>> our job as an artillery battery was engage targets deep in iraq. we pulled up on the berm right at the border and were in iraq when the whole thing kicked off. the artillery pieces fired 96 pound shell about 20 miles. so the war gets pretty loud pretty fast when you are in the artillery. >> it kept the frye battalion was attacking more in nasiriya. >> we had a good fight in support of the infantry moving up. >> suddenly visibility dropped to zero. blinding grit powered over 20,000 feet traveling 60 miles an hour. >> driving down the highway we got ambushed in a little town. >> the engagement brought captain frye to the brink of death. >> i was in the lead vehicle in the passenger seat reading a map, and a rocket propelled grenade hit the door of my hum v and it came through and cut my arm and took my arm off. when you look down everything goes into slow-motion. i remember thinking did this happen to me? a voice kicks in and says do something. >> i was born and raised in baghdad. it's a beautiful city. >> iraqi interpreter mustafa abdul remembers growing up in the iraqi capital. >> i never cooked in iraq. i am a great cook right now because i had my mother and grandma and sisters cooking when i was living in baghdad. >> in 2003 he was 30 years old and one of 30 million iraqis who waited nervously for war. >> when president bush came on tv... >> sadam hussein and his sons must leave iraq within 48-hours. >> we kind of had an idea of when it was going to start. kind of, you know, torn between -- i had mixed emotions, very extremely happy like hell yeah, very excited that it is fully happening, but at the same time you are questioning everything, what if it doesn't work out? >> what if sadam hussein uses chemical gases and kills us all. until i heard the first bomb. it was like okay, it's happening. and i tell you what, one of the feelings i had in that particular moment, what am i going to do? am i going to be a part of it? am i even going to get the opportunity to participate in this. >> this picture here is taken at a place called objective montgomery what the u.s. army called it. it was a highway intersection on the west side of the city in baghdad. >> today washington, d.c. is home to pennsylvania native jason fritz. it is where he reflects on his service in the u.s. army. >> even though i don't use the uniform, i feel that sense of responsibility. >> that commitment was instilled in the former army officer during his four years of the u.s. military academy in west point. >> it's part of a line it's a tradition that serviced the nation. >> in the battlefield in iraq. >> i had to job to do and i wanted to do it well. >> march, 2003 a severely wounded u.s. marine nays son frei lay pleading in the battlefield he was a platoon commander with the army's third infantry division. >> we delivered up to baghdad it was the heaviestest fighting. by 5, april they managed to fight their way to the southern edge of the iraqi capital. >> that's where i fought my biggest battle. iraqis were hitting us with rocket propelled grenades, machine guns. a sniper shooting at me. >> against fierce attacks the 22-year-old fritz and his fellow soldiers held their position for four-days. >> the assaults were magnificent. i didn't have to worry about them at all. my soldiers did exactly what they were supposed to do and we didn't lose any one. i was awarded a bronze star metmet medal of valor device this isn't something i did other than i was put in charge and this is what all my soldiers did. it was their heroism. >> when the mateu of sadam hussein fell in the square on 9 april many thought the war was over including fritz. >> there was no enemy activity that we had come across. >> after serving four months in iraq fritz returned to the united states in august of 93. like many who served he thought his service in the far away war had ended. >> i went home thinking i wouldn't have to go back. that was quite shocking to think of. >> shocking indeed. because before fritz knew it, he would return. the insurgency heats up and warriors face new challenges. that's next on "war stories". the employee of the month isss... the new spark card from capital one. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our game. with spark, the boss earns double miles on every rchase, every day. that's setting the bar pretty high. owning my own business has never been more rewarding. coming through! [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet? >> on 25 march 2003 in the opening days of iraqi freedom we and captain jason frei's humvee was hit with a rocket propelled grenade. >> the humvee is full of smoke, you are bleeding and your hand is done. you start to panic for a little bit. we are marines. you know what to do when you are in an ambush. you get a high volume of fire on the enemy. so i got out of the vehicle, did a turn cut to stop the bleeding for a little bit. >> somebody is dying. somebody needs me right away. >> he was a navy medical foreman in captain frei's unit. war stories spoke to him in 2003 after he saved his commander's life. >> i was grabbing his arm and put him aside. had him lay down on the floor and give him iv's. >> i would say thank you to i einsten munoz for