[SR-25]

Submitted by: 1st Marine Division
Story Identification #: 200412571324
Story by Lance Cpl. Graham Paulsgrove



RAMADI, Iraq (Dec. 2, 2004) -- To some, a new pair of shoes or a soccer ball may seem insignificant, but to the residents of a poverty-stricken country, in the middle of a war, these items, which are often taken for granted, valued treasure.

The Marines and Sailors of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, went into a residential area to provide medical care and to distribute candy, radios, soccer balls, school supplies and shoes to the people Dec. 2. More than 300 pairs of shoes, 400 soccer balls, boxes of notebooks, paper and crayons were distributed.

“We want to show to the Iraqi people that we are not here to occupy this country, we are trying to help,” said 1st Lt. Zachary B. Buitenhuys, platoon commander, Company F, 2/5.

While the operation provided the people of Ramadi with many needed and coveted supplies, it also set the stage for improved relations with the Iraqi people.

“We are trying to improve our relationships with the average guy,” said 1st Sgt. Bruce H. Cole, company first sergeant, Company F, 2/5. “The quickest way to a parent’s heart is to show compassion and kindness to the children.”

The insurgents are out on the streets more often than the coalition forces, so the people of Ramadi might have gotten mixed messages of the Coalition Forces’ intentions.

“The bad guys are out on the streets all the time and talking bad about us,” said Cole. “The insurgents rigged a youth center with bombs and had plans to blow it up and blame us, we stopped it before it happened, but we want the people of Ramadi to see that the Marines are here to help.”

Despite this operation’s conclusion, additional humanitarian missions in Ramadi are being planned.

“This was a successful mission, hopefully there will be a lot more to come,” said Buitenhuys.