On the Ground: Purple Hearts and thanks in Iraq

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, right, is seen with U.S. service members during a Thanksgiving visit to Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq, on Nov. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo) © 2010 AP

In Iraq, where military operations are winding down after a seven-year war that President Barack Obama has promised to end, at least two U.S. soldiers spent Thanksgiving just grateful to be alive.

The two received their Purple Hearts from Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, top commander of the just under 50,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq, who was on a daylong fly around to five military bases with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James F. Jeffrey to thank troops for their service.

Capt. Tony Smith, 28, was on a Nov. 3 patrol in the insurgent enclave of Hawija when a grenade ripped through his armored truck and missed him by about a foot. As it was, the blast concussed him and another soldier, who will get his Purple Heart soon.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Smith, of Braham, Minn., who is on his third deployment to Iraq since 2003 and served a fourth in Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Capt. Tony Smith, right, speaks to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James F. Jeffrey, center, and his wife, Gudrun, left, after receiving the Purple Heart from U.S. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top commander in Iraq, during a Thanksgiving visit and ceremony in Kirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Nov. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo) © 2010 AP

Had Pfc. Matthew Gray, 22, been sleeping on his right side when a missile recently landed on his housing trailer, he would have been killed. As it was, he suffered shrapnel wounds in his arm and leg.

"I heard the arm sound, and then it came crashing into the room," said Gray, of Grosse Pointe, Mich., who is on his first Iraq tour.

"Neither of these guys should be alive," said their commander, Col. Eric M. Welsh of the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan.

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, 2nd left, along with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James F. Jeffrey, 4th from left, walk with U.S. officers and State Department officials during a Thanksgiving visit to Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq, on Nov. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo) © 2010 AP

Jakes

Another soldier, Sgt. Michael Norwood, 36, of Louisville, Ky., said he was most thankful for his wife — whom he recently remarried after the couple divorced several years earlier under the stress of the constant separation. He now worries about being sent to Afghanistan as part of the Obama administration's troops surge there.

"That's all we need," he said sarcastically, with a rueful grin. "But my wife understands that this is what I do. I know I'm a tool of the government, but that's my job. And she does support my endeavors."

Lara Jakes is an AP correspondent based in Baghdad.