Corporal Mager had pulled his helmet up to listen, and his face tightened. He appeared to accept the recounting that the two men killed were innocent. No Iraqi made any move to approach him, and nobody shouted any abuse. The men at the grave went on digging, their white flags blowing in the morning breeze. Corporal Mager watched, and appeared lost in thought. Then he looked up, with a sadness that was beyond affectation, and asked that a message be passed to the Iraqis, a message for himself, and for America. "Tell them the fact that I pulled the trigger that killed some of these people makes me very unhappy," he said. "Tell them that America did not want things to happen this way. Tell them that I wish that Iraqis will live a better life."
Then he clambered back on the tank, and it drove away.
Do read the whole thing - up to the very last paragraph.
