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| Please Note: some of the images on this site are graphic war photos. | "As an Iraq war veteran, I am very proud of the rebuilding efforts my Civil Affairs team accomplished and I will always remember the kindness and hospitality of the Iraqi people I can now call friends" - William E. Thompson |
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Sgt. Keith Mitchell's Arlington Funeral |
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| Mitchell was one of my DST-1 team members. | |||||||||
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Angelique Mitchell, of Charlotte N.C., and her 2-year-old daughter Mary are comforted by family members at the burial of her husband Tuesday afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington Va. Mitchell's husband, Sgt. Keith Mitchell, died last month (June 2007) from diabetic complications from injuries sustained in Iraq in 2003. He was recently released from Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. after undergoing several operations and years of rehabilitation. The family and close friends later took a small model Viking boat to the Potomac River and set it adrift and on fire. "Keith always wanted a Viking funeral pyre. I told him I would give him one come heck or high water; I didn’t say how big it would be and I told him that I drew the line at jumping on the pyre with him, said Mitchell. View the Gallery
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Kidnapped Iraqi Archbishop Dead |
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| Our team with Paulos Faraj Rahho, (Center) the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul. Our task for the day was to intruduce the 2-7 IN Chaplin to Father Rahho.Yet another Iraqi who wanted to rebuild his country killed. Read about the story here. |
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| Medal of Honor Awarded: Paul R. Smith April 4th, 2005 |
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 Bible Page A page from a small Bible is one of the only recognizable things left after two American Humvees were destroyed by an Air Force plane that mistook them for Iraqi vehicles. Three soldiers were killed in the accident. |
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Sgt. Derek Pelletier of Boston Mass., an engineer from B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, waves combat convoys through lane six of the berm separating Kuwait and Iraq Friday morning, March 21st 2003, as America began it's attack on Saddam's regime. Pelletier's unit worked though the night to reduce the berm. He continued to wave the flag for most of the day as thousands of vehicles from the 3rd Infantry Division passed. | ||||||||
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Back in Iraq
The 463rd Airlift Group at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville has been rotating troops and planes in and out of the war zone in Southwest Asia since 2002. The C-130 cargo planes and crews are responsible for hauling troops and supplies throughout the Middle East. Part of the Air Force's Air Mobility Command, C-130s are some of the most used planes in the fleet, helping take some convoys off the deadly streets of Iraq. The 463rd isn't the only Arkansas unit deployed in Iraq. Arkansas National Guard's 875th Engineer Battalion, 142nd Fires Brigade and 77th Aviation Brigade are all deployed to the region as well, accounting for more than 3,000 troops. Reporter Amy Schlesing and photographer Dan Hale will be spending the next few weeks in Balad, Iraq.
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| Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staff writer Amy Schlesing has returned stateside after traveling nearly a year with the Arkansas National Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade in Iraq. (Photographers Michael Woods, Stephen B. Thornton, Karen Segrave, Aaron Skinner and Staton Breidenthal also spent time with the brigade in Iraq.) The brigade was part of the largest rotation of American troops since World War II. The 4,200 soldiers with the brigade rotated into Baghdad with the 1st Cavalry Division to replace the 1st Armored Division. Below are links to some of Amy's observations during their trip. Amy's news articles Photos of the 39th |
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The story of a National Guard Infantry soldier in Iraq. The book sprang from a blog he published during his deployment. He was punished for keeping the blog while he was there, took it down, then continued writing through emails.
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The United Nations International Day of Peace is celebrated on the 21st of September every year, and over 3,500 events are being held across 183 countries worldwide including concerts, pinwheels, prayers and minute silences. Join us in our Spiral One Day Peace Challenge to engage over 5,000 people across the world in a practical act for peace. |
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Operation Iraqi Freedom
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This site was created after photographer, photojournalism instructor, and Army Reservist, William E. Thompson returned from Iraq after a 7-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The photographs on this site are a portfolio of images Thompson made during his deployments not only to Iraq in 2003 but also Kosovo in 2000. In January of 2001, William E. Thompson began teaching photojournalism at Randolph Community College in Asheboro, North Carolina. He took this position after a 6-month tour in Kosovo in 2000, as a Public Affairs officer for the U.S. Army Reserves. Before Kosovo, he was an award-winning news photographer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. In Iraq, Thompson was the CA team leader for Direct Support Team-1, part of the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion (the first Civil Affairs unit in Baghdad). When William is not behind a camera or computer (which is rare), he is building a wooden sailboat or fixing up their nearly 100-year-old house. His wife Theresa, their two teenage sons, and brand-new baby boy hope you enjoy and appreciate this website. The publication of these images is encouraged, Please contact: William E. Thompson |
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| "In January of 2003 I was deployed in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM with the U.S. Army Reserves. I returned home August 25th 2003 to a wonderful welcome from my family, friends, coworkers and students at RCC. I would like to thank everyone in Asheboro who has been so supportive of me, my family and our soldiers." Thanks, William E. Thompson |
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| All Images © William E. Thompson/PhotojournalismStock.com |
