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Winning the Bronze

Date Added: Mar. 21, 2004
Last Updated: July 2, 2004

In the world of e-mail, we've come to accept that pictures and stories can be faked, mismatched or misunderstood. At a time when many are questioning whether the continued U.S. Military presence in Iraq is appreciated, this hopeful story and touching photo have many skeptics hoping they're real. The picture is real - the sentiment in the e-mail blurb, however, is not.

Subject: Tribute

Thanks, Kalat

The statue above was made by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. This artist was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country, he melted 3 of the fallen Saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the American soldiers and their fallen comrades. Kalat worked on this night and day for several months.

To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.

It is currently on display outside the palace that is now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas.

According to a news release from the Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority, the photograph depicts a real statue and the story about its creation is fairly accurate:

"During the Saddam era, the Iraqi artist who goes by the nomme d’art of “Kalat," was required to create hundreds of statues of the megalomaniacal dictator, Saddam Hussein. After Operation Iraqi Freedom, Kalat was so grateful for his new-found liberty that he decided to melt down three bronze busts of Saddam and sculpt a new creation honoring the fallen Americans who gave their lives for his freedom and that of his country. The statue in honor of the heroic Coalition forces was a true work of love."

The statue was created in 2003 with bronze removed from a palace in Tikrit, Iraq. the artist used a photograph of a real American soldier, 1st Sgt. Glen Simpson, who posed for the sculpture.

However, a Wall Street Journal report that includes an interview with the artist, tells a somewhat less touching story. According to the Journal piece, written by Yochi J. Dreazen, the artist, Khalid Alussy ("Kalat" is an Americanization of his first name), is a sculptor-for-hire. He was not forced to create the statues for Hussein, but rather offered his services to the former regime "because I needed money for my family and to finish my education. And I decided to make statues for the Americans for the exact same reasons." Other discrepancies between official U.S. Military reports (and the e-mail circulating above) of the statue's creation and the Journal report:

The creation of the statue was not a spontaneous act of gratitude. Alussy was contracted by Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Fuss, the top-ranking enlisted officer of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division.
Alussy was not "was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country" that he created the statue above out of appreciation. According to the Journal, "The officers didn't question Mr. Alussy further about his political views. Had they pressed him, they might have learned that he's harshly critical of the U.S. and bitter over an American rocket attack during the war that killed his uncle."
Alussy's original asking price for the work was much higher than the officers of the 4th intended to pay, so they decided to destroy the statues and give the materials to the artist to help lower the price. As a result, Alussy lowered his initial price to $8,000.
The addition of the Iraqi girl was the concept of Fuss and the Division's commander, Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, who wanted the work to have a more clear connection to Iraq. Alussy's price tag for the addition: $10,000.
Fuss made a request in an internal newspaper for donations, asking each soldier to donate $1 each. They raised $30,000.

In February 2004, the work was shipped to its permanent home, the 4th Infantry Division Museum at Fort Hood, Texas. Its vision truly is a touching salute to our fallen soldiers. One can only hope the true story of its origins lies somewhere between the extremes above. Break this chain.

References: Snopes.com, About.com, IraqiCoalition.org, The Wall Street Journal - March 8, 2004

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