By shirley buckner There are at present more than 600 Utah soldiers serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Approximately 70 are from here in Southern Utah. And many of us know and love at least one of these valiant young men or women. They all need our support and love for Christmas. As we enter the Holiday Season, hearts are turned to home and family. For our military, those homes and families are far away.
For the wives, husbands, parents, and children of the service members, the longing and anxiety for the safety of their loved one is ever present. The ache is endured only with the knowledge that each military member is serving his/her country and the good people of the place in which he or she is stationed. They are giving hope to many who have felt bleak hopelessness and despair for generations.
The reports that come to families via e-mails and letters from Iraq and Afghanistan are positive about the good that is being done, and the relationships being forged between vastly divergent peoples. As the military members mingle with children who exuberantly greet them with open arms, and hands, they know of the good they are doing. Our soldiers are trusted and loved, and in return they enjoy handing out little gifts to the children.
Pens, crayons, writing pads, little toys, or any other small treasure that can be shared with a child, brings the soldier, and the child, much happiness. The soldiers appreciate receiving these little items from home so they can share. Sgt. Vance Lindsay (son in law to this writer), is a member of the all volunteer 116th Army National Guard unit consisting of 165 men that are serving in Iraq. Sgt. Lindsay says the HumVee seats they must sit on are just fabric stretched over steel.