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They fled. It was all over the news. When the bullets flew, they fled. Leaving stations, abandoning posts, forgetting duties, hundreds of police fled. When the police response to gunfire was to simply run away, the city fell into lawlessness. Pundits rushed to the airwaves, proclaiming the city’s future hopeless. When the news of Hurricane Katrina first reached Mosul, the parallels were uncanny.
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Prelude
“Deuce Four,” is on its way home.
I attended their departure ceremony, presided over by the much respected Brigade Commander, Colonel Robert Brown. Purple Hearts were awarded to soldiers wounded in action. The commander of the Deuce Four, LTC Erik Kurilla, was not there to pin the medals on his soldiers; Kurilla was the last Deuce Four solider wounded in Iraq, and was recovering from three gunshot wounds. All told, the 1-24th infantry regiment earned over 157 Purple Hearts during their mission in Mosul.
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Mosul, Iraq
For more than a week, I’ve been trying to finish the Battle for Mosul Part IV. Meanwhile, the battle for Mosul is still on. Writing about this war takes a back seat to living it. Yesterday, for instance, there was fighting and one of our brother units lost a young soldier in battle.
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“Bad timing,” explained LTC Erik Kurilla, lying in his hospital bed at the Madigan Army Hospital in Fort Lewis, Washington, recovering from gunshot wounds suffered in combat in Mosul on 19 Aug, 2005. Titanium replaces part of his shattered femur, while the wounds in his other leg and arm are healing quickly
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Mosul
In war as in politics, gerrymandering makes all the difference. In Iraq, which side of the line people find themselves on determines more than just what precinct they vote in. People residing north of the “green line” now live in peace and enjoy a prosperity unique in this country. Below that line, in the city of Mosul for instance, there is civil war.
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