• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Irish America

Irish America

        • Who We Are
          • About Us
          • Irish America Team
        • The Lists
          • Business 100
          • Hall of Fame
          • Health and Life Sciences 50
          • Wall Street 50
        • Highlights
          • History
          • In This Issue
          • Music
          • Politics
          • Sports
          • Travel
        • Columns
          • First Word
          • Hibernia
          • Quote Unquote
          • Slainte
          • Those we Lost
          • What are you like?
          • Wild Irish Women
          • Window on The Past
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About This Magazine
    • Irish America Team
  • In This Issue
  • Hall of Fame
  • The Lists
    • Business 100
    • Hall of Fame
    • Health and Life Sciences 50
    • Wall Street 50
  • Archives
    • Magazine
    • Highlights
  • Travel
  • Events

Irish America On
Airlift To Baghdad

By Marian Betancourt, Contributor
October / November 2003

October 1, 2003 by Leave a Comment

Larry Connors, veteran of the 7th Cavalry, and recently retired FDNY chief, brings Irish America to the troops in Baghdad. Connors, who lives in Long Island with his family, was part of a humanitarian aid airlift sponsored by the U.S. State Department and Diageo, an international distributer of beverages that includes Guinness.
Larry Connors, veteran of the 7th Cavalry, and recently retired FDNY chief, brings Irish America to the troops in Baghdad. Connors, who lives in Long Island with his family, was part of a humanitarian aid airlift sponsored by the U.S. State Department and Diageo, an international distributer of beverages that includes Guinness.

Three months after 9/11, New York Fire Department chief Larry Connors flew to Afghanistan with a humanitarian aid airlift sponsored by the Diageo beverage distributing company and the U.S. State Department. Another firefighter, two New York police officers, reporters, and aid workers were part of the group. This past June, the same contingent of 18 people went to Baghdad to bring food and school supplies to hospitals and orphanages.

Connors, who recently retired from the Fire Department, said the State Department wanted them to visit the troops. “That was the best part of the trip. They were so glad to see us. They wouldn’t let us carry our bags. They wanted to know what’s going on in the States.”

Connors had an additional mission — to bring the June-July issue of Irish America to the 7th Cavalry, the first unit into Baghdad when the war began. That issue included a history of the legendary unit with its Irish roots and Garryowen theme. Connors, who had served with the unit in Vietnam, had been part of the story.

“When I got there,” Connors said, “I learned the 7th Cavalry had been sent up north.” Neverthless, the 124th infantry assured him that the magazines would get to the 7th Cavalry.

Connors and the others stayed with the 124th Army Infantry in the basement of a government building furnished with cots and couches. Connors and one of the reporters had been outside — where it was 115 degrees — when there was a sudden power outage. “It was a real challenge,” he said, “to find our way back into the basement.” He said bandits were constantly raiding the electrical system to steal the copper insulation. Compared with the Afghanistan trip, they were in a combat zone.

<em>Larry Connors in Vietnam.</em>
Larry Connors in Vietnam.

“There was a killing right outside the hospital,” Connors said describing a firefight that occurred while he and the others were inside. A doctor at the hospital told them that “We’re glad your forces came to get rid of Saddam but I’m afraid to drive my car to work for fear someone will put a gun to my head for my car. There’s nobody to complain to.”

When it came time to leave, the group could not get a military flight out of Baghdad so they had to drive across the desert for 12 hours in a convoy of five Chevy suburbans rented from Jordanians.

“The gas stations were primitive with no rest rooms,” Connors said. He told of a man who had been robbed at a gas station by bandits who shot out the tires of his car. “There were no police to protect you,” Connors said. “And we were unarmed.” ♦

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Highlights

News
Articles and stories from Irish America.....
MORE

Hibernia
News from Ireland and happenings in Irish America.....
MORE

Those We Lost
Remembering some of the great Irish Americans who have passed.....
MORE

Slainte!
Discover Irish ancestry, predilections, and recipes.....
MORE

Photo Album
Irish America readers share the stories of their ancestors....
MORE

More Articles

  • Niall O'Dowd with Loretta Brennan Glucksman (center), co-chair of the Glucksman Ireland House at NYU, and Niall's wife Debbie McGoldrick, the Editor of the Irish Voice at the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick dinner on March 16. Photo courtesy John Sanderson/AnnieWatt.comHow the Irish Famine Changed American History
    Niall O'Dowd, Irish America's publisher, was the guest of honor at the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick...
  • <b>Fiona Shaw: A Modern Classic</b>Fiona Shaw: A Modern Classic
    She says she's jetlagged, that her head feels as if an arrow is piercing both temples, but Fiona Sha...
  • <b>Moores Creek Bridge: A small battle with huge implications</b>Moores Creek Bridge: A small battle with huge implications
    Small bands of Patriots and Loyalists who fought with fierce devotion were formed during the early ...
  • <b>Mick Moloney Remembered at Irish Arts Center</b>Mick Moloney Remembered at Irish Arts Center
    Mick Moloney, a legend in the history of Irish music, who passed away suddenly on July 30, 2022, wil...

Footer

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe

  • Subscribe
  • Give a Gift
  • Newsletter
  • Customer Service

Additional

  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · IrishAmerica Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in