"Well folks, unfortunately this wondrous phenomemnon of internet access is going to disappear as the 15th MEU leaves Iraq and goes home. Ahh... home.. what a place to be. However, I will not be leaving with the 15th MEU to go home and I won't be leaving with Task Force Tarawa either. As Civil Affairs, we will be here for the long haul to contribute to rebuilding of Iraq. My best guess of when I will be back is around July/August. I have received several letters/packages in the last couple of days so thank you to those of you that sent some. My mailing address will probably change again and Valerie will post that here as soon as she gets it. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully, I will be home soon to share some of the things I have seen and done here. Ray, signing off..."


Also, Ray gave me the NEW address to write to:

I have removed the address because it may not be applicable...I will let you guys know when I get the information regarding Ray's address

Please do not send anything to the old one anymore because Ray may not get it. (The address is completely different.)

Thanks everyone!
posted by Ray at 6:14 PM

"Today I got to visit the Ur Ziggurat, which is an ancient Sumerian temple that is over 4,000 years old. It was a pretty amazing site to be at. Many people have visited the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, but very few have ever visited this Ziggurat. So HA to all you pyramid gurus! :) You can see some pictures of me at the Ziggurat along with some other ones at www.sgtcheung.com/Iraq.htm. Also, I will try and put pictures on that page whenever I can. Peace."
posted by Ray at 9:14 AM

Now heeeeeeere's Ray:

"Well, today I was assigned a mission to register the entire police force of An Nasiriyah. Just me. Quite an undertaking huh? Actually, I do have the aid of a translator, so I guess it isn't just me. Also, ABCNEWS was there filming some of what we were doing so you might see me in some of the shots if you catch the broadcast in the next day or so. We are basically getting the police force back on the streets so it's like some huge story I guess.

Also, I got to eat dinner and drink tea at the home of one of the translators tonight. It was a pretty good experience. It was very interesting to hear what they think about the war and the future of Iraq.
There were two things that stuck out in my mind from what I heard. One was
that the civilians put the blame of "collateral damage" on Saddam and the Iraqi military. They blame them because the tactics (firing from civlian areas and hiding in homes) they use cause them (the civilians) to become targets. Another thing was that they really don't know what freedom is. They have all these debates about what it is and what to do with it and how much there should be, etc. What an amazing thing to have to think about after so many decades of oppression. We are so lucky that never have to even think twice about such things. Ok, that's all for now. Ray, signing off in Iraq..."
posted by Ray at 8:48 AM

Even in Iraq Ray has found time to write to the Daily Bruin. Is my boyfriend amazing or what?

Soldiers deserve support

I am shocked and insulted by the Undergraduate Students Association Council's refusal to approve a resolution in support of the Operation Iraqi Freedom troops.
Here in Iraq there are tens of thousands of Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen who are willing to sacrifice their lives in order to liberate the Iraqi people.
In their plush offices in Kerckhoff Hall, USAC may not see the crowds of cheering Iraqis who are waving U.S. flags and giving a thumbs up, but I see them everyday.
They can pass a resolution supporting the Iraqi people; yet, they have the nerve to reject a proposal to support the U.S. troops? Fine, don't support the war, but take the few minutes to do what it takes to pass a resolution supporting the troops.
You can miss that movie preview for which you received tickets, the line will still be waiting for you at Panda Express, and Diddy Reese is not running out of cookies anytime soon. There are many of us here in Iraq who do not have the luxury to do any of these things. Take the time to support us.

We deserve that much.
Sgt. Raymond Cheung, USMC
Class of 2002
posted by Ray at 3:32 AM

Hey everybody!

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Is this for real? Email in the middle
of a war? But yes, it is true. Hey, it is the 21st century after all!
Anyway, here I am in An Nasiriyah, Iraq with the 15th Marine Expeditionary
Unit and doing well. Hope everyone is good back home too. You may have
noticed that my www.rkcheung.com website has gone down (big thanks to Valerie
for keeping those blogger updates going by the way). Well, I am having
problems renewing that domain, so in the meantime I have www.sgtcheung.com
running the same site. Besides that, we are all working hard here to get the
city back to normal. I do miss home a lot and I can't wait to get back and
have an In-N-Out burger. Well, that's it for now. Feel free to email me or
comment on my website while I still have Internet access.


Yours truly,

Ray


posted by Ray at 1:48 AM

Yay!!!! I am so happy because I got a call from the man himself. There is a big smile plastered to my face. He was also able to email me and update me about what he is doing. I will pass on the information to you all. Oh but before I do that, there is an ADDRESS CHANGE so please send your mail to the following from now on.

SGT. CHEUNG, RAYMOND K.
4th CAG
Unit 76002
FPO AE 09511-6002

Don't worry if you sent it to the old address because they will forward it. There will be a little delay though. Also I would suggest not sending packages because Ray has not received any of the packages I sent since mid Feb. to March but he has received the letters that I sent him. I guess customs is strict now so just send letters if you want him to get them within a decent amount of time.
Ok I am sure you want the updates so I will get on with it. As suspected (because of accounts of him being seen in thebackground during MSNBC interviews), Ray and his unit are in An Nasiriyah right now, but they are going to be moving to another place soon. I will let him tell you in his own words some of the other stuff:

"I am in the city of An Nasiriyah in southern Iraq right now. The fighting is pretty much done here so everything is safe here. We have been working on humanitarian aid stuff lately. Today we went out to distribute water to the people in the city (the power and water is still out). Wherever we stopped, people came out to greet us. Hundreds of people would come out and start asking our names and giving us thumbs up signs and saying "Mister! Mister! Good!!" One kid came up to me and showed me his arm where he had wrote "U.S.A." on it in marker like a tattoo and gave a thumbs up. Another kid did the same thing with an Old Navy shirt with a U.S. Flag on it. This older guy came by and said "Saddam No, Bush Yes." It is kind of funny since the rest of the world including the U.S. is burning our flag while the Iraqis are waving it.
I also had some authentic Iraqi food today. It was kind of like what we had at Falafel King, but so much better. It was lamb in pita bread with tomato and parsley. Very yummy. Cost $3 each. We also got soda (7-Up and Mirinda orange soda) for 10 for $1. I was promoted to Sergeant on April 1st! What a good birthday present huh? Tell everyone I send greetings from Iraq. "

So in case you missed it in my address change, Ray mentions how he was promoted to Sergeant on his birthday. Go Ray!! Hope this brings light into your life like it has mine. :) I will update again if I get the pleasure of talking to him again.
posted by Ray at 10:47 AM

Happy Birthday Ray!!!!!!! Can't wait till you come home and we can celebrate :)
posted by Ray at 11:28 AM