A Glimmer of Hope

Hi honey,

I hope you have a good Valentine's Day. I love you sooo much! I can't wait for all this to be over. Five guys got hurt today. They were dismounted (walking) in the city and a car came at them, shooting out the windows. A single drive by killed an Iraqi soldier, shot a little kid in the face, sent two guys to Germany, then home. Luckily the others just had minor shrapnel injuries. One of my snowboarding buddies was shot in the abdomen. He's doing OK, but will be going home. The other guy was shot in the leg. Sometimes I don't know what to think about all of this. It seems so senseless that all this bloody combat will ever solve anything.

Ridgley was shot and killed in Mosul on March 30. He was awarded a posthumous Silver Star.

Army col. Theodore Westhusing
April 14, Baghdad

It is really an eye-opener how the real person comes out over here in battle, the heroics by so many ... At times, things appear suspicious with a few [Iraqis] we are training and working with, and we don't know how they are going to react. Remember, some were Saddam's elite army special forces and guards, who never liked us and now we work/fight side by side. There is a chance the enemy could be right beside you.

Westhusing
May 10, Baghdad