Specialist Justin Cliburn shared his story of war and loss in Iraq in a video posted by StoryCorps.
Cliburn told StoryCorps, a project of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, about the friendship he made with two Iraqi boys during his 2005 tour in Baghdad.
"Once I met these children it made every day something I look forward to," Cliburn said. "We were about as close as people who don't speak the same language could be. This was the first time I felt like I loved someone who wasn't my family member."
Sadly, a suicide bomber ended his friendship with Ali and Ahmed.
"But, one day Ali showed up and I could tell something wasn't right," he said. "He kept saying Ahmed, Ahmed, boom."
Once Cliburn returned home, he said he lost contact with Ali.
"That's the nature of war, I suppose. But whenever I see footage from Baghdad, I'm always kind of looking around, wondering if he's in the frame."