Golden Dragons: Christmas Gifts

By U.S. Army Spc. Brian Schroeder
10th Mountain Division Public Affairs

CAMP LIBERTY, BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 27, 2004 — Twas two days before Christmas and all through Iraq, soldiers prepared for the holidays with a rucksack on their back. Though they would not be home for the holiday season, the smiles on their faces had to be there for a reason. For one certain company in a certain battalion, gifts came in from nowhere like a ghostly Spanish galleon.

Every soldier in the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment’s Headquarters Company, received Christmas gifts from the local community in Burlington, Vt. The individually labeled bags contained Vermont coffee, chocolate, eye drops and a candy cane.

“This is incredible. Each soldier’s face lights up after seeing their gift bag that has a tag with their name on it. It was nice of them to take the time to personalize each one,” U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Kevin Deraps

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Kevin Deraps, Headquarters Company, 2-14 Infantry, said the gifts were a great way to raise the soldiers’ spirits during the holiday season.

“This is incredible,” he said. “Each soldier’s face lights up after seeing their gift bag that has a tag with their name on it. It was nice of them to take the time to personalize each one.”

Deraps said the gift idea started out as a care package his wife, Jennifer, began putting together with people she works with at the Chittenden Bank in Burlington. Once the word got out about the care packages,

other organizations in the community decided to add their own touch to the packages. The final result was 215 gift bags for the soldiers in the company.

Deraps said the shipping cost of the nearly 600 pounds of boxes was covered by the Chittenden Bank president.

Included with the gift bags were stockings filled with candy and a $15 gift certificate to the Army and Air Force Exchange Services. The stockings were provided to each soldier in the battalion by the unit’s family readiness group.

Spc. Eleazar Agrait, a personnel administration specialist, said this Christmas he would miss his mother the most, because he and his three brothers are deployed to Iraq over the holidays. However, he said the gifts would make his holiday easier.

“I didn’t think anybody would do something like this,” he said. “Being away from home and seeing someone care enough to send a package to Iraq really boosts morale.”

Sgt. Tawon McGee, a team leader, accepted the gifts with a big smile on his face. He said he was not going to open the package until Christmas morning.

“I’m in Iraq,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what I get in the gifts. There could be air in this bag and I would be just as happy because somebody gave this to me out of the kindness of their heart.”

As Christmas approached, some soldiers wondered if Santa would still come in his sleigh. Nevertheless, the soldiers' faces still glowed because these they received Christmas gifts from people they will never know.