Iraq duty described by serviceman

Carson City soldier David Sieben returns to Camp Junction City in Iraq on Saturday after spending two weeks on leave.

The 24-year-old private first class spoke to the class of first-grader Savannah Kelley on Thursday at Jacks Valley Elementary School.

The 1999 Carson High School graduate spent the weekend at Pebble Beach, watching the AT&T Celebrity Pro Match from the VIP Lounge with his uncle.

Sieben is on leave after six months in Iraq with the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division. He returns to Iraq Saturday.

In addition to Jacks Valley, Sieben also visited St. Teresa's Elementary School in Carson City to show pictures and talk to the children about his experience in Iraq.

"Someone came and talked to my class when I was in the fourth grade," he said. "I thought it would be good to do the same."

Sieben obtained his real-estate license when he was 19, but decided to sign up for a hitch in the U.S. Army.

His father, John Sieben, owns the Inn Cognito in Genoa, Silver State Pools and General Builders.

"The Iraqi people are very grateful. They love the freedom we've given them," he said. "Children love us, they run out into the streets when we go by, women are starting to come out of the woodwork, smiling and waving. During the day, they love us, but they are still attacking us at night."

Sieben said the United States is not fighting Iraqis, it is fighting terrorists.

"We just happen to be fighting where there are Iraqis," he said.

Sieben took hundreds of photos while in Iraq, but high temperatures affected the film, turning many of the photos purple.

Veterans have written to Sieben and taken him out to eat while he was home.

"I haven't met better people in my life," he said. "They wrote me letters while I was in Iraq, and now they are taking me to lunch."

Letters aren't the only thing people have sent to Sieben.

A Nevada flag donated by a retired sergeant major was signed by patrons at the Inn Cognito.

"People he didn't even know signed it," John Sieben said.

Contact Kurt Hildebrand at hildebrand@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1215.