European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Checkpoint Bravo 10 heartbreaking every hour by John Millar Middle East Bureau i t was a Miracle that she Ever made it to the dark Green Canvas tent a. A -. a a a a a a. The pregnant iraqi woman had somehow managed. To survive the relentless Allied bombings. She carried her unborn baby on a treacherous journey through a world littered with unexploded bombs and land mines. She escaped what iraqi refugees say is the greatest danger of. The indiscriminate Slaughter of men women and. Children by the remnants of Saddam Hussein a army. At checkpoint Bravo a Small american outpost in a a Southern Iraq she gave birth within 24 hours another. Woman s baby was born at the 1st army div checkpoint. But a Day later another infant would die. A. There s about 10 heartbreaking stones every hour Quot a Here said it col. Stephen Smith commander of the 1st in 7th inf. A a a. A a a a -. Smiths unit part of the 1st army div s 1st brigade mans checkpoint Bravo. His soldiers hear and see the s3d stories every Day from thousands of refugees passing through the checkpoint. The checkpoint a Dusty spot on Highway 1 about a Halfway Between Basra and Baghdad lies in a 75 Kilometre zone controlled by the brigade the zone separates iraqi and .u.5 forces in the Southern part of the War torn country a a a a. A a. A. The Highway has become the escape route for. Thousands of iraqi refugees who come from a variety of backgrounds and different areas in Iraq. They pass through the checkpoint As they attempt to flee the death. And terror gripping the country. They arrive packed in sheep trucks and pickups As they make their Way to Safwan a Large Allied refugee Post in the occupied zone of Iraq on the kuwaiti Border. A. A Quot you see a lot of human suffering a a said maj. Jim Smith the battalions operations officer. Quot we hear talk from a refugees about mass killings. Some talk about hundreds being killed some talk about thousands being killed ,. A a refugees have said iraqi soldiers wont let them Bury the dead tying in the streets of villages and towns so corpses Are left to decompose or be eaten by dogs Quot it a sounds like a Case of genocide Quot the major said. Quot but like t a said we have no Way to confirm these ,. What soldiers can confirm however is what they see. When refugees arrive at the checkpoint. Y. Or. Capt Luis Rodriquez Betancourt has seen a lot of the suffering up close As battalion surgeon for. The a brigade s 1st in 7th inf. Early this month he had to amputate an iraqi rebels left hand that had been injured by a grenade. The wound was More than 8 Days old. Athe problem is if an iraqi army Field Hospital treats civilians the doctors and nurses get shot a Rodriquez Betancourt said. The rebels hand May have been saved he said had it been treated right after it was injured. There was massive skin death. We could t have done a anything More even in a medical Center in the. another doctor at the checkpoint. Capt. Nathaniel Brooks of the division s 123rd main support in said his patients Tell him How they receive their injuries. Quot i saw two. Guys the Day Belore yesterday who had been shot in their feet because they join the iraqi he treated another iraqi civilian who declined an. Invitation to join the iraqi military ranks. Quot they put him in jail and beat him for five Days a Brooks in the Wakele said about his patient Quot he a got bruises All a it Quot we have the whole Gamut of medical care Quot Rodriguez / Betancourt said a we have Newborn and infant care geriatrics my hand off i have a Hole in my Chest a the Aid. Station had treated 415 serious injuries by april 1, a. Said the battalion operations officer. But not All of the a Quot a a refugees treated were wounded by iraqi soldiers Quot we get. A gunshot wounds wounds and children on Dud a munitions and in one Case five children were injured when one child stepped on a land mine Quot a the battalion Aid. Station was never meant to handle so Many patients so those with minor injuries have to be turned away. Sgt. Keely Williams a medic at the. Checkpoint said the Aid station can treat Only emergencies. These people found out we had doctors. Here and started bringing their Long term problems Here a she said she a had to learn to be Tough with iraqis who done to have serious injuries a a a. A they think there s More i can do for them Quot Williams a said a it gets frustrating because you have to Weed Therri a Quot out. But the children with Burns Don t wait. Those land \ mines Are everywhere those Cluster bombs Are a everywhere. We done to turn those injuries away Quot a what really troubles Williams and most soldiers at the checkpoint Are the starving and dehydrated children who pass through the Post. Quot what frustrates me is when a. Baby is dying its malnourished and dehydrated and the parents Are healthy Quot she said i. 1. A Quot it does t really affect you until you see the kids a said spec. Donald / Mcchesney a tank Driver for co a. 4th in 66th Armor Quot you give kids water and the parents take it from them just to Wash their hands. So you have to stand there and watch them drink it just to make sure they get it Quot a Quot v when the refugees arrive at the /. Checkpoint they Are searched by the soldiers who Check for weapons. Of the 55,000 Quot a searched by april 1, 2,600 were members of the iraqi military. They were processed and released to saudi arabian authorities brigade commander col. James Riley a said.