Troops at forward base mark Independence Day with burgers, hot dogs and sports
By Gina Cavallaro
Times staff writer
PFC Chris Czarnecki, 26, of Dundee, Ore., of Service Battery for Task Force 1-7, 1st Infantry Division, fires up the grill at forward operating base Summerall near Bayji, Iraq for an Independence Day celebration barbeque. — M. Scott Mahaskey / Army Times
BAYJI, Iraq — It didn’t feel much like a classic 4th of July, but soldiers living at forward operating base Summerall, outside this city 155 kilometers north of Baghdad, were able to enjoy some of the typical trappings and show some of their traditional games to the Iraqis they work with everyday.
Across the sprawling FOB — an airfield where the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division lives now — soldiers wore their black physical training shorts and a special T-shirt made up for the occasion bearing the words “Task Force 1-7, Freedom isn’t free.”
On their heads, soldiers wore everything from ball caps to do-rags to the distinctive Stetsons worn by members of the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, who have been attached to Task Force 1-7 for two months.
The soldiers knew the members of the Iraqi National Guard would easily beat them in soccer because it is their national sport.
But that didn’t deter the U.S. soldiers from getting out onto the dirt field under a blazing mid-summer sun to battle it out.
The volleyball court was a proving ground for the Iraqis, many of whom scored points with aggressive moves and savored victory by raising fisted hands and shouting out a traditional American “Whooooooooo!”
Off the court in a shady mechanic’s shop a few feet away, two soldiers quietly played chess with a makeshift board and pieces fashioned out of nuts and bolts. Another group of soldiers tossed a football, and two-man teams played rounds of horseshoes.
On a nearby basketball court, some of the battalion’s most seasoned soldiers lost the ball to wily Iraqi players more than once, but the Iraqis mostly ran with the ball and often tossed it frantically clear over the basket’s backboard.
But when the Iraqis scored, the crowd cheered generously for them, many of whom scooted around on the gym’s shiny floor in leather boots or dress shoes with long pants.
The food was traditional — and the highlight of the day for everyone — a plentiful lunch of barbecued ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken with watermelon, corn and baked beans.
The cooks slaved over double the heat everyone else was experiencing, but managed to churn out more than enough food for about 600 people.
Music played, soldiers sucked down six-packs of non-alcoholic beer and a hot wind blew sand over the lunch.
The day ended with an awards ceremony and a Karaoke competition.
“It’s good that everybody’s getting together, but it’s just not the same,” said Sgt. John Mastronardi, a mechanic with Alpha Company who spoke of the kind of Independence Day he remembers back home in Waynesboro, Pa.
“Back home we could go out on the lake and relax, do a barbeque, have a cold beer. The 4th of July for me is getting together with family
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