If you think Iraq is a misguided effort gone horribly wrong, and that the Iraqi people are rejecting the "occupation", you need to read this:

JOSH INGRAM, 20, a graduate of Arcata High School, is a machine gun squad leader in the 3rd Battalion of the United States Marines. Like thousands of American soldiers, he's spent much of the year in the Middle East, first in Kuwait -- the invasion point -- and then in Iraq, which fell in three weeks of fighting in late March and early April.

On July 31, Ingram returned to Humboldt County to help care for his father, who is battling cancer. While here, he is working with the local Marine recruiting office and speaking to local service groups about his experiences.

Ingram is the son of Ron and Nancy Ingram of Arcata. His daughter Hannah, 3, lives in Eureka with her mother. What follows are Ingram's own words, tape-recorded by Journal staff writer Hank Sims in a recent interview.

North Coast Journal - Sept. 4, 2003: COVER STORY - 'People loved us' - Back in Humboldt after the Iraq War...

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