En route from Iraq
While waiting for a flight in Shannon airport on Wednesday I met some American soldiers who were on their way home after thirteen months in Iraq.
As far as I know (and according to Wikipedia), soldiers using the airport are not supposed to mingle with the public, but my flight had been delayed by three hours. I was wandering in the almost-empty departures lounge when they all poured in.
I spoke with one guy for a while before having to leave to catch my flight.
This entry was posted on Friday, November 11th, 2005 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
November 11th, 2005 at 1:50 pm
nice bit of journalism emmet. it’s admirable to be able to see past “the war” and foucs on the reality that normal humans are just trying to get home to see their families.
the ratio of women to men soldiers in your photo was interesting.
November 11th, 2005 at 7:14 pm
I met a similar crowd in St. Louis Airport last Christmas….Of course, being the mid-west, there was a “Army Lounge” for the recruits, replete with Uncle Sams and Red White and Blue ribbons, coffee, donuts, tvs while the cadets waited.
Of course, they were heading the other way. At christmas. The disappointment was palpable, as was the determination. It reminded me of a poem by Wilfred Owen
http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/jtap/warpoems.htm#8
November 13th, 2008 at 4:00 am
oyq32vm4qo0go6fy