Parishioners, schoolchildren help soldiers, families mark holidays

Published: 2003-12-09

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- For most people, the excitement about the holiday season grows with thoughts of spending time with loved ones. In the military community of Clarksville and Oak Grove, Ky., just across the state line, the mood is different. The towns are next to Fort Campbell, which straddles the Tennessee-Kentucky border and is home to the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. More than nine months ago 20,000 soldiers from the base were deployed to Iraq. A few soldiers recently returned for a two-week hiatus with family, and recently there was a swarm of soldiers and their families in the local malls and other stores hurriedly shopping for Christmas gifts before heading back to Iraq. But most of the soldiers from the 101st Airborne will spend the holidays in Iraq, leaving their loved ones at home hoping and praying for their return. Their families are not, however, without moral support. Across this community of more than 100,000, residents continue to offer their support and warmth to the families of the soldiers who will be away during the holiday season.

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