Silence

Silence
The roar of the mess hall was halted by the sound of a loud boom. Was it another controlled detonation? Everyone continued eating shortly after. This is the way it has been around here, a large blast means dramatic pause and then business as usual we cannot dwell on the fact that it could have been some horrific. This time it was. As I got on my bike and road up Main Street I saw it a plume of smoke rising high over the place that I have called home for so many days now. As I road closer my speed increased thinking that it looked as if it had hit my home. The closer I got I realized that it was outside the wall. Thank God I remember thinking. Upon arrival I talked to the guys who had not gone to chow. They said that the whole building shook and things fell off the shelves. It blew the door open breaking the door stricker plate. The helicopters were flying overhead and are still there as I write this. A friend returned from the tower overlooking the nightmare and told of what he had seen. It was a VBED (vehicle with an explosive device mounted on it). These have become the chosen way for the terrorists to strike terror. It worked, in my case anyway. This attack from what I am told took no lives but caused many injuries and totaled out one hummv. The Med Evac chopper was called in and landed to take away the most serious casualties. My roommate showed up just minutes before and made a mad dash for his Blackhawk aid bad and then was gone in the blink of an eye. As I stood and watched from my vantage point I could see only smoke and helicopters but could here the small arms fire. When my friend returned he informed me that the small arms fire that we had heard was that of the rounds cooking off in the Hummv. The hummv did not catch fire until all occupants were out. Thank God. I can only hope that the injuries were not severe. I will try to find out what the extent of the injuries because my brothers were out there. We have come to be a total force. Whether they are Texans or soldiers from Louisiana we are all brothers. I hope that the LA soldiers did not loose another one of their own. There is some question as to which the soldiers belonged to. Some say it was soldiers from the 10th Mountain, out of New York, I believe. One fact that came in a little bit later is that two soldiers were killed and several more were injured. I guess the initial report that all got out of the Hummv prior to it catching fire were untrue. Oh my God what a terrible day it has started out to be. I wonder if when they got up this morning if they felt that things were a little off center or abnormal. I wonder if they had families back in the states who would be devastated by this tragedy. I wonder what if anything could have been done to avoid this. Take them Home Lord to your place. “No greater love hath a man than to lay down his life for his fellow man.”