First Lt. Alvin Shell enjoyed interacting with the Iraqi people, especially with children, while on patrol in Baghdad. "A kid is a kid no matter what country you are in," he said. He often brought them packages sent by his family from home. He even “adopted” a family who lived on a trash dump, bringing them food and school supplies. Sometimes, Shell said, the people he and the other troops befriended would give them intelligence, telling them where IEDs had been planted. (Photo courtesy of Alvin Shell)

First Lt. Alvin Shell enjoyed interacting with the Iraqi people, especially with children, while on patrol in Baghdad. “A kid is a kid no matter what country you are in,” he said. He often brought them packages sent by his family from home. He even “adopted” a family who lived on a trash dump, bringing them food and school supplies. Sometimes, Shell said, the people he and the other troops befriended would give them intelligence, telling them where IEDs had been planted. (Photo courtesy of Alvin Shell)