Over a wall, into danger

[unhappycamper]

Over a wall, into danger
By Aamer Madhani | Tribune correspondent
September 10, 2007


BAGHDAD - After three months in the caldron of Iraq, 2nd Lt. Kyle Graham nearly met his end in an abandoned amusement park.

Graham and his platoon hoped to reopen the small park, unused for two years because of Sunni insurgents and armed bandits who had bled the neighborhood. The park's broad expanse would leave his men vulnerable, Graham decided.

Before entering, he called for backup but was denied, Graham said, recounting that day.

Then a sniper squeezed off a round.

"The bullet was so close that I could hear the whiz as it went by my head," he said.

~snip~

A few weeks ago, insurgents got in one last shot at the departing unit, detonating a large roadside bomb against a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Graham and his platoon, only a couple of blocks away when the bomb exploded, arrived first to the scene. They found the Bradley engulfed in flames, its ammunition exploding.


Rest of article at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/yahoo/chi-platoon_2sep10,0,446165.story