AJC.com > Iraq coverage > Blog > Archives > 2005 > June > 16 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USPassing time in a deadly Baghdad neighborhood
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Curtis Compton/AJC
Vianney Cornejo (left) of Marietta and Kevin Everett of Dallas man their post at a bridge overpass in Baghdad on Wednesday.
Baghdad, Iraq — At a bloodily contested highway overpass where a suicide bomber had incinerated himself and turned his car into shopping cart-sized hunks of twisted metal two days earlier, a trio of 48th Brigade Combat Team soldiers look out from a machine-gun nest.
Their perch is a shabby, dusty, cement-and-sand bag lean-to on which someone has spray-painted Hotel California - an obvious reference to the “you can never leave” line in the song.
During a 12-hour watch on a blistering June day, they keep each other alert by swapping gun positions every hour while the third member of the crew rests on a cot. The off-duty soldier reads aloud tidbits from Maxim and NHM magazines and they endlessly compare the virtues of super-models, comic book figures and cruise ship destinations.
Although their mission is deadly serious - rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers are loaded and ready to fire and the soldiers suspiciously eye every approaching person and vehicle — their banal banter is typical of the ongoing military mission here: hours of stupefying boredom and discomfort mixed with ambiguity and seasoned with moments of stark terror.
“I’ll bet Mr. Incredible could kick Superman’s (butt),” says Spec. Leomar Jackson, 21, of Athens, a sunburned, square-jawed, mischievous member of the Lawrenceville-based 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment. “Throw Kryptonite at Mr. Incredible and he’ll throw it right back at you. Do that to Superman and he turns to Jell-O. Mr. Incredible doesn’t have any obvious weaknesses.”
Cpl. Kevin Everett, 27, of Dallas, Texas, a thin, taciturn soldier who is back in Iraq two months after finishing a year-long deployment on the Iran/Iraq border with an active-duty unit, originally backs Superman. But Jackson’s rant convinces him to switch to Batman.
Jackson slams that choice, too.
“You’ve got to have super powers to be a super hero,” he says, exasperated. “Batman can’t fly or spin spider webs. All he’s got is lots of money and an impressive tool belt. That’s no super hero.”
Everett, married for 10 years with three young children, gives Superman another lukewarm endorsement.
Everett’s a Dallas Cowboys fan and calls them “America’s Team.” The Man of Steel “is more all-American,” he says without conviction.
On the street below, soldiers in a pair of armored Bradley Fighting Vehicles discover a pair of rocket propelled grenades in a farm field about 100 yards from the highway. They call an explosives team to destroy the weapons.
Then Vianney Cornejo, 27, a glib El Salvador native who lives in Marietta and has a penchant for singing hip-hop tunes in Spanish, weighs in on the comics question.
“I like Batman because he’s a real man,” the machine gunner says, his weapon resting atop a pile of green, nylon sandbags. “He may not have super powers, but that just makes him more realistic. He doesn’t have to go out and fight crime. He could just stay home with Alfred and Robin and chase (skirts) all day. But he fights crime because it’s the right thing to do.”
A pedestrian approaches on the highway about 200 yards from the soldiers. That’s too close, they decide. Everett doesn’t want to fire a warning shot, so he raises and lowers his jet black M-16 rifle several times in a row, displaying it to the man on the street and then pointing the barrel in his direction. The pedestrian shrugs a sad, woe-is-me kind of gesture, then turns and walks away while the soldiers resume their conversation.
What about the Incredible Hulk? Would his temper help or hurt him in a fight against Superman?
All three of these soldiers had been at the same overpass 48 hours earlier when the car bomber struck. One of their fellow soldiers pumped the driver full of lead and suffered minor injuries when the car exploded. The part they all remember is the thunderous sound and concussion.
“I’ve never heard a sound like that,” Cornejo says. “It was so loud, and you could feel it as well as hear it.”
Another sound suddenly grabs the soldiers’ attention.
A series of five or six rapid rifle shots ring out from the highway about a half-mile away. The soldiers search with binoculars but can’t spot the shooter. They watch a blue pickup truck quickly reverse direction and drive away - but they can’t tell if the shots came from inside the pickup or not.
They all say the gunshots had the distinctive, popping reports of an AK-47, the rifle of choice among Iraqis - both insurgents and police.
Overhead, a pair of heavily armed Apache helicopters orbit noisily a few hundred feet above the highway. The two-person helicopter crews are searching for the shooters, too. But the helicopters depart after about 30 minutes, apparently without success.
The explosives team arrives and prepares to blow up the grenades. Two soldiers attach a long detonation cord to the weapons, and the grenades go up in a white, smoky fizzle — not a bang.
The gun crew is disappointed with the dud grenades. But Jackson soon engages them with another rhetorical question that promises to fill the next hour at least.
