Mark Wills Reflects On Time Visiting Soldiers In Iraq

To show his continued support of our troops, Mark Wills recently made his fifth goodwill tour to Iraq to entertain the soldiers serving there. What follows is his own retrospection of this very special return trip to the Middle East. Wills writes: "This is my fifth trip overseas to entertain our fighting troops. I treasure all of these times and am thankful for the privilege to be able to shake hands with the men and women who wear the uniform of our military. I was joined this time by Trent Willmon, Ray Scott, and Siren from American Gladiators. Our trip started like each of my previous trips, with a LONG flight to Kuwait! "I am a big military history fan and I had watched the series "Band of Brothers" so during our layover in Kuwait I got a most pleasant surprise when I had the good fortune to meet "Babe" Heffrin, Wild Bill Garnier and Donald Malarkey; three of the men whose lives were portrayed in that HBO mini series. It was such an honor to sit down with them and the time flew by as I listened to them share their stories from WW2. To be totally honest with you, I was a little ashamed to think about the times I had whined about being too hot in my protective "body armor," and needed to stop for a moment and rest, when I heard them telling their stories of what they had endured in France."Our nine-day trip into Iraq was amazing. We performed at least once every day and sometimes twice. The soldiers were incredible and made it obvious that they really appreciated us coming. These are very impressive men and women who must endure very harsh living conditions and risk their lives every day for our freedom and we shouldn't forget that each of them is someone's father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or best friend."We had a great time and want to thank all the men and women who helped make our trip possible especially those who acted as our tour guides while making sure we were protected. Trent, Ray and I were able to spend the night in one of Saddam's palaces, and I even got to hit golf balls off the balcony of another one; now, that is what I call a long drive.A"fter each trip to Iraq, I return MORE thankful for what I have and EVEN MORE thankful to be an AMERICAN.  No matter what you believe, our troops are doing one HELL of a job and they, and their family members, are to be commended and respected for their sacrifice to our country."Mark Wills: My Military Diary, a documentary of this trip filmed by GAC, will be aired as a special program on Nov. 11, Veterans Day. For more information, visit GACTV.com or www.markwills.com.