Troops bring Christmas to Iraqi orphans

FOB MAREZ — As smiling children filled a room almost to capacity, their faces shining and full of excitement, Col. Charles Sexton asked them, "Have you all been good boys and girls or bad boys and girls?" "Good!" screamed the children, with cheer.

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The 2nd HBCT cmdr smiles; he turns to an interpreter and asks him to tell the children, in Arabic, they've a surprise waiting in the next room. The children become overjoyed as they hear "Ho, Ho, Ho," bellowing from the next room. 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 cmdr 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 MRAP 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," he said. "The kids were so excited; a bunch of them sat on my lap and gave me kisses on the cheek." Sgt. Matthew Thorton, HHC, 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,” he said. “These kids don't have a whole lot, so to be able to help them out was really important to us. This also gave us an opportunity to build an even better relationship with the people here; show them we really care."

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