A Soldier's Journey: Stephen M. McGowan

Hey Everyone,
Well it looks like the move to Fallujah will be delayed for a  little while. The Marines want a second chance at securing it. They don't want  to give it to a bunch of Army guys and lose face. … Same  old same old with the mortar attacks and stuff. I'm just plugging away at the  time trying to make it to leave. By the way, sorry for the lapse between emails.  The Army has a policy here. When someone dies they shut off the internet and  phones. That way no one notifies the family before the Army does. So it has been  down lately and I couldn't get back to you all sooner. I hope all is well with  you all. Take care and God Bless.
Stephen

More Mortars
10/20/04

Hey Everyone,
Things are getting a bit more intense here. We had  a mortar attack yesterday that came in close enough for it to blow out the  windows in my room. One of the medics was walking near the battalion office and  got hit. He was MEDEVACed out to Baghdad, but he will most likely lose his leg.  His name is CPL Luke, so pray for him. … An OP saw where the rounds came  from so we went after the guys who did it. We captured one and killed the  other. They were outside a local sheiks house and he came out to talk to us. We  were about to search his house but he handed my Platoon Seargent a SAT phone and  the CIA was on the other end. Turns out the sheik was a friendly and was  protected from on high.

Other than that things are the same here. The  weather is getting a little colder. It gets to be about 60 degrees at night now.  It feels like freezing compared to the 100 degree days though. And it  actually rained for the first time. It only lasted for about 5 minutes, but it's  the first precipitation we have had. I'm a little scared to come home in March. I think the weather might kill me. Well that's it for now. Take care all and of course all my love.

Iraqi Soldiers Graduate
10/25/04

Hey Everyone,
Well some good news... My buddy Cpl. Luke will be keeping his leg and starting rehab soon. So thank you for the prayers, it seems  they worked. … I went to Fallujah  the other day for an escort. We were transporting a platoon of newly graduated  Iraqi soldiers. They had just completed their training with the Marines and are  being sent to various areas to begin securing their homeland. They were really  excited. It reminded me of when I graduated basic training. It was great to see  something like that. And it's great to know that these guys are the ones who  will be securing their country for the future. They were so proud. My seargent  equated it to being part of the Revolutionary War for us. Sounds about right. And they were excited to speak to us with the basic English that they have  learned. It was pretty cool. Anyway, that is the latest. I hope everyone is well and I will write again soon.
Stephen