Photo By Sgt. Crystal Witherspoon | Children proudly hold their presents from 2nd HBCT, 3rd ID Soldiers. Spartan Soldiers...... read more read more
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE MAREZ, Iraq — Smiling children fill a room almost to capacity. Their faces are shining and full of excitement. Col. Charles E. Sexton, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Commander, asks them, "Have you all been good boys and girls or bad boys and girls?"
"Good!" scream the children, with cheer.
The commander smiles; he turns to an interpreter and asks him to tell the children, in Arabic, they have a surprise waiting in the next room. The children become overjoyed as they hear "Ho, Ho, Ho," bellowing from the next room.
The 2nd HBCT, 3rd ID Soldiers made Christmas extra special for young orphans in Mosul, Iraq and Kermles, Iraq on Christmas Eve when Pfc. Brent Read, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, dressed as Santa Claus, as he and other Spartan Soldiers passed out toys, candy, backpacks, and shoes to the children.
Zuhayr Muhsin, mayor of Mosul, provided his office as a place for the Spartans to pass out gifts to the orphans. The mayor expressed his thanks for the Soldiers' generosity and awarded the commander with a plaque for their efforts.
As Santa and his Soldier helpers finished passing out gifts to the children, night began to fall. They then returned to their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and traveled to a church in Kermles and passed out gifts to the orphaned children there.
Read said dressing up as Santa was a lot of fun and an experience he would never forget.
"Today was really exciting. I know it was very special for them to see Santa because when you're young, you love Santa; he lets you know that Christmas is truly here," said Pfc. Read. "The kids were so excited; a bunch of them sat on my lap and gave me kisses on the cheek."
Sgt. Matthew Thorton, HHC, 2HBCT, 3rd ID, said he felt so good about handing out gifts to kids without parents on Christmas Eve and other than being at home, he couldn't have thought of a better place to be.
"I couldn't be home with my kids, but just being there seeing those kids' happy face made me feel good. These kids don't have a whole lot, so to be able to help them out was really important to us," said Sgt. Thorton.
"This also gave us an opportunity to build an even better relationship with the people here, show them we really care."
| Date Taken: | 12.25.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 12.25.2009 17:30 |
| Story ID: | 43146 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 251 |
| Downloads: | 234 |
This work, Spartans bring holiday cheer to local children, by SPC Crystal M. Bradley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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