American soldiers in Iraq are telling their war stories on the internet. Taking advantage of on-base computer terminals and high-speed internet access, many troops maintain their own blogs, documenting the entire spectrum of the war experience, from the monotonous day-to-day routine to the horrors of combat.

As we go about our daily lives, the average American does not have the ability to conceptualize the life of a soldier in Iraq. The stories told online are a poignant reminder that the United States is, in fact, at war. Celebrity relationships may take media precedence in the United States, but everyday more of our troops are dying. Their blogs make one thing very clear, waking with each new day they have but one wish, coming home alive.

An excerpt from Sergeant Zachary Scott-Singley’s blog:

The sounds around me changed from those of life to the screech of war and death. For a split second I hesitated and then it struck me, the absurdity of it all. I was sitting under a canvas roof, and I realized that I had to get out of my truck and take cover. Running with my rifle as death rained down from above time seemed to slow.

After a few minutes we started to look around, in front of me one of the soldiers from my platoon was yelling, “Holy shit, they are going to kill me.” Yet he held his ground and kept looking for an enemy to shoot at. I was glad that even thought he was afraid he was still functioning, not locked up in his fear letting it consume him like I had seen it do to some.

To read more of Singley’s blog, click “A Soldier’s Thoughts”