The American soldier, his Iraqi wife, their romance, and how it all went wrong. Sad...

Munira Shahamorad was 20 years old and dressed head to toe in all-concealing black robes when she showed up at the gates of the U.S. Marine base in Fallujah, Iraq, looking for a job. She was desperate to escape her brother, who she says beat her and dragged her around by the hair.

"She came in with nothing, just the clothes on her back," said Sgt. Ivan Galvan, who worked closely with the Iraqi employees on the base. "One of the questions she was asking," Galvan recalled, "was what were we going to be able to provide for her safety."

The Americans gave the slender young woman from Fallujah a job as an interpreter and a room to live in. She earned $1,050 a month, more money than she had ever seen before. But she would never go home to see her family again. Signing on with the U.S. military could have meant a death sentence — probably in the form of an "honor killing" carried out by a male relative. To protect Shahamorad's identity, a U.S. officer gave her a nickname: Venus. More...

See also:

1. Dancing in Iraq...Cool!
2. 22,000 calls at suicide hot line for war veterans...
3. Killed for falling in love...
4. Daily Life in Sadr City, Iraq ...
5. "Women Are Being Beheaded for Taking Their Veil Off"