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Houston (Noor Continued)

If you watched the ABC evening news on 18 February 2005, you saw that the "Persons of the Week" segment was dedicated to the 115th Engineer Group, Utah Army National Guard, from Draper, Utah. The 115th Engineer Group was stationed in Southern Iraq for most of 2004. Their main mission was the design and inspection of engineer projects in Southern Iraq. However this unit was willing to do much more than inspections.

In July of 2004, Abdul Al-Hady Hassan Hesab was working as a security guard at a school in Nasiriyah, Iraq. Abdul spoke with members of the 115th during one of their inspections and told them about a heart condition that his daughter, Noor, had. Her condition was difficult to treat in Iraq but could be easily fixed if she were in the United States.

MAJ Joel Miller, the 115th's Chaplain and SGT Ronald Hammond (Chaplain's Assistant), along with other unit members, began a movement to try to help Noor get to the U.S. to get the help she needed. They spoke with Dr Reed Quinn of Maine Heart Surgical Associates. Dr Quinn had ties with one of the 115th unit members. He was willing to provide the care for Noor while she was in the U.S. at no cost to her or her family. The 115th had to work through the red tape to get Noor and her father Visas to come to the U.S.

It seemed that everything was set but the 115th had to leave Iraq in late January and early February of 2005. That is when members of the 194th Engineer Brigade (TA), Tennessee Army National Guard, Jackson stepped in to help see the mission through. The 194th Engineer Brigade replaced the 115th for operations in Iraq.

On 15 February 2005, LTC Bart Butler, Chaplain (LTC) David White, SGM Dennis Creecy and SFC Pete Quinton of the 194th Engineer Brigade met with Noor and her father to escort them to the airstrip that began their journey to the United States. They flew to Kuwait and then on to Maine where the surgery took place.

After successful surgery and a few weeks of recovery, it was time for Noor and her father to return to Iraq. Her stay in the United States was about 6 weeks.

On 28 March 2005, Chaplain White, SFC Quinton and myself, were given the opportunity to fly to Kuwait to meet Noor and her father and escort them back to Iraq. We flew down on a little C23 Sherpa. It was a loud and boxy looking plane but provided safe and expedient transportation for our mission.

Once we landed in Kuwait, we were greeted by Noor and her father. Noor was the sweetest and most beautiful little Iraqi girl I had ever seen. She wore a beautiful dress and had a smile from ear to ear. Her father was just as nice. He was a well dressed man that was kind to everyone he met. Noor and her father spoke very little English but we all seemed to communicate just fine, even without an interpreter. It seemed we took dozens of pictures that day and Noor smiled for each and every one of them. Noor had become somewhat a celebrity and everyone wanted a photo with her. One thing that caught my eye was that Noor had about as many stuffed animals as she had luggage. Almost everyone had a gift for Noor. Our flight from Kuwait was delayed for about 3 hours and we sat there on the plane just waiting for clearance to leave. Noor and her father were getting tired and were able to catch a nap on the plane. They had had a long flight and a long tiresome day. Finally, we got clearance to go and were on our way back to Iraq.

When we landed back in Iraq, there was quite a welcoming committee for Noor and her father. Our brigade commander, Brigadier General Jimmy Welch as well as Command Sergeant Major Ronald Jones were among those at the airport to greet us. After more photos and stuffed animals, Noor and her father were escorted to the front gate where a taxi carried them to their home in Nasiriyah.

When someone asked Noor what she had missed the most on her trip, her answer was simple, her mother. Noor was reunited with her mother as well as her other brothers and sisters that day.

I have seen Noor, her father and her brother since that time. I was part of a team that delivered a refrigerator to the front gate of the base to be given to Noor to store her medicine in. SSG Micky Basham (Chaplain's Assistant) and others from the Chaplain's section were part of that mission.

I hope this is not the end but just another chapter in the Noor story. She may one day play a very important part in the future of this country. It took a lot of people to get Noor and her father to the United States for her surgery and back to Iraq. I am sure she is grateful to each and everyone for the roll they played no matter how big or small.

SFC Ricky J. Houston
194th Engineer Brigade
Tallil Air Base, Iraq
APO AE 09331

From left: Abdul Al-Hady Hassan Hesab (Noor's father), Noor and Sergeant First Class Ricky Houston.

SFC Houston is a member of the S-5 Section 194th Engineer Brigade. He is a resident of Lexington, Tennessee.