saving my life that day. >> captain frei's wife valerie remembers where she was when she found out he was wounded. >> it was late in the evening i got home with my two small children. a car pulled up. it was a marine that i recognized. he got out of his car at first my heart stopped. he shared that jason was seriously injured but he was stable as far as they knew and i would hear from him sometime soon. sometime soon turned out to be three-days of waiting. >> after multiple surgeries frei returned home to his family in months of recuperation. >> i had pretty honest discussions with my wife. we decided having a military car pull up in front of your house and having people get in out in uniform once was enough. >> we got him back. some didn't receive their husbands back. every day we are thankful for that. oo we decided it was time to go and make some space for other good marines. i went from the marine corps to notre dame for a business degree. it was a perfect transition. then going into the defense industry is something i picked on purpose because i wanted to be back close to the people who are serving our country. >> with his mba he works at boeing as a program manager. >> we are the part of boeing that takes care of all of the aircraft after we sell them to the military and really take care of the pilots. >> he never let his wound slow him down. >> necessity is the mother of invention. >> with this prosthetic he has been able to do just about anything. >> 8 years after we met captain frei his family has grown four more children. >> they have seen through the marines they have met and through their daddy is anything is possible even with limitations. >> it's a great feeling to have such a dad who has done so much stuff for us. he served our country. i am just really proud of my dad. >> by the end of the year all u.s. forces are going to be out of iraq. what does that mean to you and yaur marines and the guys who make the assignments? >> me personally i look back on a lot of pride not only what my platoon accomplished but when what all accomplished in the war in iraq. >> marine major mark carlton is in quantico, virginia. seven years ago in the spring of 2004 the new mexico native was a 33-year-old captain training at the air force base before deploying to iraq. >> martin, you have a company of marines out here how many have been in a hostile situation like afghanistan and iraq before? >> i would say no more than two maybe three at best. >> i think this training in conjunction with visualization training and the cultural training we have had, i think we are as prepared as we can get them here in this type of situation. marines look for a fight. if they hear gun fire that's where they want to be. >> they would find plenty of it in iraq. april, 2004 second battalion fourth marines were deployed to ramadi iraq the capital of an albar providence. at the time it was the most dangerous city on earth. just another typical day for the marines and the army. >> when we join up with you in iraq you are a company commander. tell us what that means. >> probably the most great experience i have had. to take charge of 200 men and lead them in combat, nothing like it. >> in early july during a fierce gun fight in the center of the city our cameras were there when an ied exploded near our humvee. he was hit by an enemy rpg. >> the rpg that wounded you also wounded your radio operator and one of your lieutenants. how did that happen? >> as we approached this area things didn't look right. people cleared off the street as soon as they saw the vehicle coming. i turned right. we wendt well south of what i suspected was an enemy ambush. stepped around the corner and some guy popped out hit us with an rpg. it detonated right in the middle of it. >> his wounds could have been his ticket home but as the fight tough ens in iraq you see why he wanted to stay with his marines. >> 31, july, 2004 urban warfare in ramadi. they battle a fierce and often faceless enemy. oo the gun fight surges down narrow alleys from building to building. on the ground captain mark carlton and the men of fox company continue to take heavy fire. you get behind the enemy and squeeze them up. we didn't go far south enough. >> it explodes south of carlton. the blast wounded him into the marines of fox company. timothy weber was on the scene. >> didn't realize the captain had been hit at the time. saw the blood and realized he had been hit pretty bad. >> badly wounded with sharp nell in his face arms and leg he refuses to leave his men. oo he didn't want to go and i didn't want to ask him to go. the captain stayed in the fight until the end. >> you look back at the experience was the fight worth it? >> it absolutely was worth it. we played a dear price. my company along with five men did not come home. in light of that it was worth it. >> oo i remember driving. we were heading out, we were almost there, and it was going to be a pretty easy day, actually, for us. >> for former marine that day at a syrian border in 2005 will never be forgotten. >> it was a road that had been traveled on over and over again all day. everybody was fine. and i remember i got a little bit of an erie feeling. all of a sudden an explosion. i thought it was a dream. >> have a good day. >> bye daddy. >> my grandfather has been in the marine corps during world war ii so i had a little bit of an idea of doing it. >> he made the decision to follow his grandfather's foot steps while attending college at ohio state university. >> i was feeling a little bit without direction. 