Soldiers in Afghanistan Enjoy Turkeys They Raised

A U.S. soldier receives food during a Thanksgiving Day lunch at the U.S. base of Bagram north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

(AP)

As daylight faded and the winter cold set in, soldiers huddled inside a crude wooden hut to tuck into Thanksgiving turkeys the unit itself had fattened and to give thanks for having survived a year of combat in Afghanistan.

"They become your family and being able to eat together like this, to break bread together is a highlight," said 1st Sgt. Gonzalo Lassally of soldiers from Able Troop, 3-71 Cavalry Squadron sitting down to the traditional turkey plus ham basted in brown sugar and honey, five varieties of pies and nonalcoholic beer. A stack of local flatbread added an Afghan touch.

A much-scaled down version of the feast was helicoptered to a handful of soldiers in an observation post perched on a 6,900-foot (2,100-meter) spur.

"We're thankful for all still being here. We've been lucky, on the lower spectrum when it comes to casualties," said Lassally, a father of three from Deltona, Florida, who has spent four Thanksgivings, three Christmases and "quite a few birthdays" away from home.

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The American holiday began with a 25-man patrol and ended with another unit heading out for night surveillance of several villages in this remote district of strategic Logar province, located just south of Kabul.

"Just another day, another mission," several soldiers said as the first patrol prepared for a 6-mile (10-kilometer) slog to aid village schools without windows, desks and other basic necessities.

Others let sentiment seep through their matter-of-fact, stoic shells.

"We're with our family just like we would be at Thanksgiving back home," said Staff Sgt. Ben McKinnon, of New Haven, Connecticut, nodding toward the soldiers around him that have daily shared hardship, suffering and some elation over the past year.

Commander Capt. Paul Shepard said the squadron, part of the 10th Mountain Division, had lost two soldiers in action and seen a number wounded. One of the dead, from Alpha Troop, perished in a neighboring province.