A/N: So, for any of you that know this, the American flag came down today in Iraq. The Iraqi war is officially over. I just wanted to write this as what that meant to me, and to honor today. It's been a tough war and hopefully there will be some good to come out of this. I thank everyone who fought in this war, supported it, and/or did something for our troops.
Alfred watched the procession as the sun slowly rose in the east. Camps were being broken down, weapons fitted into boxes, and trucks were hauling supplies and soldiers out of the cities.
It was a cloudy morning, the sky filled with a pink fluffy blanket of a layer of clouds, and a strong wind steadily blew dust across flat, dry land. But, despite the chill being chased off by the new born warmth from the rising sun, and the dirt clouding his vision, or even the smell of a burning town nearby, Alfred thought this was the best morning he had ever seen. The day was December 15.
He smiled as he heard a group of men laugh over a small breakfast. One pulled out a wallet and tears came to his eyes as he wondered how big his little girl had grown in the past ten years. Another told a story about his wife and a third gloated about the girl waiting for him back in his hometown. A woman rolled her eyes, but even she couldn't keep the happiness of her face.
Alfred turned back to his people. Had it really been ten years? It felt so much longer. Or did it feel shorter? Either way, the going had been tough. Excruciatingly tough. The bombings, shootings, screams, burning. The hunting, the paranoia, the sleepless nights and the aching pain to see home again. The nights filled with sirens.
But all that was over with now.
The American National Anthem played. Alfred's lips formed each word silently as he watched his Star-Spangled Banner flap in the windy day for the last time in Iraq. As the entire camp circled around the flagpole, his heart soared. How long had his soldiers been trickling out of this country? It hadn't been enough; too many people were still here. But now that trickle would become a stream, a wave, a flood of brave men and women finally returning home.
The song ended, tow troops, a man and a woman, took down the flag and started to fold it away. What would happen now? Would the people of this country fight again, or would they try to make a better place? There were other threats turning their ugly heads towards Alfred too. What would America do then?
But that didn't matter just then. This was a whole new day. This was December 15. The day the flag came down. The day the soldiers came home. The day the war ended.