This is the Christmas Card we received from Kenneth. This was our first Christmas apart.
Kenneth and his Iraqi well-wishers could not say it better:
This is my first Christmas away from family in my 30 years of marriage. Even when I was on the Bosnian-Serbian border during Christmas of 1994, I was able to get to Rome for a few days to rejoin the family. There are many soldiers and civilians in Babil for whom this is not the first time to be separated from family at Christmas, so I have been fortunate overall.Yesterday I received a Christmas card from an Iraqi Police General, which I am sharing below. I found it touching that he would send me such a message in the midst of all his hard work. I think that it reflects the sentiments of many Iraqis who realize all the sacrifices America has made on their behalf and seem more determined than ever to make good on the promise of a new Iraq:
A special thanks with our greatest appreciation for your hard work and efforts towards the security of Iraq. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year during this special time away from family and friends. We hope that you remember this wonderful time of year not with regret but with a feeling of accomplishment for a worthy cause.From all the men of all Hillah SWAT we hope that this Christmas away from home will be a joyous one.
So, although our family was divided at this time of year, I agree with Kenneth that we have all been quite fortunate, compared to so many soldiers and others who have been separated from family many, many times during Christmas.
As to the Iraqi Police General’s Christmas message, I know our family understands that it is all for a very worthy cause that will benefit our children and grand-children and future generations.
