PART 1-A

Part 1 officially starts here and this is PART 1-A:-

We flew to B. area and our flight was for like 10 minutes in the Big Bitch (name of the helicopter)..before we get that flight, F and I went to the chow hall(Military individuals restaurant), F and I wore Marines uniform and we looked like Marines themselves. when we got in, the workers greeted us with more respect cuz we were wearing the uniform. it was funny..
Anyways, while we were flying the helicopter ceiling was dropping oil on us. we were getting dirty with oil. the Big Bitch is the worse helicopter I've ever seen…

we landed in desert at about 11:10 pm and they took us to a base in desert it was new base, they were just starting their first steps of building the base. There were no buildings, no latrines, no showers, there were only tents and portable toilets (shit bags)..that was sucks..
In the afternoon the company commander came and introduced himself to me and to my buddy F.. he said: F is going to work with searching houses team and Sam u r going to work in a Traffic Check Point(TCP)..my buddy F. was so scared, I looked at him and I saw the fear in his eyes. I asked the Capt. : sir which one is more dangerous? he replied the searching houses one. I told him Capt. I'll take it and ford in the TCP.. he said u sure Sam. I said Yes Capt. F. can't hold up with this kind of job and as usual I jeopardize my life and took more risk for my buddy F. cuz I knew he can't take it..

Then we spent the night in small tent and it was soooooo damn cold it was in December. imagine December and in the middle of the desert without blanket. F and I covered ourselves with our clothes and we couldn't sleep for a complete hour cuz it was freezing..
Anyway we woke up that morning , the water was frozen on the tent edges. I was like dude we should thank God for staying alive..

Then the Capt. sent me to work with the searching houses team..
They took me and it was the 1st time in my life I get in a Humvee (jeep hummer), I didn't know how will I start my translation and what was wiaiting for me..
W black Marine took me to another Marine guy his name starts with M. he was an intelligence man they go by HET guys.. I didn’t know what HET stands for!!
Anyways I began working with him and we were on missions of house search , house after house..

On the next morning while on the way to first house we start searching and there were only 2 girls one of them was like 19 years old beautiful girl and their mom. and the house owner was in Baghdad, she looked like Amy (the girl I've talked abut earlier) my best close friend I've ever had.. anyways that girl is in college too I was thinking of making a friendship with her but I said dude I cant give her my email or my name or whatever, I talked to her for a little bit just bullshitting and I was so damn polite though, then she was trying to speak lil bit English to the Marines cuz they were searching her room, her closet and her clothes. then she came to me and told me "bro u r Iraqi and these soldiers looking through "my under wears" they are looking through it" then I laughed my ass off and I told her: sis they ain't Iraqis they are Americans!! I told M. about it so he told the Marines to stop searching her room..
At that night we were walking and I saw a big hole on the side of the corner street, I saw a Humvee door, I told M. hey is that a Humvee door? he was like yes Sam that's what the IED did to it. I was like god I've seen many things didn't make it as a good start, please god protect me and keep me a life, I don't want to die here. by the way I wrote on my helmet NO FEAR and in the back of it GOD BLESS..

Anyways one of the searching nights we went to a house and the Marines already found a bad stuff in that house. so M and I went there to investigate...we went down there and it was the first time in my life I investigate to 4 ppl..it scared me for awhile but I had used to it, and really liked the HET work..

While I was working I was so scared as I was watching every single movement happens in the road and thinking a lot about what the enemies could do.. M always was watching my back and I remember he told me, "Sam whenever u turn your eyes on me you'll see me watching u", he was really watching me and taking care of me. I liked M. he was good guy and he just had a baby girl like 10 days before I met him..

Anyways I really had bad times and scary but the Marines were so good with me..
The funny thing is when I was talking to an officer or higher up ranks I call them in their names cuz in that time I didn't know what the ranks are! The Marines were looking at me when I talk to higher up and call him in his name ;P
They were always coming up to me and asking: hey Sam where are we going next? cuz I work with the HET and pretty much I know what we are going to do next, I was like I don't know and I'm not authorized to say!! lol..

