Dear Friends at Ladder 28:

I was deployed to Iraq from Mar 04 to Mar 05 and a friend of mine had asked me to fly the ladder 28 patch (don’t know where he got it from) on a combat mission.  I was stationed at Taji (just a few miles north of Baghdad) as an OH-58D scout/reconnaissance/attack pilot.  I know it’s WELL after the fact, but I was reminiscing over some pictures on the eve of the anniversary of losing two of our pilots and came across these pictures that I had forgotten about.  These are from inside the cockpit of our aircraft flying through Baghdad.  In the distance you can see the main refinery there, the Al Dura power plant.  In the pictures of the patch on my protective vest, you can see the scenery in my visor.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures and thank you for YOUR service to the state and all that you guys/gals do for all of US.  It was a privilege for me to fly the patches.  Godspeed.

Very Respectfully,

Glen R. Hees

"Let me not mourn for the men who have died fighting, but rather, let me be glad that such heroes have lived."

- General George S. Patton