9-11 happened and i started to gnaw on me to join. eventually i did. >> i work at a car dealership. owned by my father and my grandfather before him. >> i have been a dealer since 2004. >> mark's dad had sound advice for his son when he joined the marines. >> i said you know there's no such thing as the reserves, right? we are in the middle of a war. the chances are very great you are going to go to war. i was both proud and concerned. >> mark remembers his advice a little differently. keep your head down, i don't know something along those lines. >> may, 2005 western iraq lance corporal camp was serving with the 325 a marine reserve rifle company from ohio during operation matador. part are the third battalion the mission clear it along the euphrates river. >> watch for booby traps. >> on 11 may they moved near the city of alfines. >> we got to the village people were smiling and waving kids were out playing. all of a sudden there wasn't any more people and it was a little weird. >> a mine detonated beneath his armored vehicle. >> i just remember getting up, standing up and kind of almost in shock for a second. realizing that my hands are on fire. >> coming up, the fight wages on in western iraq. and later this veteran with two tours in iraq adds motherhood to her duties. mustafa abdullah celebrates christmas in a new home.stories oliver north. all of the headline when is you want them, foxnews.com. >> mark camp's wife maria was his girlfriend in 2005 while he was serving in the u.s. marines serving operation matador in iraq. >> we met freshman year in college. >> she was hopeful her boyfriend at war was safe. but on may 11th. >> i had a weird feeling that something had happened to him. >> that day in may, 2005 war stories was embedded with camp our cameras were there with his armored vehicle hit a mine. >> i remember screaming open the door. open the trapdoor. >> who else needs help? >> my hands were pretty burned up. skin was ripping off my hands. >> mark camp was evacuated with the rest of the wounded. >> i went to determine gm knee and got escorted to the medical center in san antonio, texas. >> they visited in 2005. >> doing great. it's nine days seemed like a week ago. >> i came into therapy and stuff. they work withed me. >> wally talked to me about seeing mark for the first time. >> i said please wake me when he gets in. they did and we went over and we were here about 3:00 this tin te morning. >> a father seeing his severely wounded son brought up powerful emotions. >> i think you can tell i love him. >> he walked through what had to be an incredible painful experience. he has done a great job reentering day-to-day life. very proud of him. >> he never complained about anything or the pain or anything. he was just so thankful to be alive. >> i feel fine now. they are functional. i can grip, i can make a fist. i was really lucky. >> in the early days of a liberated iraq securities through out the country was precarious and iraqi citizens were both hopeful and weary. some like mustafa abdullah jumped at the chance to help rebuild their country. >> used to live by a local hospital. every now and then i would walk up to the hospital and talk to se soldiers. >> one american soldier made a suggestion that would forever change his life. >> have you thought about working as a translator for us? whoa, yeah, why not. this is how it all started. >> by 2005 mustafa was working as an interpreter for the u.s. marines civil affairs work in the volatile city of fallujah. >> i would translate back and forth between the marines and soldiers or iraqis. they don't speak the same language so it's all on you. >> war stories saw the close bond between mustafa and the marine wills. >> they are smart, they are funny, they are nice. from day one we bonded. it was one of the best feelings ever. >> mustafa is quite a translator isn't he? >> he is incredible. unbelievable. >> he is at risk, too. >> yes. we worry about him all of the time. >> the marines had good reason. iraqi interpreters were under constant threat by terrorists for working with americans? >> are you concerned you could be targeted by the terrorists for working with the marines? >> i do. i know that. but i don't want to give the terrorism the opportunity to do what sadam did to our country. >> i didn't quit. even when the threats and everything. i was like if it's my bday it's my day. i would rather die in honor in uniform in fallujah performing and doing what i believed in. (phone ringing) >> press thursday night still a go. >> i think being a woman in in the army is a good thing. there's a lot of real respect out there for what we do. there's a lot of talent. we are a valued member of the team. >> we first met alayn conway in baghdad in victory. she was a public affairs officer she was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 2008. she served as