- Title: IRAQ: U.S SOLDIERS PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS
- Date: 23rd December 2003
- Summary: (W3) TIKRIT, IRAQ (DECEMBER 23, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS SEATED LISTENING TO HOLY NIGHT SONG (7 SHOTS) 0.38 2. WIDE OF FEMALE SOLDIER SINGING 0.50 3. VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS APPLAUDING (2 SHOTS) 0.56 4. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAJOR GENERAL RAY ODIERNO, COMMANDER OF FOURTH INFANTRY DIVISION, SAYING: "It was somewhat of a Christmas present to capture Saddam Hussein and I think it will make a big difference as we continue to move forward in Iraq." 1.04 (U3) BAQUBA, IRAQ (DECEMBER 20-22, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 5. SLV TWO U.S. SOLDIERS CARRYING A PINE TREE TO PLANT AND DECORATE AS A CHRISTMAS TREE 1.13 6. SLV U.S. SOLDIERS PUTTING PINE TREE IN HOLE DUG IN FRONT OF A CHAPEL 1.24 7. SLV U.S. SOLDIER SHOVELLING AROUND TREE 1.27 8. SMV (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPC MATT LAWRENCE SAYING: "I had an Iraqi go get it from up north for me, by Mosul, I think." 1.35 9. WIDE OF SOLDIER PUSHING TREE TO MAKE IT STRAIGHT 1.41 10. VARIOUS OF U.S. SOLDIERS DECORATING CHRISTMAS TREE IN DINING ROOM (4 SHOTS) 2.01 11. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR FOOD SERVICE SERGEANT, SSG VALENCIA JONES SAYING: "I think that what the soldiers will enjoy the most about the Christmas meal is prime rib, shrimp, the stuffing, the dressing, the candies and chilled egg nog." 2.12 12. SLV U.S SOLDIERS PUTTING UP "MERRY CHRISTMAS " SIGN IN ROOM 2.17 13. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPC JOSHUA HOLDEN SAYING: "Probably just get together with my friends, they are like family to me, so, we'll probably get together and have a good time. I'll definitely call the folks, call my fiance, to wish her merry Christmas and all that stuff." 2.29 14. SMV JOSHUA HOLDEN SEEN THROUGH WINDOW OF ROOM 2.33 15. SMV SERGEANT JIM NALLEN SITTING ON BED, WRITING A LETTER 2.39 16. SMV PICTURES OF JIM AND HIS FIANCE ELAINE ON THE WALL ABOVE JIM'S BED 2.44 17. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) SERGEANT JIM NALLEN SAYING: "She's waiting for me to come home, she misses me a lot, and have a good Christmas and have a good New Year and stuff like this." 2.50 18. CLOSE OF LETTERS ON THE JIM'S BED 2.55 19. SMV JIM PUTTING HIS LETTER IN AN ENVELOPE 3.01 20. WIDE OF SPC CISNEROS GUADALUPE SITTING IN HER ROOM CHECKING HER E-MAIL ON LAPTOP COMPUTER 3.06 21. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPC CISNEROS GUADALUPE SAYING: "I've received a lot of stuff, a lot of food. They sent me clothes, they sent me a little tree. They've sent me quite a few stuff. They've sent me some cards for Christmas and they e-mail me all the time." 3.23 22. WIDE OF TEDDY BEARS DECORATING A MIRROR IN HER ROOM 3.27 23. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPC CISNEROS GUADALUPE SAYING: "What we will do? Probably get a good meal and work all day and, who knows, possibly go on a raid, I don't know. It's not going to be like it would be back home. We are going to be working." 3.47 24. SLV CISNEROS PUTTING HER FLACK JACKET ON 3.53 25. SMV CISNEROS ENTERING U.S. MILITARY VEHICLE 3.58 26. SCU CISNEROS STARTING CAR AND DRIVING OFF 4.08 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 7th January 2004 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: TIKRIT AND BAQUBA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVAAUV8KK4969HWRH0S5291HN0E
- Story Text: For U.S. troops in Iraq, the Christmas season is a
time for prayer, celebration, and work.
The U.S. Fourth Infantry Division gathered for
Christmas prayers in Tikrit over breakfast on Tuesday
(December 23).
Christmas arrived early this year for some of the
30,000 U.S. troops in Tikrit who caught Saddam Hussein a
week ago.
"It was somewhat of a Christmas present to capture
Saddam Hussein and I think it will make a big difference as
we continue to move forward in Iraq," Commander of the
Fourth Infantry Division Major General Ray Odierno said.
If U.S. troops in Tikrit are feeling there is much to
celebrate and be thankful for this Christmas, soldiers in
Baquba are trying to make the best of what will be just an
ordinary work day.
With a little help from an Iraqi friend and couple of
U.S. dollars, SPC Matt Lawrence managed to get a pine tree
from northern Iraq to liven up his military base in the
city of Baquba for the Christmas season. He planted it in
front of the chapel and next to the path to the dining hall
so that all the soldiers would get a chance to see it.
Lawrence, a native of Alabama, hasn't decorated it yet, but
he says he'll try to find time before Christmas day.
The Christmas meal will be the highlight of the holiday
for most soldiers, and staff are trying to make it as
festive as they can. The woman in charge of the crucial
meal, Staff Sergeant Valencia Jones of Fort Hood, Texas,
has chosen what she thinks the soldiers will like: "Prime
rib, shrimp, the stuffing, the dressing, the candies and
chilled egg nog."
Specialist Joshua Holden is cleaning his small living
space and putting up decorations. "Probably just get
together with my friends," said the Chicago, Illinois
resident. "They they are like family to me, so, we'll
probably get together and have a good time."
Sergeant Jim Nallen receives several letters a week
from his fiance Elaine, whom he left behind in Columbus,
Ohio. They have been together for eighteen months and he
hasn't seen her since August of this year. "She's waiting
for me to come home, she misses me a lot," Nallen says of
what's written in Elaine's letters. "And have a good
Christmas and good New Year."
Specialist Cisneros Guadalupe is one of twelve females
serving with the 649 Military police. She is in touch with
her family in Gonzales, California through e-mails, but
this is the first Christmas she will spend apart from them.
Besides a good meal, she says wistfully, Christmas in Iraq
will be like any other day: "We are going to be working."
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