Free Republic

Minutes before tip-off of the big cross-state rivalry game, the roar of applause from the packed university arena wasn't about basketball at all. It was about the faces on the scoreboard screen - dozens of homestate soldiers serving in Iraq who had been patched in by videoconference for a few hours to catch up with their families... Even the soldier who was an admitted Louisville fan got cheers from the home court of the rival Wildcats - until he predicted a Cardinals victory. "This is the best Christmas present they could receive," Gov. Ernie Fletcher told the crowd as he...

AL ASAD, Iraq -- “Twas the night before Christmas, all were asleep, curled up in their racks. I looked all about, a strange sight I did see, no tinsel, no presents, instead a plastic bottle Christmas tree.” These words, from Andrea Schutz’s version of “Twas the night before Christmas,” bring the traditional holiday poem to the deserts of Al Asad, Iraq. Schutz, the key volunteer advisor for Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 28, and the families of deployed Marines have been able to participate in the Christmas celebration here by making and sending Christmas ornaments for a water bottle Christmas...

ST. CLOUD -- In Iraq, a baby named Mustafa has a shot at becoming a man thanks to a few quick breaths from a Minnesota medic on Christmas. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Dowling shared the tale in an e-mail with her family. The message was later posted on the family's Web site. Dowling, a Richmond, Minn., native and a 1999 Rocori High School graduate, was supposed to spend Christmas visiting military camps around the city of Baqubah, which is about 40 miles northeast of Baghdad. "I grumbled as I stepped outside to the rain and mud, fumbled to the shower,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 27, 2004 — Even in Baghdad, Santa still delivers presents on Christmas. He just needs an escort from the 82nd Airborne Division to get the job done. Santa Claus, with paratroopers from Company C of the 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, along for security, showed up at a middle school in central Baghdad for a toy and school supplies giveaway on Christmas Day. The visit and the toys were courtesy of the U.S. Embassy's Joint Area Support Group. The group wanted to do something special for the local children on Christmas, said U.S....

Iraq's Christmas Spirit: Fear (persecution) (CBS) Only a few Iraqi Christians showed up to celebrate Mass in Baghdad's churches on Saturday because of fears that Islamic militants could launch attacks to coincide with the holiday. CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier, who is in the capital, says many locals were saying Friday's deadly tanker truck blast in the capital's Mansour section was really aimed at a church near where the explosion occurred, but the driver took a wrong turn. Churches this year have announced that the traditional Christmas services will be canceled and replaced by brief early morning prayers. Receptions for...

        "AND LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS" Matthew 28:20 One morning I stood on the bluffs overlooking the coast at Camp Pendleton. I spied an amphibious naval vessel just off shore. As I stood watching, it came into full view, then disappeared as the early morning fog came and went. The ship was always there, but it was only visible part of the time. It spoke to me of the reality of God's presence. The truth is God is always there, but our changing moods affect our ability to see. It's good days and bad...

BAGHDAD -- The men of 1st Lt. Michael Anderson's platoon thought their Christmas Day patrol would be an easy one: just drive through town and photograph friendly local leaders for a guidebook to hand to the company that soon would be taking over their sector of southwestern Baghdad. Despite gray skies and a cold, steady rain, Lt. Anderson, 28, and his convoy of three armored Humvees pulled out of Camp Falcon cheerily, with guitar-heavy sounds of Metallica blaring from Sgt. Brandon Shaw's CD player. Spc. Steve Bobb, 24, of Meigs County, Ohio, gripped an M-16 and a mounted machine gun...

Starting now -- 5 pm PST.

BAGHDAD -- During Christmases past, Iraqi Christians crowded into the Virgin Mary Church on Karada Street, jovial congregants young and old spilling out noisily onto the sidewalk to celebrate Mass. Even last year, the first Christmas in the shaky postwar era, the pews were nearly filled to their 800-person capacity. But yesterday afternoon, fewer than 200 subdued worshipers braved the capital's perilous roads and passed through a gauntlet of security forces to attend Mass. ''Can we be happy when our churches are being attacked?" Father Peter Hadad, head of the church, said in an interview after the service. ''This year,...

