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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2003-11-12, Page 66—THE HURON EXPOSITOR, NOVEMBER 12, 2003 Car Oiling at Lee's Service Centre (formerly Dave's Car OAing) Hood Ttunk Lid inner Finders Inner Dods & Dog Underside Door Parcels LegsFars \'Je use Hot. Acid Free. New Oil CARS & LIGHT TRUCKS Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 1 pm - 9 pm; Fri. 1 pm - 6 pm; Sat. 8 am - 12 noon (Weather permitting) 348 Dinsley St. E., Blyth 523-9151 Share an extraordinary dinner this holiday season. Experience our "made right here" specialty meats for special occasions. Call ahead to order... • Wine -cured ham • Stuffed pork • Hickory -smoked loin roast ham • Marinated • Boneless smoked beef roast turkey breast • Cold cuts platter And, our Gift Certificates make the perfect gift! rev extwtotafbuot tom! 180 BROCK AVENUE, HENSALL • (519) 262-3130 J' JsK'-• Avon 41.1!g' Maitland Learning for t Lifetime Special Education Advisory Committee Nominations for Appointees The Avon Maitland District School Board invites local associations or organizations that operate to further the interests and well-being of exceptional children or adults, to apply to nominate a representative and altemate to serve as a volunteer on its Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) from December 1, 2003 to November 30, 2006. The Special Education Advisory Committee is a statutory standing committee of the Board which meets during the school year on the first Wednesday evening of each month. A person is qualified to be a member of the SEAC if they are at least 18 years of age; a Canadian citizen; a resident within the jurisdiction of the Avon Maitland District School Board; and not an employee of the School Board. Applications are to be sent no later than November 30, 2003 to: Pat Taylor, Executive Assistant, Avon Maitland District School Board 62 Chalk Street, North Seaforth, ON NOK 1 WO Telephone:1-800-592-5437 Fax: (519) 527-0222 .vILLIAMS www amdsb.ca for of Ethic:mon MEG WESTLEr News U.S. surgeon says Iraq experience very similar to TV show MASH From Page l people in a town I've been to only two or three times were rooting for me. To hear that, made me feel better," he says. Brown says it was difficult during his four months as a surgeon with a medical unit in the United States army, to know how much of the reality of war to share with his family but finally decided to share it all. "I was definitely in harm's way and most of the soldiers didn't tell their families much. But with the news reporting that my unit was being hit by mortar fire, I decided to tell everything and I think it helped. The unknown bothers Nancy and full disclosure was better," he says. Brown, who is a transplant surgeon in Connecticut, was with a FAST team (forward surgical team) with the 4th Infantry Division and was split between Baghdad and Baled, near the region where Saddam Hussein grew up. When he first arrived, he was living with the army in the dessert under a large section of cammo-netting in 150 degree F heat during the day, which dropped to 125 F at night. "It's hard to describe how hot that is. I didn't think humans could live in that environment. I know it was at least as high as 150 F because that's how high the thermometer went," he says. "When I first got there, I was told I could only work 15 minutes out of every hour and to rest the other part between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. You just couldn't do anything. It took about a week to acclimate." As time went on, conditions improved both for the U.S. military with tents and air conditioners and for the Iraqi people as the power and water supply was restored and the economy submitted photo Major Matt Brown, centre, works on the leg wound of an American soldier while in Iraq. resumed. "It went from real bad to not as bad while I was there. In Baghdad at first, the stores were all closed but soon the traffic started up and the markets opened. The Iraqis I met for the most part told me they're really glad that Saddam's regime is over," says Brown. However, he adds that some of their expectations are unrealistic. "Some of them want to see a lot of money poured in to change their lifestyles immediately. They think they should all have big screen TVs and DVD players right away," he says. Brown's unit was also under mortar fire for much of the time he was there. He arrived two days after mortar fire had found its mark and ripped holes in the cammo- netting. "It was common to be woken at 2 a.m. with your heart pounding because of the 1i� Ost// EXCAVATING 'We Uig Vcu( Dirt' R.R.#3, Clinton, Ontario NOM 1 LO FRANK POSTILL 519-440-0020 • Footings • Certified Erosion Control Consultants • Bulldozing • Backhoe • Septic Installation • All Rural & Urban Excavation • Sewer & Watermain Services ROB POSTILL 519-482-9101 2004 Ford Freestar SE Introductory Lease Price ciatu Pates OMNI neo 111E crap darn ta.e1rem n Or* MN haat SE e• Cryan 11.1111 o..v Pa gen d 1319•• r•er•, ew. n In MVO r.. e at a 31% •d e M A chop 6 arts Iantyi Pam vow neapCYO s re wen olpaefied VW Oast• oc, t ire Rif e c rad $4 eleuroPepeo• • 972 XV tc. w+' ire anise. nae. +•reayetyloo d10(0)4*Po wail,. !o Nada, NOM in op* 'grclr d *WC*, Fob 9EMS740 d` a 36'11 noon teary WrC•e a eo woes peer era Pp •Tann pond 1 we N a/dw, Nada A aret lar gevorebiless b Meted on he ft . ear eat t'1' won; u SAX d aroea ear na eer Ciro* * ase ata Paged b Orn arfratd sea* a• veV turner