Dear sister Linda,

I saw your hard work through your e-mail. My name is Yuriko Harding and my husband Justin is a Marine who is in Iraq right now. We are 30,000 couple and blessed with three children Mathew(10), Reyna(9) and Maxwell(4), living on Marine Corps base Camp Pendelton, California. This is his fourth deployment to Iraq. I just wanted to say thank you for your support for our troops. Here is the Justin's e-mail from Ramadi, Iraq. I want to share with you that many good things happening there and people don't know about it. Please take care and stay warm! May God Bless your family always.

Og Mansei!

Yuriko Harding

Justin,

I know you are safe since you sent me an e-mail after I read the article about Ramadi on North County Times. On Saturday paper, it said that 27 killed by truck bomb loaded with chlorine. I still worry for the chemical effects that come later, slowly.

I know that you can't tell me the detail, but I want to make sure that you are OK. How is your left hand finger?

I sent another care package with pictures today. I hope you enjoy it. Did you get letters from Maxwell and Reyna yet?

Love,

Yuriko

Dear Yuriko!

Don't worry! Yes, almost everyday I drive the same road that the car bomb exploded. One week before incident happened I noticed the drivers in their cars on this stretch of road were acting differently so I changed my tactics. Instead of driving in a regular column I would send three vehicles ahead to do some blocking moves. We also flash our head lights and we have a flag in the lead truck to wave at the vehicles. We do this when they are 400 meters away. Good Iraqi drivers know to pull over to the side of the road. Once it happen when the driver didn't so I thought he was car bomb - I had my gunner shoot at him just next to his car with a red tracer bullet. This scared the crap out of him and he pulled over.

Also, what the paper didn't tell you is that everyone Marines, Army, and Iraqi police knew a car bomb was coming. People are so tired of war here so they tell authorities about bad guys a lot in Ramadi area (not all the time but, maybe 70%) So we were actively searching for this vehicle. Bad guys have tried to blow up this police station three times because police are doing such a good job. So this was the fourth time. The police saw the car coming to their base and shot it and it exploded about 500 meters away from the Police Station - it was a very big bomb. Unfortunately there were apartment buildings with many families of the police men nearby. The explosion hit those apartment buildings. So Iraqi people mostly Sunni are very mad - many Police had their families wounded or hurt with chlorine gas.

On base they put a call out for all medical personnel to come to hospital for mass casualty: we actually saved many lives that day. It was a sad but, good day because our security forces worked and our medical personal worked hard to save people.

The insurgents lost honor because they killed so many innocent people. This is the only significant attack in my AO since I have left - very different from last time I was here. They are calling it the Al Anbar Awakening. Many Shieks have united. They realized that Americans are not leaving. At first the Sheiks supported the terrorists - this was when I was here last time and it was all out gun battles and IED's and suicide bombings. Now Sheik realize Americans have money and power and are not leaving. So half of them Sunni have decided to work with US to get rid of Terrorists. The other sheiks still feel like thier friend sheiks have sold out to Americans to they fight each other. The good thing is the Sheiks who work with Americans receive lots of support to make strong police force and army. The Iraqi police have better humvees with armor and guns then I did the last time I was here!!!

They have found numerous IED's and stopped assassinations and arrested terrorist who murder and intimidate families. I have see this with my own eyes: half of my job is taking my boss to meet with four or five Police captains and an Iraqi Army general to support them it is very rewarding to see school open, hospital open, business open. Of course, half city is still war zone but, so much progress has happened! My friends who died here did not die in vain it moves me deeply I feel tear welling up in me as I type this!

Please send this email out to as many people: church, Dad, Jason and Iona: the media are a bunch of blood suckers who are too scared and too interested in ratings to put their candy asses on the ground and actually see what is happening in Ramadi. And I can only speak for this small part of Al Anbar. I haven't shot my personal weapon once!

So I got care package! And I have Maxwell's drawing by my bed! And I'm wondering if you have received cameras or my post cards yet.

Please know I love you and pray for you each night for about 10 minutes. The other 23 hour and 50 minutes are total dedication to my marines and our mission and accomplishing job - total focus, absolute focus, ONE Mind and Heart focus at studying my enemy and the terrain and using my Marines to prevent them from attacking. And if they do attack us to use overwhelming actions against them. I am committed 100% why - my love for you and family and my Heavenly Father who must be happy at the "Al Anbar Awakening" because these poor families are finally getting a small taste of normal life. How much have Iraqi people suffered under Saddam and now insurgents, and their unorganized sheiks and tribal elders. Now slowly these issues are being resolves.

I have no reason to lie about these things. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck it is a duck!. The worse thing to happen to me is crushing my finger in the winch and dirt darting my rifle in mud water and having to clean it 100 times a day!

Please pass on my biggest hellos and hugs to all and make sure this email is passed around so people can know reality at least in Ramadi - Al Anbar and not the "if it bleeds it reads" - " bash the war because its popular" reporting mentality of this newspapers and TV stations.

With all of my Heart Mansay to you all.
Love,
Justin

PS tell Dad that I am waiting for that Hoagie Haven trip when I return!

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