One day we went to search a house and there were only females and kids. anyway we entered that house and started searching the house, suddenly the housewife start yelling at me and cursing me and calling me a disloyal and man without honor "cuz I work with the Americans" I told her I'm not here for u I'm here for myself lady, I'm a translating machine. I don't blame her cuz her husband is a bad guy and her older son too .anyways M. ran to me and told me what the f**k is she saying. I told him she is cursing me blah blah blah...he told me Sam do u want me to hurt her? I told him dude she is just a bitch, she is a sick woman.
we searched the house very good and we left..

I felt so bad that day cuz my own ppl hates me.

When we headed to the house that we'll spent the night at, M noticed that I was feeling so sad and misery, he was trying to comfort me and he asked me: Sam do u feel proud for what u are doing, honestly? I said "Yea I'm so proud cuz I'm doing this for myself, for my family, but unlucky I cant tell my friends how much I'm proud for what I'm doing!! not even after 20 year from now cuz they will see me like a traitor as a spy.. I'm doing this to revenge from the INSURGENTS who took our houses and fucked up my life over.. I'm here for money, to rebuild what my dad built in his 50 years life working"..

He was like " I'm sorry bro, but trust me Sam there'll come a day and you'll tell your family what u are doing and they'll be proud of u as all Iraqis will be..

At about mid night I went to the toilet in that night in the house we spending the night in. I walked there and I smelled a smoke coming from one of the rooms, I went in that room and saw the room burning and the Marines were sleeping and they didn't feel it cuz they were damn tired. then I start shouting FIRE!! FIRE!! after that we put down the fire and then all of them came and thanked me for saving their lives..

in that night and after I really felt they start trusting me more cuz I saved them..


Another accident happened I didn't like, that one was while we were searching one of the houses, the house owner originally from Baghdad and I asked him where from Baghdad, he said X city and I said where at in it? he said in Y area, I turned to M telling him dude this guy lives in my hood and he is about 200 meters away from my old house. I was really grateful to god cuz I was covering my face and he couldn't recognize me, neither did I, but he looked familiar to me ,anyway everything went good after that..

After few days M and I went to the TCP where my buddy F was at. I saw F. there and I almost cried cuz I didn't see him for like more than 8 days..
he wasn't that good in English in the early beginning, so I was helping him to translate and sometimes the Marines talk shit about him and he didn't know what the heck they were saying!! He was just like O.K.

I remember once one of the Marines told him to do for him blow-job just for kidding with him and F. said O.K. was like dude do u know what the hell he just told u? he is like NO, I told him don't answer anything if u don't know what he means, I laughed my ass off and the Marine knew that I knew what he meant, he asked me how do u know that Sam? I told him dude I watch movies a lot and I listen to American songs..

anyway I remember in one of the frozen nights I had in the TCP, M and I were sleeping together in females searching room.

In the next morning the female Marines came and asked me "Is M. good with u in bed?" I was like no he is not but u could be if u want!! M. said that was a good one Sam lol, the females Marines they were nice with me and beautiful too..

The most funny thing happened in the TCP is when a new interpreter came to the TCP and he asked F. how he can use the toilets, F. told me go there and do your thing in the shit bag and then bring the shit bag to the fire hole. The interpreter said: are you serious? that's disgusting, I think u mean I bring the bag to the commander!!. lol..

During that time I called my family for like 2 or 3 minutes cuz the network was sux and then I called Amy too. I missed them so much and I was always missing them, they didn't get call from me for more then 15 days and they were so worry about me..
Every time over there before I sleep I try to remember my family faces, my nephews and Amy too. I didn't have pictures of my family with me but I had one for Amy which I keep in my wallet..

I won't forget these days. they were so scarey, bad and cold nights and days but there were lil bit fun and it really taught me good lessons to be tough in life.
By the way I couldn't take a shower for the whole 2 weeks cuz there were no showers, I just was cleaning off my body with baby wipes..

Anyways M tried to keep me working with him cuz he liked me and he didn't like any other interpreter, but the Capt. refused cuz I was assigned to somewhere else..
Those 2 weeks were the worse I've ever had in my 19 years old and these 2 weeks were just the beginning to worst days and days..

F, Alex and I flew back to AA..

That was most of PART 1-A