First tour in iraq
By DerthOFdata
My story is from my first tour in Iraq. We were stationed not far from Baghdad at the time. Our sector had had some heavy activity a couple months earlier and as a result there was a 2200 closing of checkpoints set at most cross roads in the area. No in, No out. This was followed at 2400 by a strict off street curfew. On this night we were "lucky" enough to have patrol duty instead of manning one of those points. At about 2230 we have pulled to the side of the road to mount over watch for awhile, when a minivan slowly pulls up. An honest to god Astro Van style mini van. Iraq has vans. Vans of many makes and types. However Iraq does not have Soccer Mom-mobiles. Weird but not too weird. Still cautious, could be anything. Probably just a local trapped on the wrong side of the C.P. trying to beg through. However next comes the driver. I move forward to try and puzzle out what he wants. The driver asks in flawless American accented English "Hey are the roads closed ahead?". I had expected broken English begging me to help him through the VERY closed checkpoint ahead. The best I could stammer was something like "Ye-yeah" as eloquently as possible. His response, again in a perfect American accent, "Well, dang! Oh well. You have a good night now, catch you later buddy". I'm paraphrasing him but I distinctly remember him calling me buddy as he drove off. I remember because as I wondered about his car and the conversation I saw his license plate. It was from Florida.
To this day I don't know who that stranger was but I wonder if he wasn't just some guy who got really, really, lost and refused to ask for directions.
Good luck to you traveler I hope you finally found your way home.
Edit: spelling.
#Unexplained #Person/Job/Military