public affairs for the army chief of staff. >> doing the job we have a great team that i work with. typical day is getting up early scouring the news and making sure that he has the information that he needs. the stuff that is being reported on that is pertinent to the army. >> her duty station is the pentagon she is off and on the move with the general. >> we went up to new york city he did morning show interviews and participated in the veteran's day parade. >> it was a really good weekend. >> in addition to her high profile position at the pentagon she is proud mother of 2-year-old samantha. lieutenant conway's 19 year army career has taken her around the world. her first deployment was to bosnia in 97 followed by deployments to kosovo, afghanistan and two tours in iraq as a public affairs officer. >> the first time i was deployed to iraq we had a lot of media coming in we were able to get them out to the units and get the true experience. >> on the roof. >> i got to go out on the mission and see what the soldiers were doing in action. that enabled me to better tell the story of what the soldiers were doing on a day-to-day basis. posted school openings with the iraqi community and that was fantastic. seeing the kids be able to get the education they needed. >> one of the most memorable moments in iraq was october 15th, 2005, iraqis voted on the new constitution. >> showing the ink on their fingers that was very inspirational. pleased me to see the history in the country. >> next the surge led by general petraeus changes everything.p@ó >> the third infantry division went back to iraq. >> we have deployed 30,000 more troops to iraq. >> it was designed to run a counter insurgency campaign to enhance baghdad and el anwar providence. >> alayne was there. >> we had somewhere around 25,000 troops. >> he was embedded to a third div. >> shawn we are with lieutenant colonel ken agie. >> it was a great experience. >> the de vision commander was major lynch. >> he visited demands in the third battle space. like all public affairs officers they worked with the media to get their story out to the american public. sometimes it was a challenging assignment. >> you feel it every time there was a casualty even though you may not know that service member. it tears you apart. there is someone stateside that has the new. >> we are getting out and seeing the iraqi people and they got to see the progress on the ground little things like running water. we put in generators to help with the power situation. that was always important. >> it comes down to the people you serve with. it is the families you encounter on the way. i wouldn't choose anything different. >> biggest thing being in control with the police or the army is the unpredictability. you never know when people are going to go. >> 34-year-old kris wilson enforces the law in native central pennsylvania where he has been a state trooper since 2008. >> the best part in living in central pennsylvania where i am at now is how peaceful it is. i was walking up with my wife to find a how is that we like that sits out away from everything. when i am alone in my patrol car i get thinking about iraq. six years ago at the time i was going to some mali. >> it is far away from iraq where war stories first met chris in fall of 2005. chris was then a 28-year-old first lieutenant a platoon commander in the 28th platoon division in the national guard. they were providing security for iraq's parliamentary election. voter turnout was nearly 70 percent. >> we had a good security plan set up. >> despite the increased sense of optimism there was still plenty of violence. >> it was really a lethal fight going at that time. it was pretty intense. more ied's and indirect fire. we went through about a 10-day stretch where we lost 6 soldiers. ever since then it was real. the threat was always there. people always think of places to kill. you always want to try to drive into your soldiers that you can't let up. you have to maintain the aggression. >> stay alert look out for each other. >> you don't always fight for the big picture you fight for the buddy at your side. >> you make a certain bond for the people you were with and you go through loss. >> what's the amount? >> the people you meet the friendships you make, you can't ex m experimental teaching: procedures for developing effective individualized instruction plain it. >> i am very proud of during my first tour we brought all of the soldiers home. that was a pretty good accomplishment i thought. >> he talks about returning to iraq for a second tour in 2005. >> it was difficult having a wife and two very small children to face another year away once the initial shock was over get focused on the job at hand? get ready to go again. >> january, 2005 captain fritz and his soldiers get back in iraq. he flew home on christmas day 2005. >> i was supposed to get out of the army before my third tour occurred. in april of 2007 i was stop lost. >> that's the term used when troops are required to remain in service beyond their original contract. after the president had given his speech in january of that year we weren't going anywhere. >> that was frustrating. on the other hand all of the guys i