The last full measure of devotion

[KG]

By ALEX LEARY, Times Staff Writer
Published January 25, 2004

The GIs were dirty, mosquito-bitten, fatigued, homesick. They had been on the road almost constantly for two weeks. Many had not slept in days.

At dawn on April 4, they arrived at Saddam International Airport to the sound of sporadic gunfire and the acrid smell of distant explosions. Breakfast was a mushy, prepackaged concoction the Army optimistically calls "pasta with vegetables."

Still, the mood was upbeat.

Reaching the airport meant the war was almost over. Some of the men broke out cheap cigars to celebrate.

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support the troops - demand the immediate end to the immoral and illegal occupation of Iraq.

Iraq for the Iraqis - all foreigner troops out NOW!