Please Vote on March 10th - Derry, NH

The blog post below was originally posted on 18 December 2005 when I was in Iraq. The reason I feel it is so important is because of what I saw the Iraqis go through to cast their vote in this election. People risking their lives and the lives of their families, making their way through streets that had been turned into the wild west, in order to hope for a better future by casting one vote. Those of us who have become cynics should take this lesson to heart. Anything is possible. My original entry follows:


UPDATE - I had to block out Pauline's face for her safety. I'm sorry Pauline.

This is a picture of me and my friend Pauline who works with me here. She was so excited about being able to vote in the election that I asked her to write a few words for my blog. Thanks, Pauline!

Casting my vote was the second dream that came true,
First being the ousting of Saddam.

We hoped it would have been done in 1991, but between 1991 and the liberation of Iraq, saddam was left to execute the worst of his evil on the society, the people, the land, the environment, not even the apple orchards in the north nor the palm trees, that counted in millions, and the natural marshes of the south survived his wrath.

I believed the end had come only when I witnessed the 3ID (3rd Infantry Division) crossing the Kuwaiti border into Iraq on CNN.

I was cheering them along, and thought it is finally happening, over 30 years in forced exile, I will have a chance to visit my homeland again. You see it is not just my birth place, it is the land of my ancestors, the Assyrians, who contributed so much to civilization (visit http://www.aina.org), both in ancient times and their second glory was spreading Christianity from Iraq all the way to China.

Watching the 3ID, I suddenly felt that an invisible prison door opened and my soul felt it was free at last. It was unusual because I was never conscious of it before, yet we, the Assyrians and all Iraqis in exile, over 4 million, lived the same way.

I thanked General Webster of the 3ID for all their contribution towards the liberation of Iraq, as I told him, they didn't just liberate the Iraqis inside Iraq, they liberated the Iraqis in exile, thousands like me, have finally been able to come back and visit their families after years of separation. And now, we all participated in shaping the future of Iraq by voting.

A heartfelt thanks to our troops and their families for all their effort and their sacrifice to spread freedom and democracy - freedom has a price, that is why I’m here now to be part of that effort.

Pauline

Camp Victory Sports Oasis - Originally Posted 16 December 2006

This picture is of my co-worker Pat. He is an American but made a poor choice to snooze around me with a camera. He's been in Iraq in the summer before and told me they wear those headcoverings to keep their skin from blistering off in the 140 degree sun. Sounds like a good idea to me!! At least we'll get to ease into the summer.

Well, Camp Victory Sports Oasis happens to be the name of the big DFAC or chow hall here. There is a smaller one called the Coalition Cafe over by our tent city, but we usually go to the big one because it is closer to our work trailers. Both chow halls are surrounded by blast barriers and are guarded by about ten armed (locked and loaded) soldiers with full kevlar and flak vests checking ID cards and patting down all the Iraqis and other folks that don't look like Americans. Once you get past the first set of guards, you head over to the door that is used for DOD contractors and other civilians. Guarding that door today was a young soldier who I look forward to seeing there. As you are walking up to him, he always has a huge smile and says with the cadence of an auctioneer, "Welcome to the Camp Victory Sports Oasis the finest dining facility in all of Iraq have a wonderful dining experience and a wonderful evening ma'am Hoooooah!" Well, what else can you say to that but Hoooah? Anyway, I'd love to get a picture of him but he'd probably yell at me to keep moving, so I'll have to find him outside of the chow hall setting.

It's funny seeing the mix of people here while eating. Some of the young soldiers look no older than my sons Tommy and Andy. I saw a group of them sitting in a booth, six in a booth for four. You could tell they were inseparable. It was cool and sad all at the same time. Then you see the old guys, some are National Guard (my favorite patch on one rifle butt was "One Weekend a Month, BullS#$%!) some are the older contractors that the guys at Fort Bliss called the CW Vets, meaning civil war! Anyway, lots of women soldiers and us contractors, but I'll save the being a woman here thing for another post. Goodnight!!

Brits - Originally Posted 16 February 2006

I was very fortunate yesterday to have been deposited back at Camp Victory in the safe and secure hands of our coalition partners, the British Forces. One thing I have always been pretty good at is getting things done. I try really hard to know who the people are that I need to butter up, smile at and otherwise be nice to in order to get things done. So when Pauline and I got to the LZ to try to fly Space A home, I went right up to my buddy controlling the flights and told him we needed to get to Griffin (Victory) or BIAP (Baghdad International), he said, “let’s go” and we were on the British helo bound for BIAP. I don’t know where the other 40 people waiting were going, but we got out fast - key!

We found out quickly that the Brits must have must different protocol for flying than the Americans. I thought the Blackhawks flew low. We actually had to ascend to fly over the high power lines. We had both doors open with the gunner switching from side to side depending upon which door was facing down. I don’t think we spent too much time not flying sideways and doing wacky maneuvers. Did I ever tell you that I won’t go on roller coasters because they scare me? My helo ride was jolly good fun!

Brits will always hold a special place in my heart. Back in October 1983, when I was stationed at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus I got a first hand look at how wonderful and loyal allies the Brits are to us “Yanks.” As you might remember on Sunday morning, 23 October 1983, a terrorist drove a truck laden with explosives into the Marine Barracks at Beirut International Airport, killing 241 American servicemen. We were awoken that morning with pounding on our doors that a bunch of Americans had been killed and wounded in Beirut and they were sending many of the casualties to the British hospital on the base because we were so close to Beirut. We all jumped in our car to head up to the hospital to start giving blood and I saw something that still brings tears to my eyes to this day. The road to the hospital was clogged with cars full of British soldiers and airmen waiting to get in line for their turn to give blood for the “Yanks” who needed it. They knew we were Americans and started beeping their horns and telling us to go home and take care of what we needed to do – they were taking care of giving blood and our Marines that had to come there.

We never knew how many came through there because of all the usual confusion surrounding these events. I only knew that one of the Marines who came to Akrotiri that day didn’t make it. I never knew his name, I just knew that our detachment was responsible for ensuring that he made it from the hospital to the C-130 with the utmost honor and respect that we could possibly give. We had to take the flag from the Commander’s office flagpole to place over the casket, but we made sure we got everything right. If I remember correctly there were six of us – I was on the right in the middle – and I can still feel the steel handle digging into my fingers. It was only a short walk from the vehicle into the back of the C-130, but it seemed to last a lifetime.

Maureen P. Heard for Derry Town Council

8 February 2009
To the Editor:

I am a candidate for Derry Town Council, District 1, and would like to take every opportunity for the citizens of Derry to get to know me, my passion for public service and my vision for the Town of Derry.

I have spent my entire adult life in service to my nation and my community. Twenty years of military service taught me how to focus on mission accomplishment and how to get the most out of diverse teams of people from all over the country and the world.

Although I retired before 9/11, I felt compelled to serve again as an Army contractor in Iraq from Nov 2005 – May 2006. I am the Service Officer for American Legion Post 9, Derry, NH and am always seeking to connect veterans with all available services. I look forward to talking to as many Derry residents as I can in the next few weeks.

Leaders are responsible for the tone they set in their organizations. As a citizen of Derry, I expect accountability, good judgment, professionalism, civility and decorum in my elected leaders and public servants. As your Town Councilor, I would demand no less from myself.

I would be honored by your vote on March 10th.

Sincerely,


//signed//
Maureen P. Heard
52 Windham Road
Derry, NH 03038
603-216-1886

Please click to the site below for more information:
Candidate, Derry Town Council, District 1