While visiting Forward Operating Bases in the Baghdad area, Joey Styles spoke to Army Cpt. Andrew Graziano of Charlotte, N.C., about WWE's Tribute to the Troops tour.
GRAZIANO: My grandfather started serving in the Army for World War II, and jumped into Normandy. My dad served in the Army for 24 years, as well as my older brother, and my uncle for the last 20 years has also served.
JOEY: And what did it mean to the troops for the WWE Superstars to show up today?
GRAZIANO: The soldiers out here … they just want to work hard, and they don’t expect much. But when they receive something like this, they get really excited about it. They’ve been talking about it for several months.
When they heard you were coming out to do a live show, and coming out to their remote station, it meant a lot to them. They’ve been talking about it non-stop for about a week now.
JOEY: Tell us about the private who’s a big WWE fan...
GRAZIANO: Sure. There’s a young private who’s been making a model car out here in his free time, hand-painting it. In the last couple of days, when he heard you were coming, he went out and painted “WWE” on the top of it.
And when he presented it to The Big Show to get it signed, Big Show commented that it was a cool model car. He was so taken back he could barely speak. You could tell that would be a story that he’ll tell for the next couple of years, if not his lifetime. It probably made his deployment.
JOEY: On behalf of WWE, we thank you for protecting our freedoms, so we can go do what we do around the world.
GRAZIANO: Well, we’re very grateful to have you. This is an extension of service for these entertainers to come out and see the troops, and we’re very grateful. Thank you.
Editor's Note: The preceeding was transcribed from audio reports from the WWE's Tribute to the Troops mission received Wednesday. Names of the bases visited have been omitted at the request of the U.S. Army, so as not to divulge WWE's location in Iraq.
For complete coverage of Tribute to the Troops, visit the Tribute section on WWE.com. Also, Leave your holiday messages for the troops in the Forums on WWE Universe.
Hi Joey. My name is SPC Johnson. I am an Army soldier serving in Baghdad. I am very grateful that you and the superstars got to come to Iraq. I have now officially decided to become a professional wrestler after that event. I remember seeing you after the event. I walked past you and said,"Hey Joey. How's it going?" It was awesome considering my love of the original ECW. It was a moment in time where I saw you as a real person and not an icon on TV (or now DVD). I hope you had fun and I hope to see you again.
Greatness03:28 PM EST