knew and fought with previously were going back again. i can't say i was terribly disappointed i was going to go back and be with them again. >> in december 2007 he gave us his assessment of the surge. >> because of the surge we have been able to quell a lot of the eye lens in our area of operations. we defeated al qaeda and violence in baghdad de preesed precipitously after that. >> fritz left the army in october, 2008. he is a consultant for the department of defense in washington, d.c. >> it is going to be hard to think of the world without the iraq war. it's a principal part of my life for the last ten years. >> a proud father and his son's ultimate sacrifice. that's next on "war stories". >> geafter you have been there nine months to a year, you start getting a sense i made it 10 months i have one to go. >> june, 2006 after 12 months in iraq kris wilson came home to rural pennsylvania. he had to learn to slow down. >> when i was in iraq i was always on the move. days seem to fly by. >> when you come home it is a ritism. you don't have to worry about driving down the road. someone is trying to kill you more or less. wilson decided to become a pennsylvania state trooper. his service in iraq wasn't over. he returned for another tour of duty in 2009. >> they have 95 percent i would say downtime. >> pumping it into the house and the blood gets flowing you have to do something. >> wilson has some advice for those returning home from iraq. >> take your time get reconnected with your family. don't expect for your family to be the way it was. you have to give it time. >> how has two tours in iraq changed the father of two young sons? >> the things you get uptight about it was not a big deal. i was happy to be alive. if i was happy to be in one place. every day is a good day. i can't complain. >> like 2006 mustafa abdullah worked three years as a military interpreter. >> at that time my family starts receiving serious threats. i was terrified. >> major chris phelps an officer of the 5th civil affairs group steps up to help. >> being a great guy a great marine he tried everything within his man power to bring me to the united states. >> in april 2006 mustafa got the news he hoped for. >> we got the approval let's get it rolling let's get mustafa out of fall sglujafallujah. put everything in had suitcase. he is coming to the united states. >> mustafa and his new wife. >> my beautiful wife. >> he is in the heartland. beautiful place. absolutely beautiful. i tell you what, i am blessed now i am here. >> listening to country singer george strait... >> he is such an amazing artist. >> there's an iraqi who loves his music. >> they are decorating their house for christmas. >> should we move this somewhere else? >> i loved christmas ever since i was little. it's the spirit of the holiday. it's pure. >> he reflects on his sacrifice as he said to help his native country and what has become his new home. >> everything. i gave it all up. my whole entire life. i tell you what, if the clock goes back i have no hesitation to say yes i will go back and i will do it again over and over and over. iraq nearly 32,000 americans were wounded and more than 4400 made the ultimate sacrifice. one of those was marine sergeant kenneth connelly junior who died in 2004 in ramadi iraq. his father ken senior once serving himself. >> what was he telling you about the experiences he was having in ramadi? >> he wasn't really talking in detail. he was just saying it was rough. >> rough is an under statement. ramadi was the most dangerous place on earth. in april he served in the second battalion was wounded by an enemy sniper. >> i knew whif he wasn't hurt h would never come home. he called us early. he was saying he was going to be interviewed. when i saw him it was a surprise. >> this morning in a ceremony with the second battalion 20 marines were awarded the purple heart. >> why did you decide to stay? >> there was no other choice. there was no other choice when you start in the marine corps. you have to as a marine. >> being a father it showed me the great young man he was when he made that statement and he said those words: >> less than pl three months after being wounded his patrol was hit by an ied. >> it was the deepest magnitude of pain you could feel in your life. >> in recognition of the selfless sacrifice the marine corps named the staff noncommission officer in honor of the brave marine. >> you said some very powerful words that day. >> i should have been on the podium what i said that. today i stand here in my son's boots. a lot of times ta son is saying that about his father, i was saying that about my son. i am so proud of that man and the m oo they have had a long journey they need someone to comfort them. >> i just plan my days around making sure these troops are feeling well comed and supported when they come home. >> it is the best feeling ever. >> a real sense of pride when it is all said and done. >> it has made me a better person. >> soldiers sailors airmen guards men and marines who served in this long fight. the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice should know this. each one of you made a positive difference you changed the people for the good you are