Introduction

In March, 2005, Dan (and three of his friends) completed a twenty five day, six country tour of the Middle East to entertain and uplift thousands of brave men and women of our U.S. Military. Here you can experience this adventure for yourself by reading Dan’s first-hand accounts, seeing photos of the experience, and much more.

To navigate this site, you can click the individual journal entries one at a time, or read them in sequence using the “previous” and “next” links withing each entry. Also be sure to check out the additional links for more information.

Dan’s Trip Journal

During the expedition, Dan was able to maintain a day by day account of the experience, incorporating photos and stories in order to provide insights unavailable anywhere else. Enjoy!

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The homeward journey began in Iraq aboard this J Series C130 (L). Saying goodbye to Lt. Col. Eddy Saunders at the Kuwait City airport (R).

31 March, Snellville, GA 12:26 PM EST

It’s great to be home!

After the last message we hastily packed our bags and made a mad dash for the flight line. It seems that the Major and Colonel were able to pull some strings. Or, perhaps a grateful audience member decided to help us out. In either case, we had our own private plane again, this time a brand new J series C130.

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(L) On stage with members of the support team after the show. I counted no less than 100 people who were actively engaged in security and logistics in order to allow our show to happen! (R) An Iraqi fighter at Al Asad.

29 March, Al Asad, Iraq1520 (3:20 pm)

After the last update, we set out on a tour of this impressive base, meeting talented and dedicated individuals along the way. We met with the fire department to discuss the use of juggling torches in the show and got the green light. Among the other highlights, we saw more disabled aircraft, as well as ancient ruins with historic Biblical significance. According to legend, this area was one of the places Abraham stopped to rest as he was traveling to and from Ur. The Oasis still stands, but the inviting water is now extremely toxic. We were sternly warned against touching it.

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Click Image to enlarge.

(L) Dan and Chaplin John Anderson at the Soul Train. (R) Always a Marine audience favorite – Dan demonstrates handstand pushups.Below: The John, Todd, Maj. Tootle, Dan, Lt. Col. Saunders, and Spencer ride the 7 ton truck to the airfield in Al Qa’im- from one show to another.

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(L) A large audience in Fallujah. (R) Capt. Kathy Miller, our host and tour guide.

27 March, Easter Sunday Al Qaim, Iraq , 10:00

Two days since the last report and easily a weeks worth of activity. We have three shows to go- today promising to be our busiest day of the trip with two shows in two different cities, two helicopter rides, Easter church services (one hour from now) and, I’m sure, much more I’m not yet aware of.

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25 March, 2005 Fallujah, Iraq 07:58

The past thirty six hours have been a blur of activity- sensory rich and thrilling memories that signal this last leg of the journey in Iraq will be an unforgettable capstone of adventure.

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Some of the morale boosting activities at Camp Navistar: Basketball and movies.

23 March, Camp Doha, Kuwait 09:45

I’m here at the MWR(Moral, Welfare and Recreation) office as John is teaching Contee, Brody and the rest of the gang the fine art of “whip cracking.” It’s all laughs, and I have to smile at the way these silly skills of ours help make memorable connections and new friends wherever we go.

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(L) The Camp Doha water tower. (R) Todd and Spence hit the gym.

22 March, Camp Doha, Kuwait 0915

Another day at Doha, and it’s starting to feel like we are in a routine. Morning coffee/breakfast with John and Todd (Spencer sleeps in), email at the MWR offices, workout at the gym, lunch, then get ready for our excursion to the evening’s performance. Tonight it is Camp Navistar, about one hour from here and a stone’s throw from the Iraq border. In fact, I’ve heard we will be, technically, in Iraq (if you go by the old maps). When Saddam Hussein was thrown out of town, the borders shifted slightly to Kuwait’s advantage.

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(L) We did a bit of entertainment for the guard at Camp New York. (R) The most remote Green Beans Coffee we have seen yet.

21 March, Kuwait

Greetings from Kuwait, where the skies are endless blue and the price of gas is 17 cents per gallon! It is Monday, just after 0900. We slept in later than usual after last night’s performance and missed breakfast this morning.

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John and Spencer cross blades as we cruise the sky toward Kuwait.

19 March, Kuwait, 15:13

Last night we said goodbye to Qatar and boarded our own personal C130 to Kuwait City. In the back of the bird there were just the four of us and the flight’s Load Master, Tom Marhulik. Before take off we met the flight crew and several others who were taking photos with an American flag at the rear (open compartment) of the plane. We jumped right in and caught some great pictures with them.

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