CH(MAJ) Oscar Arauco, USA 

Front Line Iraq

By CH(MAJ) Oscar Arauco, USA

Chaplain Arauco is the Raider Brigade Chaplain, 1st Brigade, 4th
Infantry Division serving in Tikrit, Iraq.

A soldier died today. The day started like any other day. It was just another detail on just another sandy road. Only under this road lay an enemy anti-tank mine. The commander had led his men to the release point as planned. He pulled over when he got to the sand to let his armored vehicles take the lead, as planned. Ten meters later the mine exploded and the armored vehicle burst into flame.

When I arrived the men were in various stages of shock and disbelief. We gathered around a makeshift table and the men began telling me some of what had happened. Even though the armored vehicle had continued to burn and knowing that other mines, exploding fuel or ordnance could still pose a threat, they set aside thoughts of their own safety and rushed to the side of their fallenfriend. They pulled him from the burning remains of the now >decimated armored vehicle and placed him in a makeshift ambulance. One soldier said he'd seen things like this in movies, but this was not the make-believe of movies but the stark realities of combat. Another talked about the soldier's wife and four children living in northern Texas. Another couldn't say anything, he just cried softly. The soldiers remembered how their friend's good humor and goofy comments cheered everyone up. They honored their friend with their pain and grief.

Still, God was not absent in all of this. We all realized that close behind the now struck vehicle had been a lighter Humvee carrying seven soldiers. Seven soldiers are still with us because the point of the lance had taken the mortal blow. Their brother-in-arms had died in their stead. When the conversation turned to silence, we prayed together. We prayed for our fallen soldier, we prayed for his wife who would soon receive the terrible news. We prayed for the children whose father had died keeping them safe. We gave thanks for the soldiers whose lives had been spared and for their courage. We prayed God would keep us safe in the missions ahead.

The day pressed on sparing no time for tragedy's sake. The soldiers knew that they would have to quickly put their grief aside. The enemy was not going away and they must continue the mission. No one, not one soldier asked to quit and go home. They knew one more thing, that their lives had been forever changed by the day's events. Tomorrow will come soon enough and there will be more sandy roads to cross. This is but one face of ministry in combat.