Skip to comments.
Ex-Iraqi says she felt called to serve the U.S.
The Dallas Morning News ^
| July 4, 2008
| ED HOUSEWRIGHT
Posted on 07/04/2008 3:37:28 PM PDT by mdittmar
Spc. Razan Saied seems like an unlikely soldier.
She once taught elementary school in her native Kurdistan, in northern Iraq. That was before she, her husband and their three children fled the Saddam Hussein regime a decade ago.
Later, as U.S. citizens, her husband and children supported her decision to enlist in the Army, even if they didn't fully understand it.
"I kind of thought she was joking," said her 10-year-old son, Alan.
"She's a soccer mom!" said daughter Sana, 14.
But Spc. Saied felt a calling to serve, which she did as a Kurdish translator for U.S. commanders. She feels it still now, as she struggles to recover from the traumatic head and hip injuries she suffered in Iraq, the result of a Humvee rollover.
"I'm a soldier," she said.
The Richardson resident will spend Independence Day at home with her family before returning to San Antonio for another round of grueling physical therapy. The three-bedroom home is the first they've owned since coming to the United States in 2000, a gift from a national charitable group.
Spc. Saied, 39, can walk only with crutches. But she has no regrets about enlisting.
"I wanted to do something for this country because I love this country," she said. "Here, you have freedom."
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; naturalization; soldiers
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-31 next last
1
posted on
07/04/2008 3:37:28 PM PDT
by
mdittmar
To: mdittmar
Foreign born Americans love this country a lot more than native Americans. The last thing they do is take her for granted. I just love that picture of Spc. Razan Saied smiling with all those little American flags. Happy July 4th!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
2
posted on
07/04/2008 3:40:27 PM PDT
by
goldstategop
(In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
To: mdittmar
3
posted on
07/04/2008 3:43:12 PM PDT
by
Jet Jaguar
(Who would the terrorists vote for?)
To: mdittmar
4
posted on
07/04/2008 3:43:34 PM PDT
by
A. Morgan
(VOTE FOR A LIBERAL N' WE'LL BE UP TO OUR NECKS IN ILLEGALS and OUTA' GAS!)
To: mdittmar
5
posted on
07/04/2008 3:46:02 PM PDT
by
Keith Brown
(Among the other evils being unarmed brings you, it causes you to be despised Machiavelli.)
To: mdittmar
Now, you got me crying! Thank you, Spec. Saied, and all others who continue to serve and have served. I pray you’ll recover quickly.
6
posted on
07/04/2008 3:46:06 PM PDT
by
rabidralph
(Dems now have Oil Derangement Syndrome)
To: mdittmar
"When you go to war, maybe you come back, and maybe you don't," Spc. Saied said. "I'm proud of being in the Army. All the pain I went through, it was nothing. I did it for this country."
To: mdittmar
You won’t see this story on MSNBC, ABC, CBS OR CNN.
8
posted on
07/04/2008 3:59:12 PM PDT
by
no dems
(B. Hussein is an Obamanation)
To: aposiopetic
Contrast that with Cindy Sheehan who was born here. Its quite revealing. You don't have to have it explained to you to see who is the true patriot.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
9
posted on
07/04/2008 3:59:39 PM PDT
by
goldstategop
(In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
To: rabidralph
“Dems now have Oil Derangement Syndrome”
Love that tagline. Did you intentionally mean for the initials O.D.S. to sound out as the word O-D-I-O-U-S? If so, Congratulations it’s RIGHT ON!
10
posted on
07/04/2008 4:01:52 PM PDT
by
rockinqsranch
(Dems, Libs, Socialists...call 'em what you will...They ALL have fairies livin' in their trees.)
To: rockinqsranch
I'm not that smart :-0
But thank you, anyway.
11
posted on
07/04/2008 4:10:28 PM PDT
by
rabidralph
(Dems now have Oil Derangement Syndrome)
To: mdittmar
"I wanted to do something for this country because I love this country," she said. "Here, you have freedom."
"God bless you, Razan, my sister", he wrote, looking at the screen with slightly blurry vision, "and, welcome to America."
12
posted on
07/04/2008 4:42:03 PM PDT
by
RobinOfKingston
(Man, that's stupid ... even by congressional standards.)
To: goldstategop
My grandfather came here as a kid and was nearly killed three times in the trenches on the Western Front in WW1. He carried German shrapnel in him to the day he died. When he would tell me the story of coming to America (deck passenger, Ellis Island, the whole nine yards) and his life here, he always ended up declaring, with tears in his eyes, “God Bless America!” That had an effect on his grandson.
13
posted on
07/04/2008 4:46:37 PM PDT
by
Kolokotronis
(Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated)
To: mdittmar; SandRat; All
14
posted on
07/04/2008 5:47:33 PM PDT
by
SevenofNine
("We are Freepers, all your media belong to us, resistence is futile")
To: SevenofNine
15
posted on
07/04/2008 5:54:24 PM PDT
by
SandRat
(Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
To: goldstategop
She’s a real hero in my eyes. Yes, I do agree that foreign born Americans DO have a special love for our country. Bless them.
16
posted on
07/04/2008 5:58:32 PM PDT
by
Marysecretary
(.GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL)
To: Kolokotronis
I’m sure it did. You were blessed.
17
posted on
07/04/2008 5:59:45 PM PDT
by
Marysecretary
(.GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL)
To: goldstategop
You can add all the morons from Code Pink, too!
18
posted on
07/04/2008 6:04:28 PM PDT
by
12Gauge687
(Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice)
To: mdittmar
19
posted on
07/04/2008 7:24:31 PM PDT
by
lowbridge
("I have never learned to fight for my freedom. I was only good at enjoying it" - Van Den Boogaard)
To: mdittmar
She is a hero...God Bless her and her family.
20
posted on
07/04/2008 7:27:25 PM PDT
by
shield
(A wise man's heart is at his RIGHT hand;but a fool's heart at his LEFT. Ecc 10:2)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-31 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson