"The colossal Hands of Victory monument has dominated Baghdad's skyline since the end of the Iran-Iraq war. Built in duplicate, it marks the entrances to a large new parade ground in central Baghdad, towering 140 feet above the highway. The triumphal arch is shaped as two pairs of crossed swords, made from the guns of dead Iraqi soldiers that were melted and recast as the 24-ton blades of the swords. Captured Iranian helmets are in a net held between the swords. And surrounding the base of the arms are another 5,000 Iranian helmets taken from the battle field. The fists that hold the swords aloft are replicas of Saddam Hussein's own hands. The German company that built the monument, H+H Metalform, said it was given a photograph of Saddam's own forearms to use as a model. "
I'm staying at an amazing location in the IZ...but like all amazing well known locations, it's seen it's fair share of motars! From the roof you can see most of the IZ, watch the helicopters take off, hear prayer, and see amazing desert sunsets.Sorry this is just a short shout-out...I'm off on a convoy tomorrow to a new FOB.
Whoda thought?
3 comments:
Sweet!
Great post. We'll take anything! I'll have to have some friends take a look at this-- they've been to Bagdhad-- they might be able to identify this!
Be safe!
these are AMAZING. AMAZING. So cool that you get to see this stuff in person!! Keep it coming!
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