PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (AP) -- A Washington state soldier has married the Iraqi woman he met and fell in love with while in Baghdad.
Robert Hall, 23, says he knew within a month that he would marry Vivian Mansour, 21, of Baghdad, even though at first neither spoke a word of each other's language.
Hall, an Army reservist who earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service during his one-year tour, said he's never been happier. The two were married here Saturday.
"I never in my life saw this coming," he said.
For them, cultural differences are offset by a shared Christian faith. Mansour is a Kurdish Christian - a population that makes up just 3 percent of Iraq's 24 million people.
"It's such a learning experience," Hall said. "Our cultures are different, but the way we look at it is, we're both children of God."
The Christian population was persecuted by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime, but after his ouster they have been targeted by other groups. A recent wave of church bombings has prompted about 40,000 Iraqi Christians to leave the country.
Mansour's family has been in danger not only because of their faith, but because they worked for the U.S. military.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQI_WAR_BRIDE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT I wonder how Bush likes this?
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