Sgt. Royd Nuckols, 30, of Folcroft, Pa., agreed: "I don't want my wife or my kids to know the stuff I've had to do or see."
Letting out a brief chuckle, Sgt. Humberto Moreno, 24, of Whittier, Calif., said he not only doesn't tell his family anything but tries not to think too much about the dangers himself.
U.S. Army snipers took over the top of this nearly 1,200-year-old spiral minaret at a Samarra mosque after the streets below became the scene of frequent attacks by insurgents in the restless city.
(Josh White -- The Washington Post)
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"You have to put it aside or you'll go nuts," Moreno said. "You just go out there, and if you get hit, you get hit. I never tell my parents what goes on here, or my wife. I just tell them I'm going out there to help the Iraqis. They don't need to know that we got blown up today."
Col. Mark Milley, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, looks like he's running for office when he leaves his base and mingles with Iraqis. He asks them how much they make a month doing masonry, fighting fires, doing odd jobs. He leans in close and offers a powerful handshake, asking local people in a deep voice what they think of their future.
"The enemy offers you nothing," Milley repeated to adults and children alike on a recent tour of Baghdad. "All the enemy wants to do is turn the clock back 1,000 years. It's time for you to take your country back. The terrorists offer you no future. The Iraqi government offers you a future."
One 13-year-old boy, who said he was the son of a powerful Islamic cleric, defiantly responded that he thought life was better under Saddam Hussein. He stood close to Milley and often glanced away dismissively, ultimately refusing to shake the colonel's hand when they parted.
Milley used similar words in a rousing speech at Camp Liberty to two dozen new soldiers, many of whom had never seen combat. He told them not to be stupid, because stupidity can cost lives.
Pvt. Quentin Hausey, 19, of Jackson, La., walked out of the meeting and into the bright sun looking a bit dazed. Hausey joined the Army on May 27, fresh out of high school, and didn't think he'd be deployed so quickly.
"I wanted to get away from home and do something with my life," Hausey said. "I'm ready to get involved, get the job done and get on back home."
Ask American soldiers what it's like to serve in Iraq and they'll typically say they are simply doing their job and aren't trained to question it. Less often, they might question why they were sent over but express belief that what they are doing now -- trying to push insurgents out of Iraqi neighborhoods and to save innocent lives -- is the proper thing.
Capt. Benjamin Marlin, 30, of Snellville, Ga., said he was more certain about the reasons behind the U.S. involvement in Iraq but had questions about what lies ahead in terms of stability and democracy.
"This country allowed terrorists, had a dictator in line with terrorists, and people's lives were dismal at best," Marlin said. "They could get there in a couple more years, but it could take five to 10 years, or it could take a generation. There needs to be a new generation that comes up with democracy. Nobody thinks it will happen quickly."
"I believe in this," said 1st Sgt. Jose Fragoso, 41, of Toledo. "It's something we either deal with now or pay for later."
