By MaryHelen Swanson

Someday down the road, about three in the afternoon, Andy Morris will push back his chair, wrap his fingers around the back of his neck and reflect on the eight months he worked helping to restore a secure life for people in a war-torn village across the sea.

Heíll remember how good it felt to help the people get on their feet. Heíll remember how if felt when the people once again had water, sewer and electricity, things we take for granted every day.

He might also remember the fear every American soldier felt as he served his country in a war that so many of his countrymen did not understand.

Sgt. Andrew Morris, a 1997 graduate of Rush City High School, was home for a few days recently and stopped by the Post Review office to share a little about what heís been up to in the past year or so and about his time in Iraq.

Eight months of his 11 1/2 months overseas were spent in Kirkuk, Iraq. He was involved in reconnaissance and security while there. He was also involved in rebuilding a community ìfrom scratch.î

When asked about the continuing conflict, and whether or not the U.S. has accomplished anything, Morris said ìa lot.î

Heís not quite sure why the media does not focus on all the good that is being done, because he believes the U.S. is really accomplishing a great deal in the country. And he said the media is with them every day.

Morris acknowledged that everybody is in danger there, but much is really being done to improve the lives of the people of the country.
Morris, who was stationed with the 3rd Brigade 4th Infantry Division, said he learned a lot, including how to be patient. But he said when they left Kirkuk the people there were 100 times better than when they got there.

Although it was sometimes hard to trust the people, he said, they worked together fairly well. He believes that about 70 percent of the people are appreciative of what the United States has done for them.

There are those, he said, who still maintain loyalty to the old regime. The homes in Kirkuk are simple mud brick construction. But now all of them have electricity every day, Morris said.

And the people can have television, and not just a government-run station, and they have cell phones and computers. These things were not allowed under Saddam Hussein, he said.

The Army introduced computers to the town halls and businesses, too, he continued. It was a lot of work. The Army kept him busy, seven days a week. ìIt seemed like nine days,î he said.

There was no time off, you could only grab a moment once in a while to sit down. The temperature fluctuation was even worse than in Minnesota, with lows in the high teens (including a blizzard) to highs of 140 degrees.

He said he planned to join the Army since he was a little kid. Probably from the movies he saw, he said. He is the only one in his family in the military. He has two brothers and sister. And his parents were not in the military.

Morris enlisted right out of high school. But he found the Army to be everything he expected. And he saw a lot of the world. Morris also spent time in another part of the Middle East before Iraq, with a 10-month break in between.

He has about a year to go before getting out of the Army. Currently he is stationed at Fort Carson near Colorado Springs, Colo.
When heís done in the military, he plans to go to college in Colorado and get a degree in business and human resources.

Morris said an experience like Iraq helps people grow up and it gives them a different perspective on life.

ìYou appreciate things more.î

On March 3, family and friends held a welcome home party at the Rush City VFW. On that night he told those gathered he was really glad to be back.

Before leaving for Colorado last week, Morris said he and all the troops appreciate the support from home.

Morris is the son of Holly and Dan Morris of Rush City.

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