Pham's casual visits to the recuperating soldiers have now turned into a full-fledged project she calls the Care Package Project. With the help of other soldiers, she puts together goody bags for patients that contain simple all-American things like chocolate, cookies, get-well cards, a bag of chips or even ice pops that are not available in Iraq—a few feel-good gifts that lift the spirits of recovering soldiers and perhaps help them feel a little closer to home.

"Through my experience in the ER, I realized that many of the injured soldiers feel lonely, homesick and sad. I try to visit them often to boost their morale and share with them some treats from home. If I were in the same situation, I would appreciate it greatly if someone would come and do the same thing for me," says Pham, who responded to The Sun's questions by email.

Pham says the hospital treats the wounded Iraqis as well. "It's like we shoot them when they are shooting at us, and then we go pick them up to take care of them in the hospital."

"Fifteen to 16 hours a day, seven days a week can be rough," she says, "but it makes the time go by faster."

Pham's plans for the project crystallized around the time she was taking care of Sgt. Chris Ardovino. Ardovino was badly injured in late February when the Humvee he was traveling in was attacked. In an email to one of her friends, Pham said, "Sgt. Ardovino is my latest patient. It's so weird meeting someone for just a few days and caring for them so much. I've been spending a lot of time visiting and taking care of him. His friend who was in the Humvee with him died instantly. He's very lucky to be alive. I gave him some of your cookies and brought him lots of chocolates, candies, balloons, and a card—the least I can do for him."

But that was not all she did. While her patient was bedridden and unable to contact his parents in Baltimore, Pham established an email connection with his parents, Ed and Gail Wentz. She sent them regular updates and pictures of their son.

In an email to Pham, Gail Wentz wrote: "I don't know how to thank you for the pictures. It has been so hard for us this week, knowing Chris was hurt and not being able to be with him. I thank God his life was spared. I could see that he had both arms and both legs!! I've been so worried about that."

Replying to The Sun, Ed Wentz wrote, "Spc. Pham was an Angel for us at a difficult time. Her care and communication with us helped us through a very difficult moment in our lives. Our son and we are indebted to her for her service. The U.S. is blessed to have someone with her heart assisting in Baghdad."

What makes Pham's commitment to her project remarkable is the fact that she is not an American citizen. Eight years ago, when she was just 12 years old, her family moved from Vietnam to the United States in search of the American dream. The Phams wanted a good life and a good education for their two daughters. Little did they know they would soon send their youngest daughter off to war.

The good life the Phams came in search of has been elusive. Both of Pham's parents, Dung Pham and Loc Le, have had to work several jobs each to make ends meet. So when Pham graduated from Homestead High School, dreaming of becoming a doctor, she decided to join the Army Reserve to help finance her education.

Like many reservists, Pham never thought she would go to war. But all this was before 9-11. In fact, Pham attended her first Army boot camp in August 2001—just a month before the terrorist attacks.

Truc, Pham's older sister, says, "My father was very hesitant to sign her up for the Army. And she needed his signature to attend boot camp because she was not yet 18." Age was not the only factor that worried her father. Dung Pham had been a lieutenant in the Vietnam War. "He fought for the American troops for two years and was imprisoned for five," says Truc.

"My husband told her, 'I've been in the Army, and I know it is very hard.' But Dao told him, 'Don't worry, I know I can do it,' and she convinced him," says Loc Le.

After a nine-month stint at an Army base in Texas, where she received her certification as an emergency medical technician, Pham came back to the Bay Area to take up courses in biology at Foothill College.

"But she had changed so much. She had become extremely disciplined. We always knew that she could do anything she sets her mind to, but it was still a huge change in my little sister," Truc says.

Everybody who knows Pham says she's a hard worker. While she studied at Foothill, Pham worked at a Starbucks in Los Altos. "She would come in as early as 4:45 a.m. and open the shop and work till 10 or 11 in the morning and then head off to college. Then she would come back in the evening and work till late in the night. She is a very committed girl," says Tracy Bell, manager of the coffee shop. While Pham was working hard to achieve her medical dreams, she was also saving money to help her parents buy their first home. But this Army reservist's routine life was disrupted when war intervened.

Bell recalls the day Pham received her Army deployment letter for Iraq. "I could see she was really shaken up. She cried. We all cried. So I was really worried for her. She is so young and so little—probably around 5 foot 2 and a hundred-odd pounds. I was scared that she would feel lost there," says Bell.

While her family and friends continue to worry for her safety, nobody seems surprised that Pham would go out of her way to help her fellow soldiers. "She might be little. But she has a huge heart and is a very strong person. I'm not surprised that she has started this project for wounded soldiers. It's typical of her to take this transition in stride," says Pham's boyfriend, Mario Vendetti.

One of Pham's greatest supporters in her latest venture in Iraq has been her boyfriend's mother, Mary Vendetti. Vendetti has been spreading the word about Pham's project and donations have started pouring in. "I must say that when my son first brought her home, I wasn't sure if their relationship would work. But as I saw them together, I realized why he had fallen head over heels in love with her. She has a spirit that you can't hold down. She has a personality that glows as she smiles. She loves and expects to be loved," Vendetti says.

Vendetti has been visiting local stores, getting them to donate huge amounts of candies and leftover Easter goodies that she plans to send to Pham. "You don't often get the opportunity to really make a difference in this world. When I saw what Dao was trying to do, all I could say was 'Bravo! Bravo, Dao, for stepping up and putting yourself aside for others. Bravo for not feeling sorry for yourself at this time in your life, and most of all, bravo for making a difference in the lives of the people around you,'" says Vendetti.

For the Phams, every day is a painful wait. "I miss my daughter very much, and I can't wait to have her back home. I watch the news all the time and cry myself to sleep every night," says Loc Le.

In her email, Pham says she misses being home with her family and friends the most. But the Iraqi experience, she adds, has taught her a lot about life. "I have learned the value of human life and the amount of effort and understanding required to be a medical professional. I have also learned that being a soldier and defending democracy is a job that has a very high cost, and I am proud to be doing that." Pham might not be an American citizen. But she's definitely an American hero.

Some items that can be sent for the Care Package Project are: candies, chocolates, cookies, snacks such as chips or ice pops, travel-size toiletries, bedsheets, pillows and pillowcases, boxer shorts, shorts, T-shirts, magazines, small stuffed animals, get-well cards, small plastic sandwich bags or gift boxes.

Address: SPC Pham, Dao, 2nd Medical Brigade, APO AE 09348. Email is sakura.pham@us.army.mil