Update
On patrol and in full gear, Spc. Bobby Schoendorf had his photo making the rounds on national media outlets;and, it gives folks back home a healthy reminder of the sacrifices made by the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the sacrifices of families left behind. Spc. Schoendorf is stationed just north of Baghdad. Readers should visit Collabman’s Thoughts for recent updates and photos of the unit. This website is run by the father of another soldier, a friend of Bobby’s, and provides updates on the well being of the unit.
The most recent posts inform us of the long hours- over 24 straight- soldiers are working. This area of Iraq continues to be active as several pilgrimages with tens of thousands of people moving about create great security risks. The more frequent use of female suicide bombers has also added another level of difficulty as American troops seek to transfer more responsibility to the Iraqi police.
Original Article
National news sources around the country have picked up on the July 4th celebrations of American soldiers at FOB Warhorse in Iraq. Highlighted in the press coverage was Wyckoff native Spc. Bobby Schoendorf. “We all want to be home and be with our families,” he said. “But I’d rather be doing this on the fourth so they can be at home enjoying the holiday.” Readers can see pictures of Bobby Schoendorf and other members of his unit at Collabman’s Blog which is maintained by the father of another soldier from FOB WarHorse, Spc. Chris Stevenson. It’s a remarkable website that offers a soldier’s view of the war, filtered through the eyes of a father. Chris Stevenson is good friends with Bobby Schoendorf, and a July 4th posting carried this message:
“The info hounds have been busy over night. They uncovered a great photo of SPC Bobby Schoendorf who is a friend of Chris’ in Dog Company, 2-2 SCR. It made me smile to see his photo carried with this story: US soldiers in Iraq mark Fourth of July The article is extremely encouraging…we are blessed to have young men and women like this serving our great country.”
FOB WarHorse is another front where progress is evident, but the sacrifices made are also evident and are remembered every day by the soldiers based there. SSG Sheryl L. Lawry at FOB Warhorse supplied these photos for a mother who had searched the web to find pictures of the memorial listing her son’s name. Lawry write, “To give you some background, this is a very special place on Forward Operating Base Warhorse. No one is allowed to walk on the grass and the grass is watered daily”. The Collabman Blog offers links to the fallen soldiers, other blogs of families with soldiers at war, and a list of websites that readers can access to show their support for the troops.
FOB WarHorse is located just north of Baghdad and not far from the Iran border. Their daily patrols expose them to to the regular threat of IEDs. The difficulty of the American mission is exhibited in the video below that pays tribute to the lives lost while soldiers were distributing puppets to Iraqi children. Besides providing security, soldiers act as the face of all Americans in their efforts to win the support of the local population. Puppets for peace was started by an American soldier who asked his mother to make some puppets for him to give away to Iraqi children. Despite the tragedy of Americans and Iraqi children being killed by a suicide bomber, the efforts continue.
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The slide show below is a gallery of photos from a soldier bases at FOB WarHorse
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