'I Want to Go Home ... Especially on Memorial Day'

Until that time comes, the Americans are working to make inroads within the communities that surround the outpost. Following a walk through al Furat, the Raider Brigade passed a nearby market, asking shop owners how business was going.

Members of the Mahdi militia, led by the firebrand critic of the U.S., Moqtada al Sadr, have been imposing taxes on the local business, soldiers said.

"We give them a phone number to call and report anything," 1st Lt. Matthew Cyr told ABC News outside one of the shops. He had just handed out business cards with a number and an e-mail address for the combat outpost. He admitted many of the shopkeepers were scared to report on the Mahdi militia, but said, "over time, many have learned to trust us."

In the afternoon, back on the outpost, officers hosted the newly elected local provisional head. She brought them locally cooked food.

Singleton and the rest of the company were left to eat what they eat every day -- frozen pizzas defrosted on George Foreman grills, tuna packets sent by parents back home, and corn dogs heated up in the microwave.

"I got some tuna fish," Sgt. Kyle Lobdell said, while making a sandwich. "They don't have a lot of food here. All they have is pizza and corn dogs."

Soon, the combat outpost will have a full kitchen. But for now, these soldiers only have one hot meal every day, and that has to be brought in from a larger base nearby.

The closest they'll get to a home cooked meal or any of their family members is an e-mail sent by their wives, or photos kept by their bedsides.

"Me, personally, I want to go home, just like every other soldier here. Especially on Memorial Day," Singleton said. "But we're here to do our job. That's all we can do. Do it to the best of our ability. Help the Iraqis and help them succeed, help them take over their country."