Re: Christmas message from my nephew

Tricia, very interesting letter. Your nephew sounds like a well rounded young man. I'm very impressed that he can spell mujahadeen. I wouldn't have been able to except that I looked back at his letter.

DF
http://www.atouchofthetropics.net
----- Original Message ----- From: "pdickson" <pdickson@sbcglobal.net>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 12:09 PM
Subject: [CHAT] Christmas message from my nephew


I thought I would share this with all of you. I appreciate all that everyone has done to make their time in Iraq some better.
Tricia
Ho, Ho, Ho, everyone from scenic Camp Fallujah!!

Christmas came and went here with a drizzle from the sky. But don't worry, we deconflicted the air strikes and clearing operations so that Santa could still fly his sleigh in. We even provided LZ (landing zone) security while he offloaded his cargo and had Cobra helicopters on a 15-minute alert. J

Even far away in this predominately Muslim country, we celebrated Christmas this evening with turkey, prime rib, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and even egg nog! While not a 5-star feast, it was a sight better than MRE's or "tray-rations" (hard to explain. rather like bulk MRE's heated then served on a plate) which we have been dining on lately. There were stockings hung with care (even inside my Hummer. pictures will be in another email. my camera is on the fritz) and a bite in the air. Amazingly, none of the Marines received sticks and coal; rather, they were stuffed with candy galore.

We've started letting civilians back into the city and it has been, well, interesting to say the least. There's nothing quite as ironic as the US providing security and bus transportation so the mujahadeen can come strolling back into the city after we've pretty much decimated the current population of terrorists and former regime elements. Most of the Marines here understand that this effort is for the greater good and continue to plug away. Oh well. I don't want this email to sound glum or disheartened. Much is going well here and progress is being made. Hopefully, the "Fallujahans" will see what happens when they support terrorists and won't do it anymore.

On a brighter note, I've received an abundance of cards and letters wishing us a Merry Christmas and while, unfortunately, I don't have much time to write letters (Just ask Tonya how many she's received), I hope you know how much you all mean to me. The letters continuously bring a smile to my face and memories of better times spent with my wonderful family and friends. Keep 'em coming! I'm truly amazed at the amount of support that has poured from across the nation to our small platoon. Thank you all so much!

May blessings be abundant this holiday season to you and yours!

With much love,

Russ

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Support hort.net -- join the hort.net fund drive!
http://www.hort.net/funds/
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Support hort.net -- join the hort.net fund drive!
http://www.hort.net/funds/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index