Baghdad Baby & Welcome Home Guitars
In Feb. 2003 I was activated with HSC (DET 1) 389th EN BN out of Davenport, IA. We learned that we would be going to the Middle East. Upon hearing this news I began trying to find ways to get a guitar where ever we were going.
There was room in one of our conex containers that was being shipped over in advance for my guiar. So in March 2003 my Baby Taylor got placed in a conex headed for Kuwait. Before the conex got shipped, it sat at Fort Leonard Wood, MO for several weeks. The lows were around 20 – 30 degrees at the time and the highs were hitting between 45 and 55. I wasn’t too worried about the condition of the guitar in this environment. We arrived in Kuwait on 14 May 2003 and the conex with my guitar arrived shortly thereafter. Temperatures in Kuwait at this time were around 110 to 120 degrees.
Most of our battalion arrived at the Baghdad International Airport on 3 June 2003, however the conex with my guitar was still sitting in Kuwait and would not arrive in Baghdad for about 10 more days. On 15 June 2003 I was finally able to retrieve my guitar. It had developed a crack on the soundboard and part of a seam had opened up. My first attempt at keeping the seam closed involved using duct tape which had to be replaced every other day because the heat caused the tape to lose its tack. Then someone in my platoon suggested super glue. The super glue worked at holding the guitar together and is still holding today.
Another crack developed on the soundboard in August when temperatures soared into the 140s. Humidity was nearly non-existent and we had no A/C at the time.
Having a guitar to play while far away from home was a great comfort. I quickly became involved in helping with church services and played guitar for the praise and worship team. It was a great joy and honor to help with services on a weekly basis.
Before the 389th EN BN left theater I had some soldiers in my company sign my guitar. To get the guitar home I removed the neck and put the guitar into a footlocker for shipping prior to our departure.
The name “Busted Baghdad Baby” came from the good folks on the Taylor Guitar Forum (now the Acoustic Guitar Forum). The guitar is now “retired” and sits in our “Americana” guest bedroom. Below are a few pictures of the guitar.
Life is short...play hard...
A Tale of Two Guitars...
The "Welcome Home" Guitar
414CE-L3 (Maranatha! Worship Leader Limited)
When I came home from Iraq I had a wonderful gift waiting for me. The good folks from the Acoustic Guitar Forum wanted to help my wife out by getting me a new Taylor guitar. We were both overwhelmed by the generosity of the forum members.
To read about this guitar check out these threads from the Acoustic Guitar Forum:
