1,215 troops in Iraq mark 4th of July by re-enlisting

From combined dispatches

More than 1,000 American troops serving in Iraq celebrated Independence Day by signing up Friday for extended service in the military.

At least 1,215 service members, including at least two husband-and-wife couples, re-enlisted for periods ranging from two to six years at the ceremony held at Camp Victory, which used to be the spacious Al-Faw palace of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq, said he was “proud of their decision to re-enlist and help the people of Iraq win their most important battle … freedom.” The soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen then broke into “God Bless America.”

But for the most part, the Fourth of July is a day like any other for U.S. troops, though the military did throw in a taste of home at the larger bases with ribs, corn on the cob, and red, white and blue cake. The holiday was even leaner at smaller outposts closer to the violence, where it comes with a can of meat, some cookies and a job not yet done.

“We are not going to stop our operations to celebrate the Fourth of July,” said Sgt. Mark Johnson, 26, at a small joint U.S.-Iraqi outpost in the city of Iskandariyah, some 30 miles south of Baghdad.

“Nothing special is planned for today, and that’s OK because we didn’t expect anything,” added the 3rd Infantry Division soldier from Waterport, N.Y.

First Lt. William Kuebler, 24, of Iowa, serving with the 101st Airborne Division, said, “It is the same every day since we got here in October,” adding that “the holidays are not important.”

Many soldiers were able to make a point of contacting their families stateside, where the celebrations were more traditional and unbounded - running the gamut from solemn ceremonies and parades to hot-dog-eating high jinks.

On the 232nd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Boy Scouts in Hartford, Conn., rang a replica of the Liberty Bell, while organizers of the annual New York fireworks display promised the rockets’ red glare would be better than ever.

Near Kissimmee, Fla., a wounded bald eagle, the national bird, was flying free after spending more than two months rehabilitating from a fight with another eagle. It was freed Thursday in Lake Tohopekaliga, the heart of Florida’s eagle country.

In Boston, the 211-year-old USS Constitution - Old Ironsides - the Navy’s oldest commissioned warship, was the backdrop Friday morning as two dozen people were sworn in as U.S. citizens. Vice President Dick Cheney greeted the new Americans and later, in a second ceremony, administered the re-enlistment oath to a group of servicemen.

North Carolina’s two major military bases planned big events to honor troops. Country star Wynonna Judd was to perform at Fort Bragg, and the Marines were hosting country singer Lee Ann Womack at Camp Lejeune.

Near Cincinnati, a daredevil walked 2,000 feet across a cable suspended high off the ground in an amusement park. Rick Wallenda is the grandson of Karl Wallenda, patriarch of the “Flying Wallendas” high-wire act, who fell to his death trying to walk a cable in Puerto Rico in 1974.

Rick Wallenda, 53, completed the feat using a balancing pole and without a safety net or harness.

“I think my granddad would be proud,” Mr. Wallenda said moments after the walk.

More than 3 million people had been expected to attend the New York display, though no crowd estimates were immediately given. It had been moved south along the river this year so onlookers could get a better view of the skyline.

More than 35,000 shells sparkled, arched, spiked and fanned over the river during the half-hour show, launched from barges in two areas. It was televised on NBC to songs including “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “The Tennessee Waltz” and, of course, “Yankee Doodle.”

A wildfire prompted the cancellation of a fireworks display in California’s Santa Barbara County. Communities across the parched state called off similar events because of fears that they could start fires.

And it wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without the annual hot-dog eating competition at Coney Island in New York. This year was another heartbreaker for longtime champion Takeru Kobayashi of Nagano, Japan. But it was not to be: Mr. Chestnut made it two wins in a row, beating Mr. Kobayashi in a five-dog tiebreaker after the pair each ate 59 frankfurters in 10 minutes.