-. A a. A a a a a. A. A a among those fleeing Are iraqi Freedom fighters who want to be reared and equipped something the unit cannot do Riley said. A. Quot a a a a a a Quot some Are third world nationals who want to be. A repatriated. We had 10 to 15 highly influential highly placed iraqi officials who said they needed Asylum and wanted to provide information. A we have some iraqi secret police working out there outside the Allied controlled territory in Iraq and some bandits working out there Quot Riley said. The bandits found. The refugees easy pickings he said and took Quot Money and anything of they also took one refugee s life by a a cutting his Throat. Riley said a group of bandits wanted to resist Whan caught by. The unit s Security Force but gave in quickly when a Bradley arrived. Spec. Todd Deobald of the 2lkump co one of the. Soldiers searching refugees said he saw 3,400 refugees come through the checkpoint in one six hour stretch. Quot they re mostly hungry and want water Quot. Sgt. Warren Crockett also with the 218th maps said some of the iraqis arrive with dead relatives including / children Quot seeing dead soldiers is one thing but seeing dead civilians is another. You just try to Block it out and it does t bother you anymore. It does but you Don t let it another my spec. Donna Butterworth said she was amazed at How children could suffer so Mitch yet still be kids. Quot they re so resilient they Bounce Back a she said Quot they be seen so much and sometimes you wonder How they can still have smiles on their faces. You know they be seen the bombs and some come in Here a spec. Donna Butterworth checks an iraqi refugee s identification at checkpoint Bravo. Darryl Mcclary looks atthe iraqi baby being earned by his colleague Donald Wilmoth at checkpoint bravos a Page 14 a the stars and stripes the unit does what it can to help. Quot we be Given away literally tons and tons of food Quot it. Col. Stephen Smith said. In a Little Over 10 Days the battalion handed out More than 2,000 pounds of Rice 1,000 pounds of flour and a a almost 5,000 Gallons of water to the refugees. Smith said the soldiers enjoy the humanitarian Mission n. ,. _ s4s John Millar or. Capt Luis Rodriquez Betancourt right performs surgery on an iraqi rebel s hand. Quot because they can see the immediate help they give when they give food and water to a . Many soldiers wondered what would happen to the. Thousands of helpless iraqis when the United slates pulls out of the area. Since this Story was written the United states has begun to pull out from checkpoint Bravo United nations troops will take Over the Post a. Quot Alj were doing is sustaining them for a few Days a few weeks at Best Quot maj Fred saving said. Quot and when we leave Saddam Hussein a troops will probably come Back and All be . A saving is the executive the 418th civil affairs co an army Reserve unit from Kansas City mo., whose real Mission is to help countries set up temporary monday april Igi -g91 a amps John Milter. ,. _ a a. S4s, Millor refugees arrive at the checkpoint packed into All types of vehicles. Governments after a War is fought but the unit was in charge of providing limited humanitarian assistance at the checkpoint. A a. A. A. It bothers me an awful lot to see say. We re going to get killed a and we really can t do anything. For them saving said. Quot these people want us to stay and make life secure for them and we just can t do . He said he s heard from refugees that the iraqi army has killed Quot nurses doctors babies and families. You get real depressed when you know that s going to continue and there s nothing you can do about it Quot. A sometimes however the hurting that soldiers feel can be eased by something As simple As the healthy cry of a Newborn baby. Quot that was a Good thing Quot said sgt. Mike. Quot Hanlon about the babies born at the checkpoint a that lifted everyone a spirits Hanlon a flight medic for the West Virginia National a guards 146th medical co attends to patients flown from the checkpoint to nearby army Field hospitals he a too has seen children die. Quot it gets to the Point where they re so far gone that its hard to bring them Back Quot fortunately there Are Success stories amidst the a tragedies. The flight medic flew a Mission that carried a a Little girl injured in a mine blast he returned to see the patient the next Day Quot the Little girl gave me a Kies on the a Cheek. I liked it it makes you feel like you i from checkpoint Bravo most of the refugees move on heading to Safwan. In tomorrow s stars and stripes a Story about this iraqi town where the refugees wait fearing the future but hoping somehow to escape the Wrath of Saddam Hussein. The stars and stripes a Page 15