“If you could take a cruise anywhere,” he asks his fellow soldiers, “where would you go? Who would you take with you? And what would you bring?”
Curtis Compton/AJC
Vianney Cornejo of Marietta jokes with his fellow soldiers while he takes his break time at the ‘Hotel California’ post. At left is Arista Cowan of Jasper.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By ANGELA
June 16, 2005 08:21 AM | Link to this
Thank you for working with these soldiers and bringing life to the everyday struggles of the lowest soldiers. Not just the colonels and generals but the PFC’s and SPC’s. One question. Could you please do at least one story with the cooks/mess section for the 108th Armor? The infantry and armor guys always get the glory. These guys never make it to the big stories. And their job is just as important.
Be Blessed, Angela
By Michelle Coon
June 16, 2005 10:54 AM | Link to this
Thank you so much for writing these articles and tracking the progress of the 48th. It was great to see a picture of my dear friend, 2nd Lt. Chris Kehl, on your web site. I log on daily to read your reports; it gives me a sense of what life is like over there and makes it seem like Chris is not so far away.
By Ann C. Ladd
June 16, 2005 11:00 AM | Link to this
Hi, Guys:
Thanks so much for your info on the 48th. I look forward each day reading your articles and looking at pictures. I would like to say Hi to my son, Sgt. Chris Ladd, Camp Stryker and to tell him I love him. Let us hear from you. You guys are doing a wonderful job and we are all proud of you.
Ann Ladd
By Robert
June 16, 2005 12:24 PM | Link to this
Dear Dave,
While your doing a great job in your blog about all the good work the 108th Armor is doing, it might be nice if you mention some of the many other Georgia units in Iraq that are making a no doubt equally good contribution to the war effort.
By Debora Everett-Walston
June 16, 2005 12:57 PM | Link to this
Thanks to all members of the 48th BDE and a Special Thanks and Love to Spc. James C. Walston. Family, friends, the dealership and even the “Red Hat” ladies(from SC) are taking the “Walk to Baghdad” in your name…as our hero and everyone is praying for you daily….Thank you to one and all and thanks you, Jim for being a #1 DAD. All My Love!..Sunshine PS. thank you staff writers, everyone in SC is enjoying your infomation as well
By Daniel Cowan
June 17, 2005 12:36 PM | Link to this
That’s a great article yall have written there. It’s good to see how well the 48th is doing in Iraq and that they’re all in good spirits. I would just like to say hello to my brother, Arista Cowan, pictured at the bottom of the article, and that I love him so much and look forward to seeing him return home along with all the other soldiers in Iraq. Take care Artie.
Love your brother, Daniel
By robert everett
June 18, 2005 08:46 PM | Link to this
thats my brother. in the picture. kevin we love him very much. thanks for the articale.
By Matt Bryant
June 18, 2005 09:12 PM | Link to this
Hey…Just wanted to say hey to Artie,who is basically my brother too, through “Dan the man!!” and keep up the good work! and i miss y’alls whole family!! I hope to see all y’all real soon!! peace _ Matt Bryant
By Craig Everett
June 20, 2005 07:30 AM | Link to this
I just wanted to tell my brother Kevin Everett that I love him and am very proud of him and he is always in my prayers.
By Debbie Myers
June 20, 2005 12:38 PM | Link to this
Kevin we love you and miss you. All the boys liked hearing about the super hero conversations. Love, your sister
By Norene Klinger
June 21, 2005 09:02 PM | Link to this
To all serving I am very proud of you all and pray every night for your safety. Kevin Everett is the brother of my son in law Robert Everett. Kevin I hope you are home soon with your family I am sending you lots of prayers and hugs. I’m very proud to consider you a member of my family even if it is only through marriage.
By R Wells
June 21, 2005 11:49 PM | Link to this
My Husband is deployed to Iraq with the 48th. Our 7 year old received a notebook as a toy from McDonald’s. On one page it had a spot for him to write who his favorite Hero is….He responded “My Daddy.” I am proud and honored to be married to a man who can upstage Superman, Spiderman, Batman and Mr. Incredible in the eyes of a 7 year old. Thank you M Wells for being a great father and showing your children what true honor and loyalty mean. What my husband and every other soldier in Iraq are doing right now is ‘truly exceptional’…That makes them all Superheroes. God bless the 48th
By Kathleen Klinger
June 25, 2005 01:02 AM | Link to this
June 24th,2005. I want to thankyou for this article as it makes what our soldiers are doing for us so real and personal. I especially want to thank all of the soldiers, Kevin Everett in paticular for all you are doing for our country. Kevin your brother, Robert has married our youngest daughter Cathy and he has been a real blessing to our family. We will keep you, your wife and children in our prayers. God bless you and all those serving with you.