HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Retired Army Major General Buford Blount, a Hattiesburg man that led U.S. troops into battle in Iraq 20 years ago this week, reflected on the soldiers of his Third Infantry Division command. Blount's troops stormed into Iraq in March 2003 taking Baghdad in 21 days that ultimately toppling Saddam Hussein. The mission was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). More than 40 of his soldiers were killed in combat and 300 were wounded. “We did a lot in 21 days, just a historic event,” Blount told WDAM. “A lot of it got overshadowed by the insurgency in the years that followed.” He retired in 2005 and is working with University of Southern Mississippi Professor Heather Stur on a book about the Iraq invasion. On April 13, Blount and journalist Ted Koppel will be guests for a discussion of the Iraq War at Bennett Auditorium on the USM campus. (Source: WDAM 03/21/23)
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