(Photo courtesy CSM James Kyle) [Click to enlarge]

Friends in the USA: These pictures are from a mission to Halabja, Iraq, we took on Feb. 16, 2005. This is where Saddam Hussein gassed his own people in 1988, killing 5,000 men, women and children.

The citizens there treated us as heroes. They wanted our autographs and many pictures made with them.

I want you to look ... real green grass, real trees and even snow on the mountaintops. This was the prettiest place we have seen in Iraq. It was over a five hour ride each way on the convoy. We had a Kurdish Army type escort (with flashing lights) all the way there and back. We went to a memorial service and placed flowers at the gravesite, also. The memorial site is like our 9-11 in the USA.

The citizens were so happy to see us; we have protected them from Saddam Hussein since the first Gulf War with the no-fly zone. Of course the citizens there want their own country. They do have a beautiful country, plenty of oil and agriculture; they are trying very hard to make a beautiful and democratic county there.

Please look closely at the pictures, they tell a real story about the people there!

I have traveled to many places before, but felt really safe with their security they provided us there. Of course, we had all of our gun trucks with us and could have taken care of ourselves if needed. They fed us well. I do not know what we ate but the bread was real good,

I have a picture of the sack lunch they fed us. I did survive, but wanted to make sure on the five hour ride home I had no trouble from eating.

We had a very good day, after seeing pictures of the people killed, and after going to the memorial service and seeing what they looked like after they were gassed, it made me feel even better about being here.

We are doing good things and helping good people! Please let me hear from you. I have more pictures (if you would like to see them, they have them on post cards for all the world to see) of the people lined up dead in the streets, just stopped in their tracks with older men and women and children holding onto each other. It was very sad.

Thanks,

CSM James Kyle

HHT (-), 3/278th RCT

FOB COBRA

APO AE 09374

james.b.kyle@us.army.mil