| Waco Reese Randall is seen here with Saddam Hussein’s hand from his statue in downtown Baghdad. The soldiers hope to find a way to bring the hand home with them. |
On Dec. 8, the Randall children, Brandon, Kaitlyn and Ryan got the surprise to beat all surprises. Their mother, Diane told the children she was going to Salt Lake to do some Christmas shopping. The children asked her to bring them a surprise. While in Salt Lake, Diane stopped by the airport and picked up her husband, Waco Reese Randall, who had just flown home from Iraq for two weeks rest and relaxation.
Waco was with Diane when she picked up the children from school. The surprise had worked. The children were absolutely shocked. This surprise was better than anything that they had envisioned.
Waco said, “I almost froze when I got home. It has cooled down over there to 70 degrees for the winter. Quite a change from 140 degrees last summer.”
When asked about the conditions he is under in Baghdad, Waco said, “I’m in the 1457 Engineers, we are at the Baghdad airport. Our job is to build force protection, fences and other security. Sometimes, we go into the city to help secure the Iraqi police stations. We have also been building a floating bridge to replace one that had been bombed. In the city, conditions are not as secure as they are at the airport.
“Saddam has been taken since I came home and I don’t think that it will make much difference. The people, on the whole, are very nice and are grateful for what we are doing.
“Since we got the chow hall, meals are a lot better.
“When we first arrived, we ate nothing but MREs for three meals a day,”
Waco left again on Dec. 23 to complete his time in Iraq. “We did 10 months, we can do the next five,” said Diane.
Waco is full time with the National Guard out of the Price Armory.