The Road to Safwan: The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in the 1991 ...

Recovery 207
normally used for pumping water from a well to local fields, to
pump water for the troop showers. Everyone also began washing
their clothes, getting haircuts, and cleaning equipment.
Sometimes there was the opportunity for amusement, as in
the case of A Troop. A sand berm enclosed the unit’s defensive
perimeter. SFC William Molitor had his soldiers dig a hole in
the berm and prepare a small movie room. For the theater, he
had a VCR and a TV that ran on a power generator that he had
purchased back in the States and carried forward in the S3’s
cargo truck. They threw a tarp over the top of the structure and
began to show movies and tapes of the recent Super Bowl. The
soldiers had the first opportunity to see, in private, some of the
videotapes made by their wives and families. This popular diversion
lasted for only a few days, until the area was inundated
with heavy rains and the tarp collapsed, destroying A Troop’s
little theater. 9
The environment was exceptionally unhealthy. When Saddam
Hussein’s troops left Kuwait, they ignited many of the region’s
oil wells, causing massive amounts of flame and smoke
to escape into the air every day. From his position alone, A
Troop’s 2LT Mitchell Osburn counted forty-seven burning
wells. Some days one could look directly at the sun at high
noon, as if it were the moon at night. Soot covered everything,
and if the wind changed from east to west, it was worse. Soon
after cleaning up you were dirty again, as the smoky dirt continued
to accumulate. It began to get in troopers’ eyes, and it became
hard to breathe. Everyone was concerned about the
health hazards of working near the oil fires. Wilson and his officers
tried to downplay the danger of being in the area. They
had little evidence, however, of what effect living in this environment
would have on the soldiers’ long-term health. 10
The squadron aviators noticed the operational effects of the
fires more than most. In one instance an aircraft flew back to
Saudi Arabia to King Khalid Military City, to pick up repair parts
for the maintenance crews. When they took off early in the morning,
the temperatures were warm and the wind was blowing out
of the northwest sending the oil smoke out to sea. When they arrived
at their destination, the temperature was above 90 degrees
Fahrenheit. Before they left for the return trip, the wind shifted