Remembering our heroes at Christmas

Editor’s note: This column was first published in 2011 as a tribute to Theresa Hart, whose son Nicholas Newby was killed that year by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. In 2013, Theresa Hart founded Newby-ginnings, a Kootenai County nonprofit that serves veterans, active military and Gold Star families by providing basic necessities, resources, support, referrals and essential household and personal items. 

I’ll be home for Christmas.

Whether you have spent time stateside or in hostile fire zones, the loneliness and thoughts of home prevail, surrounded by comrades in arms, relating stories of Christmas festivities with family and friends. There are 24 million veterans in America and some 15,000 live right here. It’s a good bet to say that virtually all of them have missed holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions at home while defending our country.

Many have spent Christmas in combat zones. Just ask soldiers of our 116th CAV who returned from Iraq, some for their second deployment, and Hayden’s 455th Engineer Company how lonely it is without family at this time of year. And don’t forget about the freezing foxholes in the Korean War and “The Battle of the Bulge,” the German incursion into Allied lines, from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945. By Dec. 21, the Germans surrounded the Belgian town of Bastogne, defended by our 101st Airborne, who were short on food, ammo, and medical supplies. The German commander, Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz, demanded surrender. General Anthony McAuliffe, commander of the 101st, sent the reply “NUTS,” the morale booster that must be explained to the Germans and non-American Allies. On Christmas day, Hitler’s XLVII Panzer Corps launched an assault on individual positions on the perimeter of the 101st but was defeated and tanks destroyed. Soldiers on both sides surely remember that Christmas!

With the holiday season upon us, thoughts turn to celebrations with family and friends. For families whose troopers have returned, the empty chair at the Thanksgiving table is filled with the loved one missed last year. The Christmas tree is trimmed, and all the presents are opened with a joyous celebration that their soldier has returned. For families with troopers still in harm’s way, holiday wishes will be with them.

With Shakespearean conjecture, as our returning heroes celebrate homecomings and holidays with family and friends, our thoughts turn to those who gave it all, serving proudly and doing their duty to their country. For those who gave it all, Sergeant Nathan Beyers, Specialist Nicolas Newby, Specialist Carrie French, Specialist Timothy Kiser, of Idaho’s 116th CAV, Staff Sergeant Coby Schwab, and Corporal Kelly Grothe of Hayden’s 455th Engineers, their families cherish and remember their loved ones during the holiday season.

The 116th was stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq, in 2011, where Specialist Favian Cambigue of Coeur d’Alene was a member of the Quick Reaction Force. His team was called to action when an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) was detonated at the front gate. Cambigue found friends injured in the explosion that ravaged the HUMVEE occupied by Sergeant Nathan Beyers, Specialist Nicolas Newby, and Staff Sergeant Jason Rzepa. The blast killed Beyers and Newby. Rzepa was the gunner in the turret, and the upwards blast severely damaged his legs, and his lower legs had to be amputated.

Cambigue’s lament was evident while recounting the events. Family notification for the Beyers family was the arduous duty of Captain Steve Keeton, the former Company Commander for Beyers and Newby.

From distant lands, a Christmas song will be in the hearts of our troopers, steadfastly doing their duty:

I’ll be home for Christmas

You can count on me

Please have snow and mistletoe

And presents under the tree.

Christmas Eve will find me

Where the love light beams

I’ll be home for Christmas

If only in my dreams

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Jack Evensizer resides in Dalton Gardens and is a veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry.