Thump-thump, thump-thump

PFC. Christy, one of my medics, from Burley, Idaho, finds the heartbeat of a boy, age about nine. After finding the child's heartbeat, he let the boy hear his own heartbeat. The kids were amazed to hear the thump-thump of their own hearts. He did this for each and every kid who was interested.

Minor effort sometimes results in major reward. I believe that these small things we do will change the face of Iraq. These children will hopefully grow up with a love of freedom, and hopefully, a love for, if not just a respect for America.

Whenever feasible, and the mission allows, or our activities do not take from the mission or degrade situational awareness, we do our best to interact with the community. I have seen mothers rush their children inside when we roll through their neighborhoods, scared that something as innocuous as a wave will bring a severe beating or worse from a soldier. They were conditioned to this by the way Saddam's soldiers treated them. Now, after occurrences like this, we hopefully have shown that we are here to help, not to harm.