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Personal Narrative-To Leave Or Not To Stay In Iraq

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When I was seven years old, I knew one thing about Iraq: it was the place my daddy was going. Back then, my mother always referred to my dad’s job as “playing Army,” a term that simply implied he was going to be away for quite a bit of time, somewhere very far from us. Though I was young, I distinctly remember choked back sobs and red, tear-rimmed eyes looking down at me when I asked him why he had to leave us, why he couldn’t stay. He turned his head from me, clearing his throat, trying to find the right way to explain why he wouldn’t be able to see me turn eight. Finally, he faced me once more and said, “If Daddy doesn’t leave, you and your brothers and sister won’t be safe from the bad guys. I have to leave to protect you, even if that means …show more content…
This would be Dad’s third official deployment, his first one being Iraq, second being Qatar, and this one to Kuwait to fight in what seemed to be a never ending battle. We all had known it was coming. I mean, a year in advance is a pretty reasonable amount of time, but when the time came it never seemed to be enough. Everyone was quiet. I sat in the silence, staring out the window, wishing I had the nerve to break the tension, but alas, I couldn’t speak without choking on my own …show more content…
That he must sacrifice himself in order to save us, to save everyone in the nation even if they don’t know or simply don’t care. I think of how without my dad out on that battlefield more parents, siblings, family members would have to be out there instead. How many others would be facing the absolute dread we feel each day we go without a text message or a letter from him, or how there is the slightest possibility we may never get another one. My family and I sacrifice parts of our lives everyday just by doing our best to live normally, to go through the days without a hitch or a breakdown because of how hard it is without him

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