Daniel in Iraq: "Walking on High Hills"

Friends and Family,

Thanks for the e-mails, cards, care packages, and all your prayers. They are definitely being felt over here in that I am I am still safe, well taken care of, and nearly halfway done! My busy work schedule has been making the time go by quickly as well as some of the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Events available in the IZ. On Thursday nights we play horseshoes at the GRD Compound and on April 5th we had a tournament at GRD. At the end of every month there is a 5K at the Palace where the US Embassy is currently located. Lots of runners from the GRD participated, and our commanding general, BG Michael Walsh, was the honorary runner and passed the winner’s medals. It was very fitting that this Irishman was present at our St. Patrick’s Day 5K!

Last Friday I visited the Combat Support Hospital with my senior NCO, MSG Baldridge, and some of the donations you have been sending. I was unable to take any pictures inside, but I wanted to share a little about what I saw. First I visited the area of the hospital where the soldiers are treated. None of them were badly hurt…except for a bit of their toughness when I handed them a box of Girl Scout cookies! They thoroughly enjoyed the gift and the visit, and we felt honored to meet them, thank them, and encourage them. The patients that we saw on the Iraqi side were in worse condition. One man was very talkative and yet obviously upset about losing the use of his right arm. He had been shot through the right shoulder, severing a nerve, and had lost all feeling and movement below the elbow. Another man we tried to talk to was delusional after being awake for nearly three days. He has only been able to sleep sporadically due to the pain from his wounds. Finally we gave some cookies to a teenage boy’s mother who sat by the bedside of her wounded son. They were both looking at each other with great concern and unable to even smile when we visited with them. There was nothing that we could say or do for them except deliver the cookies, share their story, and pray for God’s grace and protection for them.

On Saturday, 21 April 2007, three Aggies from the GRD got together and did just what the campusology says: “On April 21st each year, on the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, Aggies gather together, wherever they are, to commemorate fellow Aggies who have died during the year. The tradition was begun 21 April 1903.” Attendees of the 2007 Texas A&M Muster held at the Gulf Region Division in Baghdad, Iraq were as follows:

1. Les Cramblet ‘70, company H-1 from Tennessee; Degree in Management
2. David Thomas ‘85 from Nacogdoches, TX; Degree in Maritime Systems Engineering from the Galveston Campus; 4th Aggie Muster in a war zone
3. Daniel Lutz ‘01, company H-1 from Houston, TX; Degree in Civil Engineering

This year’s list included six military Aggies killed in action in the last year. They are:

1. Maj. Matthew Worrell ’94, United States Army, who died May 14, 2006
2. Lt. Ryan Sanders’01, United States Army, who died June 5, 2006
3. Capt. Blake Russell ’98, United States Army, who died July 22, 2006
4. Sgt 1st Class Merideth Howard ’76, United States Army, who died Sept. 8, 2006
5. Lance Cpl Luke Yepsen ’08, United States Marine Corps, who died Dec. 14, 2006
6. Capt. Sean Lyerly ’98, Texas Army National Guard, who died Jan. 20, 2007

The three of us enjoyed dinner together, told some “good bull” stories, held a small ceremony at our table in the chow hall, read the names above, and departed that evening just as the Traditional closing states: “firm in our loyalty to our country and our God…and warm in our hearts our affection for each other and for our Alma Mater.”

We have had both arrivals and departures in the G-4 section over the last few weeks. My new boss, LTC Mike Vann, has arrived and I am busy getting him up to speed on our mission. I am truly blessed to be working for another Christian (something I found out the SECOND day he was here), and it’s just another answered prayer on this deployment. We also have a new civilian employee, Mr. Jose Lopez-Negron, who will be working in both the Supply and Property Sections. Finally, my former senior NCO, Sergeant Major Earnest Lee has redeployed after completing a year long tour. He is headed back to his reserve unit in Mississippi and civilian job with the Department of Corrections. What do you get when you a cross a Sergeant Major with a prison warden? A loud and direct individual that expects to only tell you things once! At his award ceremony I shared a verse that all of us hope to be able to say after our service in Iraq: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Thanks again for all your e-mails, cards, care packages, and prayers. God is definitely using my time over here for His purposes…and my best. (Isn’t that how it always works?) Take care and God bless.

Walking on High Hills,
Daniel

“The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on high hills.” (Habakkuk 3:19)