Ghosts of War 2

Ryan often wrote about his encounters with the Iraqi children. One speficic encounter sticks out from the rest. While his convoy stops for a little while, he is able to talk with a boy who tells him he grows watertmelon, and offers to go get some for Ryan. It was very touching to see this different side of war. Most people have the perception that war is all destruction and that everyone in Iraq is bad, and that they hate us so we hate them. This isn't entirely the case, as was shown by the boy. He is incrediblely poor and has basically nothing, yet he was willing to offer up a little of what he does have because he knew that the soldiers were fighting to help the inncoent people of the country, like himself. It would be a different world if more people were like this. If the boy hadn't offered anything, Ryan would have thought nothing of it because he is aware of how poor he is. Yet because he does, it's touching to Ryan, and most people who read the book, to know that there are people who are so genuinely kind that they will get by with whatever they can, even if they make sacrifices to keep others happy.