Reflections on the end of a war

The war in Iraq has finally come to a close. The colors were cased, the band played and the last troops are leaving for good. History will record Dec. 15 as the date the war in Iraq ended after close to nine years of fighting. A chapter in my life closed that day, too.

I will leave it to history to decide how to remember this war. I will never forget the time I served in this conflict, nor will the thousands of other men and women who served there.

It was a war filled with controversy. There were great strides taken and many mistakes made. The costs, both in billions of dollars and in the deaths of thousands, were high. More than 4,500 U.S. armed service members dead. Close to 32,000 wounded and, by some counts, more than 100,000 dead Iraqis.

But this is far more than a numbers game. The questions and debates regarding how and why we were there will rage on for many years. Also for what we left behind, an Iraq for all intents and purposes that is now free to decide its own fate.

I marked Thursday with relief, regret, prayers, pride and pain.

Relief that this war is finally over. Regret for things we could have done better. Prayers for those killed and wounded on all sides. Pride for my fellow GIs who served honorably. Pain for the loss of friends and the personal pains and scars this war has left with me. Myself and many other soldiers will cope for the remainder of their lives with the rigors and horrors we saw during this war.

I did not go there for grand schemes of national pride and power or for glory. I went there for my fellow soldiers in my unit: HHC 898 Eng. BN of the 81st Brigade. It was my job, my honor, to serve with them and to stand beside them. It was the right thing to do as a soldier in the U.S. Army.

Now a new chapter is being opened in Iraq, written not by us, but by the Iraqis themselves. They are free to choose their direction. May it be one free of war and filled with peace.

I won’t truly be content until another war is over and those serving there finally can come home, too. That one is being fought in the mountains and fields of Afghanistan.

For now, I say to those soldiers returning from Iraq, “Well done. Welcome home and happy holidays to you and your families.”

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.