I can neither add nor subtract from these words from one of our fighting men.

'What I fight for'

I'm Sgt. Matthew Spencer, and this is my story.

As many of you are aware, there are husbands, fathers, brothers and sons, mothers, sisters, daughters and wives making a daily effort to make Iraq a better place.

Is it hard being away from the ones you love? Of course it is. Nobody wants to be separated from those who love you and support you.

But as a two-time Iraq veteran, serving back-to-back rotations, I can truly say that there is a lot of good coming out of Iraq that you, the public, don't see. I would like to take a minute of your time and help you look through my eyes while I take you on a mission.

As you are traveling down an old, dusty, dirt road, the temperature is around 140 degrees, and you have 150 pounds of protective armor on you. You are driving a truck with a three-soldier crew, and you look out the thick armor windows. You see kids that are playing in the streets — with clothes on their backs and shoes on their feet.

All of a sudden, there is a big blast and a flash of light.

It is a roadside bomb. You and your crew are yelling at each other, thinking in the back of your mind, if I can hear my crew, then we are still alive.

Seconds feel like hours. You finally calm down and look back out that window and see those same kids, still playing as if nothing had happened.

They are smiling and laughing, not at us, but because they are having a good time — they finally have a school to go to, a ball to kick around and clothes to keep the hot sun off of their skin.

That is what I fight for. Being able to give something to those who did not have anything and expecting nothing in return.

I fight for my loved ones back at home because I would rather have the fight here than in my back yard.

I fight for my fellow brothers and sisters who have died, fighting for my freedom, and my way of life.

I fight because I believe things can change, and it must start sometime.

I fight so that my kids will not have to.

I fight because I am free.

I fight because I am a father, a husband, a brother and a son.

And I will fight till freedom is won.

Who is Sgt. Matthew Spencer?

A soldier's words help us remember the men and women behind war's headlines.

SGT. MATTHEW SPENCER, 26

U.S. Army, 101st Airborne Division

Hometown: Montgomery (Illinois)

1998 graduate of Aurora Christian High School

Married to Yvonne; father of four children, including baby Jolene, born March 2, while her father was serving in Iraq.

May God richly bless you, your family, and those with whom you serve.

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