Mortars rained down on our positions, but luckily no one was hurt, not even a flanking platoon which was showered by debris thrown up by a round that landed just 10 meters (30 feet) from where they were moving forward at a crouch. Eight or 10 men sharing one cigarette generator bearing was commonplace. He stopped everyone nearby to tell his tale. And survival is sometimes almost inexplicable. . The men involved may not want their families to know how close they came to meeting their Maker.While bartering was the rule, one pack of M&M candies from an MRE pack -- a rare find -- was worth two smokes. The truck's explosion added to the explosion of the rocket, but we escaped. How many packs for a candy bar or jar of coffee? Want a pack of peaches?This brings me to a gripe, a major gripe.-- The corporal from Alpha Company was excited.Here are three such incidents in which, in this reporter's opinion, angels were looking out for our boys. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, impoverished Iraqis won the hearts of the GIs by offering their liberators smokes.
A thunderous, metallic bang sounded, a bright and eerie orange light filled the compartment; dirt, stones and metal rained in and the Pork Chop Express, all 26 tons of her, pitched onto one track before righting herself. The men who had been standing half-out of the top of the AV firing at the enemy in the dark were shaken but unscathed.And think of image. An RPG, aimed for the vehicle on the way into Baghdad had instead hit a burning 7-ton truck we were passing next to.Sure, the blue-packed Sumer cigarettes -- "a fine blend of choice Iraqi and Virginia tobaccos" -- were a godsend, but we could have sworn they also contained at least a pinch of sawdust. Deep in Iraq and far from base, selling for profit gave way to bartering; later, bartering also fell to the wayside. Lucky for Bravo, the second Iraqi company on the other side of the road didn't open up when the Marines exited their vehicles to do battle -- they ran, leaving the Marines only one direction on which to concentrate.
A company of Iraqi troops opened up with automatic rifles and mortars from positions off the side of the road.-- It was the battle for a key bridge over the Saddam Hussein Canal, a span that would give Marines quick access from southern Iraq to central Iraq. Later, a bite of lemon pound cake was worth a puff. Some chalk it up to Lady Luck; others to fate and God's will. But hey, give the Marines in a battle zone a break. The ambush of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, began almost as soon as we crossed the short expanse. I'm leaving the names out, however. In every war movie you've ever seen, GIs win the hearts of local peoples by tossing them packs of cigarettes. OK, smoking is bad for your health. The battle was rejoined. Marines simply shared what they had.CLOSE SCRAPESDeath or injury is horrifically random in war.The result: WITH became experts in the law of supply and demand when dealing with THEMS WITHOUT -- $4 a pack, $5 a pack, $6 or more was the going rate in Kuwait. The mortar rounds, 50-caliber ammunition and 40mm grenades in the Pork Chop Express had not been set off
