"Well, I've seen it, and done it"

Miami Herald.com: Free registration required for the Herald news website. A true account from a West Point grad stationed in Iraq.

By Joseph Galloway

"The Internet, which fills our inboxes with spam and scams every day and keeps our delete keys shiny, occasionally delivers a real keeper, such as the words below, which were written by a graduate of West Point, Class of 2003, who's now at war in Iraq.

We tracked down the author, who gave us permission to quote from his letter so long as we didn't reveal his name.

Old soldiers in the Civil War coined a phrase for green troops who survived their first taste of battle: ''He has seen the elephant.'' This Army lieutenant sums up the combat experience better than many a grizzled veteran."