Oklahoma Soldiers Show Their Generosity On The War Front

By Lori Fullbright, The News On 6

IRAQ -- About 65 Oklahomans are serving in Iraq right now, as part of Bravo company in the 2nd-285th.

I was embedded with B-company for a week.

Our stories so far have shown the serious side of their living conditions and their missions, but, now we take a look at the lighter side and also, the good deeds our Oklahomans are doing on the warfront.

"We're going to do a quick brief here," said Pilot Will Kavanagh.

This is the day members of Bravo company are getting ready to fly us from Iraq to Kuwait.

"When we brief, we have a checklist for the aircraft," he said.

As usual, two birds will fly, in case something goes wrong and one Blackhawk goes down and they have to make the call nobody wants to hear, fallen angel.

Their entire focus is security and being prepared for anything.

"In this case, our passengers don't have any weapons," he said. "So we'll keep them in the aircraft."

These Oklahomans are working and living in tough, trying conditions and it's only going to get hotter and sandier as summer approaches.

"Wayne Newton was here a few years ago," said First Sergeant Steven DeCoster. "He thought he'd seen everything until he came here, it was 148 degrees, hotter than Las Vegas."

But, they are also having experiences they'll never forget, that show them there is common ground, even in war.

"I met an Iraqi Lieutenant at a FOB we landed in. We had lunch," said Crew Chief David Lopez, Tulsa. "Outside the language barrier and cultural differences, with body language, you can tell people are pretty much the same all over."

Everyone here appreciates all the support being shown to them, but, even more, to their families back home.

"We seem to be getting a lot of support back home from Oklahoma," said First Lieutenant Christopher Lackey. "Especially for our families back home. It's nice to see not are people recognizing us, but, our families as well."

They say what gets them through the trying times is the camaraderie they share. Plus, they manage to find some good natured ways to liven things up.

Laughter is good for our soldiers. They even have a little fun with us during one of our many flights. All of a sudden, flares are shooting by, our gunners are firing and bullets are flying.

We think we're under fire, but, it's just a little drill to make sure we were awake. We were.

Before we left Tulsa, we asked our soldiers if we could bring them goodies from home. They didn't want anything for themselves, but they did ask us to send them children's shoes or soccer balls that they could drop over villages.

So, we bought, packed up and mailed 50 pair of kids' shoes.

"They don't have access to Wal-Mart and Target, much less a job to go buy that so we drop shoes, clothes, soccer balls, which provides hours, days and months of fun for them," Pilot Kavanagh said. "We're not trying to win the hearts and minds but there is a good side to us being here and we let them see some of that too."

You can help Iraqi kids by donating soccer balls that will be distributed by B Company 2nd 285th Blackhawk Unit. If you are interested in donating, check out "Soccer Balls For Iraqi Kids."

Our box of shoes arrived the day we had to leave, but, the soldiers later dropped them out of the choppers for the Iraqi children who are living in extreme poverty conditions.

It just shows Oklahomans are kind and generous, no matter where they are.

"Everyone is very proud to be here, motivated to do their job and the right thing," said Captain Phillip Hemmert, Owasso.

Oklahomans have a rich history of serving their country and sacrificing their needs for the greater good and these soldiers are certainly carrying on that proud tradition.

"America's a great place," said Major Rob Walker, Tulsa. "When you come some place like this, you realize how lucky we are, how blessed we are to live in a free country and the price we have to pay to keep it that way."

Watch Part 5 of Lori's series next Wednesday, May 26th, on The News On 6 to see what happens in these soldiers lives while they're away. Ten babies have been born and there have been other big life moments they've missed while serving their country.