He stumbled outside and began stamping at the brush until he understood that with its brick porch and pillars the big house would probably not catch fire.

NEWYORKER: Idols

He's not sure he knows what freedom feels like, but likes the idea -- even if his three-room green stucco and brick home shakes every night from the pounding that Hellfire missiles fired by Marine Cobra helicopters, cannon fire from gunships and light armor deliver on Iraqi positions on the other side of the Euphrates.

CNN: War Stories: 'All we can do is try to stay alive'