sap soy • e b WO do NI 36 ...071 16:116 ata 4) b •703 en N wen* Inn Ades a now n acct ?Ma ivory soon) rt b SN 066 %trete sea reLea 9500 cereeu. M in MAO &. t s-ovs d tarter toe babe =Om& i deACLd N 04a aerdtet 1e4e. bra ~roe e?'r'tl►ero, Ws M M Woo* Wed Sona mdbe - ease b h oYtlr.licarie + peen tram e -e des Ods met d croak, yen, IIIc eiNdt Moe etre mayona say Vern odor" meld • Ohm ^uAm weary era arra be cfrtryo 9se Drew b PPM. DaiM► trot. —eyes mono Mu • airs rot, Pew t+.eMF MONO wait e, fear. Grad do fe Pryor of dater tea,en olened AI 'coot w b &•sats' anew or, Sema o cere•'1 Curt aha Greer *tow Drop Pearce w refuted r P• ~sod Pres. tea d tat 2004 Fera/ SE M ere•tre oorcrn cat over Fearer mows Orae FM PO 9o. }000 00" Gena L&J SEI sound of mortar fire and to have to scramble into a bunker," he says, adding it was hard to sleep through the night or concentrate on anything after returning home. He says he was amazed how much the experience was similar to the television show MASH. He was in Baghdad when the U.N. building was bombed and was one of the surgeons who helped the wounded, which included one woman from Canada. "I heard the explosion and then the choppers showed up. The U.N. victims were lined up in a row and we were there on our hands and knees to see who we could help and who we couldn't." "I was not used to this kind of medicine - people blown up with limbs dangling. The severity was so much worse than I'd ever seen before," he says. While Brown was able to communicate with his family by phone or e-mail for most of the time he was in Iraq, he was sent on a 12 -day special mission called Operation Black Flag to the village where Saddam's mother lives and it was believed he was hiding. "It was a raid and we had helicopters and tanks. It was very scary because there could have been a fire fight and I would have been in the middle of it. I kept wondering hqw I got involved in this. But, the fire fight didn't happen because the intelligence was somewhat off," he says. But, Brown's most frightened moment actually came on the way back from the mission when the convoy was travelling through the narrow city streets of Tikrit and Sammara.. As the U.S. troops rode through the populated streets, the people, whom Brown says were all Saddam's sympathizers, stopped and stared with hatred and threw stones as the vehicles passed. "There were 1000's of people just glaring at us only a couple of feet away. One guy reached out and insolently tapped the butt of my gun as we went by. And, I had to put my sunglasses on so he wouldn't see how scared I was," he says. Brown says the Iraqis in Tikrit are the 15 per cent that hate the Americans because they were the most privileged under Saddam's regime. Now that Brown is home, he's discouraged by news commentary that is urging the U.S. to get out of Iraq before the situation stabilizes these. "We all feel that (U.S. President) Bush probably made a mistake by saying the major conflict was over since the fighting is worse now. But, considering the immediate withdrawal of troops is so discouraging to the soldiers who are over there. They understand why they're over there and they want to see it come to the best conclusion. They know there are big problems but they think they can overcome them," he says. Brown adds that most soldiers don't want to talk about the fact that the premise for their invasion was probably false since no weapons of mass destruction were found. "Probably a big part of why we are there is oil and a military presence and the threat from Saddam's regime. And, maybe the soldiers are feeling a little insecure, wondering why they're there and thinking maybe the U.S. should have waited. But, now that we're there, that's all behind us and we want to see the situation improve," he says. "If we left, Saddam is still a multi-trillionaire with a huge network of power and he could waltz right back in and we can't let him do that. There'd be more hatred than ever if he came back into power," says Brown. He says he saw the huge disparity between rich and poor in Iraq - during helicopter rides he saw huge opulent marble palaces with man-made lakes side-by-side with the sand adobe huts in villages where goat -herders live with no electricity or running water. "We're trying to impose a democratic government and maybe it won't work. But, our only option is to continue. It's a winnable war," he says. Brown, himself, does not want to return to Iraq for a third time. The U.S. Army reserves . major had spent three months in Camp Doha near Kuwait before war began in Iraq and was called back six months after he returned the first time, the day before his commitment to the army was supposed to come to an end. When he returned home two weeks ago, he learned that his resignation is still sitting on a desk in the reserve office and he is not officially discharged. "Now I have to keep bugging the military reserves to process my resignation. They are reluctant for me to get out because the army is stretched very thin for surgeons..But, some others can take their tum now," he says. Need help finding a lawyer? Call Me Lawyer Referral Serrlee HERE'S HOW IT WORKS • Cal our 1.900 mitres. •A(1SRpi,arititeputhe nom. and phone Mune. d ons lord (RS m.mb.r lowlier who is able b dad *Ah pu issue M 1,. 1acr, es I r Neil Cowls Ir Cour • (d o IRS merest bear olid nein up to 30 *wits d Ins consuilalion • A 56.00 chop oil be appi.d b your phcee 1-900-565-4577 TTY: (416)'644-4886 Toll Free Crisis Una 1-600-265.6326