This week has been full of fun and adventure in Iraq, I have been on the Tanker with Mikey so we set off in search of new things whenever possible. While we were out on inspections the other day we headed to Tower 4 which is located next to our companys drill building, building X. This is where we use to come to set fake fires and put them out, some say for practice, most firefighters say to play. Well, the kaboshes were put to that so now the building sits empty and we don't get much fun anymore.
There is a 2nd tower next door and I wanted to take a picture from the top tht showed the layout of the area. When we got upstairs we noticed an ammunition box stuck up on a ledge. At first we thought it might be a IED or bomb of some sort, we were both saying "Not me! You open it up!". Finally after making out some writing on the side we opened it and foound a very cool, yet somewhat sad surprise inside.
Geocache (www.geocaching.com/ ) , is a global scavenger hunt if you will, member set out to find geocache locations and when they do they leave a memento and sign a diary that is in the kit to record their visit. They sometimes are located at specific sights in honor of an event such as a death. The particular sight we found was in honor of Sergeant 1st Class Paul R. Smith, a true American Patriot who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war on terror. Sadly he passed in battle, on the very site we stumbled upon. http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/smith/
The Cache holds a memorial to Sergeant Paul R. Smith, detailing the battle that took his life, keeping a diary of all that visit and holding small gifts in honor of his sacrifice. This place held a great significance, it makes you stop and think of all that have perished here. What they gave for our way of life, on a national level and on a personal level. The MWR/Gym on our base is dedicated to him, I had seen his picture on the walls but never knew the story behind his heroic life. We should all be in awe of him and those like him.
Here are some visuals.
Building X site, where our training happens, NOT!!
Why is that ammo box up there??????
The Geocache info
A detailed account of Sgt. Smiths battle.
Gifts left in the Geocache.
More info on Sgt. Smith, May he rest in peace
1 comment:
Sergeant 1st Class Paul R. Smith's wife Birgit was the sponsor of LCS 1 USS Freedom. It was commissioned on November 8, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. http://www.ussfreedom.org/
I was honored to be able to witness the commissioning ceremony with my sister and brother in law (both in the US Navy).
Thanks for all you do over there!!
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