By Bryan Kirk
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - Those Christmas cards that fill mailboxes and find their way to fireplace mantles carry the same message no matter where they go: Peace on Earth and Good Will toward Men.
However, Peace on Earth never comes without sacrifices, and the men and women who serve with the 4th Infantry Division have sacrificed a great deal over nearly 15 months in Iraq.
The division has seen its share of hardship, having lost 89 soldiers and seen more than 500 wounded, so a little bit of peace would be welcomed.
This Christmas will be the second one the division has spent in Iraq, but the troops, no matter what they are doing, have found their brand of peace this Christmas season.
Lt. Col. Jim Carter, the division chaplain for the 4th ID, not only finds peace in spirituality, but helps his soldiers by deepening their bonds with their family and with their fellow soldiers.
“Even though my job is to care for other people, I find that when I am down or depressed, getting up and checking on somebody else and asking how they are doing always helps me to feel better,” he said.
Carter also stays in touch with his family through long letters and e-mails back home to his wife, daughter and son.
A strong letter-writing campaign to family goes a long way in boosting morale with the soldiers and their families, he said.
“Even though we are in combat, we need to work in times to let our families know how much we appreciate them, and affirm them for their sacrifice,” Carter said.
That has certainly worked for Chief Warrant Officer-5 Robert Nixon, who leads the 4th ID band, and Julie Nixon’s husband for 25 years.
“I stay in touch as much as possible, and with the Internet e-mail and being able to call on the computer, I have been able to talk with my wife almost every day while here in Iraq,” he said.
Nixon led a Christmas program for the troops in Baghdad on Tuesday night that included music and entertaining skits, and followed that on Christmas Eve with a concert of traditional music at the division headquarters.
While Baghdad is a far cry from the Christmases of his past, Nixon’s mind still travels back to those places that often resembled the traditional Christmas cards depicting snowy landscapes and family time.
But Nixon and his family won’t miss a beat this Christmas.
His wife plans to wait until he returns home in February to celebrate the holiday.
“We will return home before too long, so my wife plans to leave the Christmas tree up in our house and we will open some gifts at that time, too,” he said.
While music and spirituality are key to the season, so too is the feast.
Sgt. Lisa Burnett, who is completing her second tour with the 4th ID, runs the dining facility for the special troops battalion.
Burnett’s secret to bringing Christmas cheer to the soldiers can be summed up in one word: “Cookies.”
The division dining facility organized a cooking-making event, supported by the West of Brazos Troop Support Group, which provided all the fixings for the event.
“The outcome was the most amazing feeling you could ever have. It helped to bring our troops together and form our own family so that we can be a little more comfortable this holiday season,” Burnett said.
This Christmas, Burnett and the soldiers who work with her pulled out all the stops decorating the dining facility with Christmas trees, an electric train and serving the soldiers holiday fare, such as turkey, dressing and egg nog.
“... it is very important that we help the soldiers have a nice holiday, to kind of try to make it similar to home,” she said.
