Ambassadors in muddy boots. This is what they do. There are many stories like this, where Americans have reached out to serve a need for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Please consider helping out in this case.

Soldier David Howell seeks medical care for burned Iraqi child
by Beata Mostafavi | Flint Journal

Monday March 23, 2009, 8:16 AM

Courtesy photo

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Iraqi 12-year-old Mohammed and Maj. David Howell, a physician’s assistant from a Flint-based National Guard battalion.

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FLINT, Michigan —

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In a two-room, dirt-floor dwelling shared by a family of seven in Iraq, 12-year-old Mohammed awaits word that he can come to America.

In Michigan, Maj. David Howell, a physician’s assistant from a Flint-based National Guard battalion, works to bring the badly burned Iraqi boy here for surgeries that could give him a new future in his home country.

“He asked me, in his own words, if I could help save him,” said Howell, 55, of Grand Ledge, who met Mohammed in November on his second tour of Iraq.

Mohammed received his visa a week ago but is still getting funneled through government channels for his planned visit, which could be weeks away.

Meanwhile, a team of surgeons is studying Mohammed’s photographs, going over each burn, each blister and scar, planning for a series of plastic and reconstructive surgeries.
[…]

To add some more background to this saga, read this part of the story:

Howell also learned that Mohammed’s father had worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Marines — and it cost him his life.

Insurgents tracked the family down, murdering Mohammed’s father and uncle, leaving him, his mother and five siblings without a father or income.

“You have this Iraqi boy injured as an infant and a family that has really suffered because the husband came to the assistance of the U.S. military,” said Howell, a father of three who has established the nonprofit Martyr Medical Fund for Children

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to raise money for the cause. “His father was doing the right thing and lost his life because of it.

You can donate online here.