Earlier this week, The Providence Journal contacted Rhode Island National Guard Maj. Christian M. Neary, of the 103rd Field Artillery, in Iraq, and invited him to ask some of his soldiers to write Christmas greetings to Rhode Island. Communicating by e-mail, The Journal sent Neary four questions for the soldiers. To our surprise, the responses from the soldiers were returned through Neary with two extra questions, numbers 5 and 6 below. The Journal has included the additional questions and the soldiers' answers, as we received them. Staff Sergeant Michael Zompa Howitzer Section Chief 1. What are you doing to deal...

Editor's note: The following letter is from Staff Sgt. Brett Ledfors, a U.S. Marine currently stationed in Ramadi, Iraq. Ledfors was born in Wheeling (W.Va.) and is serving in Iraq with Moundsville (W.Va.) resident Sgt. Daniel Ealy. As a Marine serving in Iraq and someone born at Wheeling Hospital, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish the citizens of West Virginia a Merry Christmas while sharing a true story. News we get from home sometimes seems quite grim as far as the war. When I initially considered writing to a newspaper about the war, I wanted to show the...

US soldiers in Iraq celebrated the birth of Jesus while eating Christmas dinner in full body armour, with many explaining how the nativity story continues to motivate their mission in the war-torn country. Here, soldiers enjoying their traditional Christmas meal put on full head and body armour to eat, a requirement since this week's devastating bombing of another US base in Iraq. The suicide bombing at a US mess hall in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday killed 22, including 14 US military personnel. That triggered a re-assessment of base security throughout the country and added further tension...

PETER CAVE: For the Australian troops stationed in and around Iraq, Christmas Day tomorrow will be a normal working day, with the threat of an insurgent attack increased rather than diminished by the Christian holiday. But nevertheless there will be some Christmas cheer. I spoke to the commander of Australia's troops, Air Commodore Greg Evans, via satellite phone and began by asking him how our troops will be celebrating Christmas in Iraq. GREG EVANS: I think it'll be quite strange for most of us. It's a normal working day, of course. We're working very long hours and seven days a...

Kurdish Christians await Christmas with excitement and trepidation 24/12/2004 AFP ARBIL, Iraq, Dec 24 (AFP) - 6h13 - Christians in Iraqi Kurdistan are preparing for Christmas with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, with the continued violence meaning they cannot even drop their guard for the festive season. "We are scared that a terrorist dressed as Santa Claus might find his way to some kids and blow himself up. Yet, we believe the Lord will protect us," says Amal Franscis in the largely Christian Kurdish town of Ain Kawa. Although Kurdistan is relatively immune from the violence across Iraq, local...

A U.S. military personnel attends Christmas Eve service in the U.S.Marines camp near the Iraqi town of Falluja, 50-km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, December 24, 2004. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

Australian troops have been told they have the respect of the nation in an official Christmas message from the Prime Minister, the Governor-General and Defence chiefs. With 1,900 troops on duty today, either in Australia or overseas, Defence Chief General Peter Cosgrove wants them to know they are not forgotten. "We're proud of the job you're doing and we're telling you that the job you doing is really important as you serve Australia," he said. In his message, the Prime Minister says it has been a demanding year for the Australian Defence Force. But John Howard says the Australian military...

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE, IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE. I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE, AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE. I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE, NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE. NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND, ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS. WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS, A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND. FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,...

Merry Christmas morning to you soliders in Iraq and other places where it is already Christmas morning, from those of us here at Freerepublic! I wish all of you and your families to have safety and comfort and good food today. And for those of you who do not, you are in our prayers. A I know that we have some of you soldiers who come by and post to us, so if you see this thread, let us know how you are doing on Christmas Day! By the way freepers, a few of our fellow freeper soldiers have been...

This came with the following email: Photo Taken at 1st Marine Division Headquarters, Ar Ramadi, Iraq Please remember all of those young Marines that have given the ultimate sacrifice for their Country this holiday season.

In Afghan Outposts, a Low-Key Tour for a Low-Key War BAGRAM AIR FORCE BASE, Afghanistan -- Christmas comes cautiously to this hostile place. A tinsel wreath appears outside an Army tent. Military buzz cuts are hidden by camouflage Santa caps. An inflatable snowman wobbles in the desert wind. Across the freezing dustscape of Afghanistan, the soldiers fighting America's war on terrorism, Operation Enduring Freedom, do just what the slogan advertises. They endure. Entering a fourth year now, their war is rarely headline news anymore, not like Iraq with its daily battles, its suicide bombings, the kidnappings and beheadings, the flag-draped...