Wheeling in Help From U.S. Families to Iraqi People (VIDEO)

Soldiers go the extra mile to make a difference in Iraq.

Photo by Tim King

(BALAD, Iraq) - On this day, U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Iraq made a big difference for the life of one Iraqi citizen. People in this faraway land of war and hardship have few alternatives when it comes to things like wheelchairs.

To help change that, one soldier's family in Minnesota decided to take matters into their own hands and they have been sending a number of these into Iraq to help the local people here.

Sgt. Jonathan Fondow is the man who spearheaded this mission.

"Iraq has one of the highest percentages of handicapped people in the world. They just don't have the facilities or the medical doctors to take care of these people. So we're just doing whatever we can to help them."

Fondow's parents in Park Rapids, Minnesota, Don and Connie Fondow, have already sent several wheelchairs to this Mideast country. He explained his family's connection to the Iraqi man who received the item. "The wheelchair in there is from my mom and my family to you."

Jonathan Fondow says he originally started handing items out from the Army's Civil Military Operations Center on the Balad Air Base, and began to notice that there were a lot of families coming in there who were very poor, that were asking for help.

"So I talked to my mom back in Minnesota and she asked if I could use some items such as clothes, shoes, medical supplies, and I said 'yes'. So of course the word spread and people volunteered from all over back in Minnesota from my dad's church, to just other families in our local town and community."

Since then the Airborne sergeant has handed out over a hundred boxes, five different wheelchairs, and he currently has over five thousand dollars worth of medical supplies as well as more clothes and shoes on the way.

The hearts and minds of Iraqi people are coming about, thanks more to the acts of individual soldiers, than U.S. government policy and politics.

Fondow says they are not always familiar with the people they provide the wheelchairs for, and they respond whenever they can.

"I think that more and more the word is getting out, that what we're doing here affects the people of Iraq but it affects us as well, because it is about building relationships."

Moses Garcia is another sergeant from Minnesota attached to this platoon.

"It gives the message that we care, we're here to help them, we're not here to hurt them at all, we're here to help them and I think that's the message that they get. People in this area are pretty good about it, they like us, we have a good relationship with them here and I think it's great, I think it's great that we do this."

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

Produced by Tim King

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.

Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. As News Editor, Tim among other things, is responsible for publishing the original content of 82 Salem-News.com writers. He reminds viewers that emails are easily missed and urges those trying to reach him, to please send a second email if the first goes unanswered. You can write to Tim at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

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Tim King September 15, 2008 12:19 pm (Pacific time)

Gentlemen, Sgt Fondow is an outstanding human being and I appreciate all of your comments. G/2-3: thank you, and FYI I was hanging out with a G/2-3 here in Iraq the other day, you know I thought of you brother. Vic and sts, thanks.

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Henry Ruark September 15, 2008 10:52 am (Pacific time)

Great story, Tim ! "NOT-unforeseen" consequence right here in Oregon, from comments recording attitude change among readers. That's great, too, offsetting the extreme damage otherwise wrought by neocon stupidity in preemptive attack originally. For me, proof profound of why wise, skilled journalists go "over there" to see and then report factually and via "see with own eyes". Can't be beat for what reporters must do... Keep your head down !!

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Vic September 15, 2008 6:16 am (Pacific time)

Kudos to Sgt. Fondow...this is the kind of caring and goodwill that we should all have. He is a good American and a good global citizen and a much better representative of the good people of this country than Petraeus, Rice or any other of the sociopaths that claim to represent us. Hopefully our govt. will soon stop creating so many wounded people on both sides.

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G/2-3 September 15, 2008 5:47 am (Pacific time)

Thanks Sgt. Fondow, thanks Tim,

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sts September 14, 2008 6:30 pm (Pacific time)

when you look back in history..the U.S. set up saddam to fight iran.. its the same story over and over. give a country weapons to fight, then invade them and destroy the weapons...start a new regime and sell them weapons again. DOnt send doctors, or medical care, just send weapons. Why not? Congress is bought and sold by the war machine contractors that finance their campaign. Thanks to the few soldiers, who actually try and make some sense out of this mess. Who try and make a difference when it seems hopeless. god job, good article. My salute to these brave men in military. And thanks to the U.S. families who are helping. God bless you all. You ARE making a differnece.

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