KABUL, Afghanistan — As the choir of Army soldiers sang a spirited “Frosty the Snowman” under a light snowfall Sunday evening, Lt. Cmdr. Lynne O’Neil bobbed in time and thought of her daughter, Anna.
“I know my 21/2-year-old daughter’s favorite song this year is ‘Frosty,”’ O’Neil said. “My sister, who’s now the acting mother, told me today that when she plays that song in the car that Anna always says ‘again’ at the end.”
Nearby, Sgt. Maj. Rick Turner thought of his family’s own caroling traditions. When asked what he was thinking about, he turned quiet.
“Home. Thinking about my home and family. It’s my second Christmas away from home,” he said. After listening to the carols for 20 minutes, he went off to find a phone.
“This will be my Christmas call to them because things are starting to get busy,” said the 53-year-old from Goose Creek, S.C. “The (base’s) phone lines will get busy, so I’ll get mine out of the way today.”
As Christmas approaches, overseas military bases try to bring a bit of the holiday to soldiers far from home. Cafeterias are decorated with Christmas trees. Crayoned Christmas cards from school kids hang on walls. And base choirs, such as the one organized by Chaplain Iris Dickerson, sing carols to passing soldiers after dinner.
As part of the Christmas celebration at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, soldiers will have four days of services, including a gospel service, a Catholic mass and a nondenominational service.
“We create an environment here that lets soldiers know they are part of a family,” said Dickerson, 38, who has been a minister for five years at Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Chester, S.C. Like many at Camp Phoenix, Dickerson serves with her National Guard unit, the 218th Infantry Brigade based in Newberry, S.C.
“Other than being in a war zone, I want people to say ‘I was in Afghanistan, but I still felt at home,’ especially at our services,”’ Dickerson said.
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