desert.

Planned celebrations include a softball tournament and the standard holiday fare of hot dogs, hamburgers, watermelon and ice cream.

"We are also inviting some of the Iraqi soldiers to celebrate with us to show them what it means to live in a free, democratic nation," Col. Adams said.

Capt. Hammer said serving has given the soldiers a front-row seat while Iraqis get a taste of their own liberties.

"We stood guard while a nation, for the first time, voted for its government, knowing these people were literally putting their lives at risk if they chose to vote on their election day," he said.

Many Iraqis, while well-educated, never had the freedom to choose, he said, nor did they have the responsibility and benefits that go with such a choice.

"I met with a man that had no furniture, doors or windows, no electricity, no sewer lines in his home," Capt. Hammer said. "He honored me by making hot tea and allowing me the one luxury he had, which was good conversation."

Lt. Joseph Minarick said it may take a while for the Iraqi people, used to obedience under the rule of a dictator, to understand that freedom comes with the burden of responsibility.

"They seem to be caught in a limbo between making their own decisions and still wanting to blame someone if the situation goes awry," said Lt. Minarick, of Oak Ridge, Tenn.

In the e-mails, soldiers also talked about sacrificing their own liberties during their deployment in Iraq.

"The freedoms we enjoy in the States sometimes seem infinite in comparison to being here in a combat zone," said Lt. Matthew Carr, of Knoxville. "One thing I've missed is just the ability to freely move around. Sometimes you feel like a bird in a cage."

First Sgt. John Cartwright, 54, of Bristol, Tenn., said people who haven't served in the military don't understand what troops give up every day.

This includes simple abilities and choices most Americans take for granted, Capt. Walters said.

"Some of the freedoms I miss here are things like jumping it the car and going to the local store to pick up a few things, sitting at the ball park watching my son and daughter play Little League, being with my wife on a hike by the river," he said.

But sacrifices required when wearing the uniform are worth it, according to Col. Adams.

"The freedoms you sacrifice today in combat will be the ones you enjoy tomorrow," Col. Adams said.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

On the Web: Photos by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika of the 278th Regimental Combat Team are available on the Times Free Press Web site. Visit http://www.timesfreepress.com/kp.

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