Spc. Razan Saied seems like an unlikely soldier.

MONA REEDER/DMN

Spc. Razan Saied of Richardson was a translator for Army commanders in Iraq until she suffered traumatic head and hip injuries in a January rollover.

She once taught elementary school in her native Kurdistan, in northern Iraq. That was before she, her husband and their three children fled the Saddam Hussein regime a decade ago.

Later, as U.S. citizens, her husband and children supported her decision to enlist in the Army, even if they didn't fully understand it.

"I kind of thought she was joking," said her 10-year-old son, Alan.

"She's a soccer mom!" said daughter Sana, 14.

But Spc. Saied felt a calling to serve, which she did as a Kurdish translator for U.S. commanders. She feels it still now, as she struggles to recover from the traumatic head and hip injuries she suffered in Iraq, the result of a Humvee rollover.

"I'm a soldier," she said.

The Richardson resident will spend Independence Day at home with her family before returning to San Antonio for another round of grueling physical therapy. The three-bedroom home is the first they've owned since coming to the United States in 2000, a gift from a national charitable group.

Spc. Saied, 39, can walk only with crutches. But she has no regrets about enlisting.

"I wanted to do something for this country because I love this country," she said. "Here, you have freedom."

Outside the house, an American flag flaps atop a tall flagpole. Inside, tiny American flags abound. All five family members, sitting together in the living room, wear red-white-and-blue wristbands with stars.

Spc. Saied received the same military training as men and women headed for combat. She turns on her laptop and shows dozens of photos from Iraq. She wears camouflage and has an M-9 pistol strapped to her leg.

In many of the photos, she and her colleagues are visiting classrooms and handing out toys and school supplies. In one, Spc. Saied paints the faces of eager Iraqi children.

"We hug Iraqi people, and they hug us," she said.

Spc. Saied was assigned to the 431st Civil Affairs Battalion based out of Fort Bragg, N.C. Other battalion members knew she was from Iraq and accepted her wholeheartedly, she said.

Army officials didn't have an immediate estimate Thursday of the number of former Iraqis serving in the war. But a year ago, about 50 former Iraq citizens were serving in some capacity in the Army, said Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb. That figure does not include Iraqis who have become U.S. citizens, such as Spc. Saied.

For security, Spc. Saied was known as "Spc. Smith" in Iraq to protect her and her family from retaliation. Her five sisters and three brothers remain in Iraq. She said she doesn't feel conflicted about fighting against her former country.

"We went there to give them freedom like we have," she said. "We were fighting people who don't want this country to be free and safe."

The specialist's injuries aren't apparent until she stands. When she rises from a chair, she stands tentatively and reaches for her crutches before taking a step.

Surgeons inserted two screws in her right hip to repair the fracture, but, compounding her injury, she suffered nerve damage in her right ankle during surgery. Now, her foot drops limply. She wears a brace to stabilize it.

Doctors have told Spc. Saied, once an avid jogger, that she won't run again. She also suffers frequent pain, including splitting headaches.

She remembers nothing of the Jan. 22 crash in Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, that caused the injuries and killed two of her passengers.

A gunner, 20-year-old Sgt. Michael Sturdivant of Conway, Ark., was protecting Spc. Saied from fire as she drove the Humvee.

Army officials could not provide a cause Thursday for the accident, but Spc. Saied said she believes the vehicle failed and flipped over. The vehicle was not under attack. Sgt. Sturdivant and another passenger, a United Nations official, died in the wreck.

When Spc. Saied gained consciousness in the hospital, she learned that Sgt. Sturdivant had died.

"I was in shock," she said. "I said, 'No, he needs to be here, not me.' I'm still suffering."

On Monday, she'll return to San Antonio for rehabilitation. She said she wants to return to active service in some capacity but knows it's unlikely.

"I don't want to quit just because I'm injured," he said. "But I don't think I'd be fit to be in the Army any more."

The Saied family, meanwhile, is still settling into the new home. The modest three-bedroom house was donated by the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, a charitable group that has given away eight other homes to injured veterans.

"I think Razan is an amazing woman," said Dan Vargas, director of family support for the New York-based organization.

She and her husband, Hussein, will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary in August. He has cared for the kids during his wife's rehabilitation.

"It's a big responsibility, but he has done it," Spc. Saied said. "He's a very good, strong man."

Spc. Saied knows many Americans are questioning the war and whether progress is being made. She urges patience.

"We're dealing with something you cannot do in a year or two," she said. "It's very complicated. I hate war. But we need to think about our future. There are a lot of bad people outside Iraq, not just inside. If we sit down, they won't leave us alone."

And don't expect to hear any complaints about her injuries.

"When you go to war, maybe you come back, and maybe you don't," Spc. Saied said. "I'm proud of being in the Army. All the pain I went through, it was nothing. I did it for this country."