As American forces took the city of Baghdad, people in the U.S. watched the Iraqi people express their feelings so passionately, no translation was needed.
The images of Iraqis hurling objects at statues of Saddam Hussein as they cheered and danced in the streets is something many people say they won't forget.
"I'm actually proud to be a part of this," said Kim Schauer, a sophomore at the UW Marshfield/Wood County.
Twenty-one days into the war with Iraq, a 15-foot bronze statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled to the ground. Iraqi children kicked and stomped on pieces of the broken monument as adults dragged them through the streets.
"I watched the statue fall today," said Keene Krezek, a freshman at UW Marshfield/Wood County. "It was actually incredible to see how many citizens were there that went up and tried beating it."
If there was any doubt how the people of Iraq feel about their leader, the emotions captured by television cameras quickly knocked it down.
"There was this man who was just taking his shoe and bashing it against Saddam," said Freshman Patrick Kellar, "which in the Middle East is a great insult just putting someone under your foot."
"I'm glad that they're doing it now that they're actually not afraid to stand up for themselves," said sophomore Rebecca Holub. "They feel they can do this without having any repercussions."
U.S. planes dropped four 2,000-pound bombs on Baghdad Tuesday. The CIA says it is not known yet if Saddam and his sons were there or if they survived the attack.
The AP reports that U.S. marine vehicles wheeled into Central Baghdad without a single shot fired at them.
