Twenty-two-year old Sgt. George Servino, Jr. of the U.S.
Army’s 1st Battalion 23rd infantry, didn’t celebrate
Thanksgiving last year.
He and his 5,000 soldier-strong brigade were training on the
Iraqi/Kuwait border, waiting for the order to go in.
A dinner was prepared for the troops, Servino said, but he
didn’t feel like celebrating.
“Thanksgiving was just another day. I didn’t go to
the feast. … I wasn’t in the mood,” Servino said,
after an extended pause trying to recall the exact location where
he had spent the holiday last year.
As the holiday season begins, and friends and family come
together to celebrate, troops overseas say being away from loved
ones becomes even harder.
Servino’s family “is all about Thanksgiving,”
he said, with over 50 members of extended family and friends
filling the Servino household every year to celebrate the
holiday.
But last year, Servino’s mother didn’t want a house
filled with all their loved ones except him, Servino said. And this
change in his family’s tradition on his behalf hurt Servino,
he said.
“The thing that got to me (was) when I talked to my mom a
couple of days after Thanksgiving; they told me that they spent
Thanksgiving at my uncle’s house because they didn’t
even want to have it at my house without me there,” Servino
said.
He added that what kept him going during his year in Iraq when
he endured enemy warfare, friendly fire and even a bullet wound to
the face as he traveled through the major cities of Iraq, was
knowing that his family members back home in Cerritos were carrying
on with their lives as usual.
“It makes me feel good that my family is OK, at home
living their daily lives,” Servino said. “It hurt me
that (my mom) didn’t want to do anything.”
Many people in the United States become more sympathetic to the
troops in Iraq and other parts of the world as the holiday season
approaches.
Deborah Crane, president and founder of the Treats for Troops
organization, said the amount of orders processed in November was
five times as many as those in July. And Crane said she expects the
number to increase to about six to seven times the July figure in
December.
Since it was established by Crane in June 2003, Crane’s
Colorado-based organization gives people the opportunity to send
care packages to troops around the world.
“They need the support when it comes to the holiday
season, but they need the support for the rest of the year as
well,” Crane said, pointing to the long stretch of time that
lapses between holidays.
Several national organizations facilitate care packages to be
sent to U.S. troops ““ something many troops appreciate.
In an interview in September, 23-year-old Mario Leonidas, a
Marine reservist who recently finished his tour in Iraq, said mail
was his favorite time of the day, regardless of who the mail was
from.
Crane said a thank-you letter from a soldier receiving a care
package from her organization hangs in her office and reminds her
of the important service the group provides.
“The deodorant and fudge were especially needed,”
the soldier had written.
It doesn’t matter where the soldiers are, Crane says, they
still need “a taste of home.”
Last year, soldiers in Baghdad experienced a taste of leadership
at home when President Bush visited the troops unannounced to join
their Thanksgiving celebration.
Though critics believed Bush’s visit was a ploy to boost
approval ratings, most soldiers expressed gratitude for the
acknowledgment they received from their commander-in-chief.
“It helps a lot knowing that the commander-in-chief
himself is going to come out here and make some of the same
sacrifices away from his family, away from his home, to show that
he is devoted and in the same position that we are,” said
Pvt. Patrick McFarland of the 1st Armored Division to CNN about the
visit.
Servino said the feast given to his division wasn’t nearly
as elaborate.
When Servino heard about Bush’s visit, he had said,
“Damn, why didn’t he come see us?”
When Christmas arrived in Iraq, Servino said he still did not
feel like celebrating. But unlike Thanksgiving, his mother tried to
celebrate the day like they always did.
Still, Servino says it was difficult for his family to cope with
his absence during the important time for the them.
“They celebrated Christmas because of what I told her
before,” Servino said, but added it was difficult for his mom
to take family pictures without him. His mom would also often wear
pieces of his clothing just to be able to smell him, he said.
“She told me that a piece of (her) was missing,”
Servino said.
Having recently returned from Iraq this year, Servino is looking
forward to spending Thanksgiving with his immediate family of six
and extended family of 50 in Southern California.