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Show Friday, July 9, EUREKA REPORTER 2004 flfeir Many local men and women have been and are serving our n country in the armed forces. Heimdal of Springville returned home in February of this year after serving in Kuwait and Co-na- Iraq. He earned a Purple Heart for an incident in Kuwait and is awaiting approval for a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. Heimdal was born in Provo in 1973 and served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daSaints in Seoul, Korea. In 1997 he married, arid he and his wife, Janae, are the parents of two children, Luke and FJspeth, who waited here at home for his return from Iraq. He joined the Utah National Guard in 1997 as an interrogator and served from September 2003 to February 2004 with the Coalition Joint Task Force 7 Commanmd Staff Strategic Debriefing Operations as a strategic debrief er. Due directly to SFC Heimdal's expertise and diligent work collecting intelligence in adverse and stressful conditions, Coalition Forces and the Iraqi Police arrested or captured 56 Iraqi criminals and insurgents, and seized 17 large weapons caches. One of Heimdal's sources ted Coalition forces to a weapons cache so large that it required trucks working 24 six, hours a day for five days to remove all the weapons. The Coalition gave the source a $10,000 reward for his efforts. From October 2003 to February 2004 Heimdal also served as the CJTF-- 7 military intelligence liason to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior. He worked with senior ministry leaders to clltect and drive to action all military intelligence comirig from the Coalition Provisional Authority Ministry of Interior. In addition to these assignments, Heimdal provided leadership and training to a national-levIraqi intelligence collection group which was part of the new Iraqi National Intelligence Agency. Because of his help, ire results will continue after Coalition Forces turn intelligance collection over to the Iraqi national agency. Speaking at a Fourth of July in ceremony Springville on Saturday, Heimdal said that he is proud to have served his country. "I love soldiers and what they are doing," he said. Following is HeundaTs Fourth of July talk. "Beneath this flag, which Is dear to me, I wish to express my thoughts and feelings about this y 5-t- el ; flag-raisin- g Mks sIMt km day. The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday. The sounds of marching bands practicing in the mornings always seemed to build my anticipation of the upcoming celebration, and at night you can always hear fireworks in the distance and this made me feel happy and excited. As a child I had a real lovehate relationship in regards to the parade. While the horses and floats were great, the inevitable firing of the cannon and muskets caused me to panic. Ironically, at the age of 24 1 enlisted in the Army. Willingly placing myself in a situation where I would be hearing such explosions on a regu- While at basic training, we were constantly being told what a "soldier" was, and how we were "nothing like soldiers'', and how we needed to measure up. They kept drilling the "Army Values" into our heads, hoping that by sheer repetition, they would somehow stick-thin- gs like Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. All things thai I had been taught at home, in Scouts and while serving a church mission. . From that time on I wanted to be a soldier. I'm very biased when talking about soldiers. I love soldiers; I admire their willingness to sacrifice often and for people they don't know. I am grateful for them because they ensure my freedom and defend my liberty. Who gives us our freedom? The civic leader cant guarantee our freedom. The clergy cannot, neither can the teacher. The policeman, fireman, or ambulance driver cant. No president or politician, leader or king. Only the soldier, willing to stand and face danger so that those behind him may enjoy peace. Only a soldier. I hope that when you say your prayers at night, that you remember these men and women who are in harms way. I pray for them, and it was interesting to me to note that the earnestness and intensity of these prayers increased dramatically as I went to war, as I depended upon them for my daily safety. It brought it so much closer to home, when I knew the names of the soldiers guarding the gates, and then heard the attacks on our perimeter. Please continue to not only support them, but abo their good works. Theodore Roosevelt was quoted as saying... "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and and comes short again agaia..who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy course; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while dar-in-g greatry; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat". Here are some of the soldiers good works in Iraq that have gone largely unnoticed by the press since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1: The first battalion of the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active duty. Over 60,000 Iraqis now provide security to their fellow citizens. Nearly all of Iraq's 400 courts are functioning. The Iraqi judiciary is fully independent. On Monday, Oct. 6, power generation hit 4,518 megawatts-exceedin- g the prewar average. All 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open, as are nearly all primary and secondary schools. By October 1, Coalition forces had renovated over 1,500 schools, with 500 more than scheduled. Teachers earn from 12 to 25 times their former salaries. All 240 hospitals and more . than 1200 clinics are open. Doctor's salaries are at least eight times what they were der Saddam. formation. There are more than Pharmaceutical distribution weed-choke- d three-quarter- two-thir- duction. There are 4,900 full-servi- telephone connections. We expect 50,000 by year-enThe wheels of commerce are turning. From bicycles to satellite dishes to cars and trucks, businesses are coming to life in all major cities and towns. 95 percent of all prewar bank customers have service customers are and first-tim- e opening accounts daily . Iraqi banks are making loans to finance businesses. The central bank is fuOy dependent. in- Iraq has one of the worlds most growth-oriente- d investment and banking laws. Iraq has a single, unified currency for the first time in 15 years. Satellite TV dishes are legal Foreign journalists aren't on visas paying mandatory and extortionate fees to the Ministry of Information for 10-d- ay SHOCKS ROOKY'S ROCKY'S apMSJ rtfl STSrMMi Ptyni 7N-21-44 There is no Ministry of In- un- has gone from essentially nothing to 700 tons in May to a current total of 12,000 tons. The Coalition has helped administer over 22 million vaccinations to Iraq's children. A Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000 kilometers of canals which now irrigate tens of thousands of farms. This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and women. We have restored over s of prewar telephone services and over of the potable water pro- Mi at m BRAKES "minders" and other government AC 170 newspapers. You can buy satellite dishes on what seems uke every street corner. Foreign journalists (and everyone else) are free to come and go A nation that had not one element - legislative, executive - of a representative government, now does. In Baghdad alone residents have selected 88 advisory councils. Baghdad's first democratic transfer of power in 35 years happened when the city council elected its new chairman. Today in Iraq chambers of commerce, business, school and professional organizations are electing their leaders all over the ale country. 25 ministers, selected by the most representative governing body in Iraq's history, run the business of governday-to-da- y ment. The Iraqi government regularly participates in international events. Since July the Iraqi govern- ment has been represented in over two dozen international meetings, including those of the UN General Assembly, the Arab League, the World Bank and IMF and, today, the Islamic Conference Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced that it is reopening over 30 Iraqi embassies around the world. Shia religious festivals that were all but banned arenl n continaed on page 4 ALIGNMENTS TUNE-UP- S intina mini JBL |