Thanks to the Troops

Fox News: Bush Thanks Armed Services---

CRAWFORD, Texas — President Bush spent part of his Thanksgiving Day on his Texas ranch phoning 10 members of the military to thank them for their service.

But spoke to members of the U.S. armed services, Coast Guard, Army, Navy and Air Force, including those in Afghanistan, Iraq and one on a ship at sea, calling them "patriots."

The president also planned to spend time with his family, eat turkey and dressing and maybe watch the Dallas-Denver football game.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino said the president "wished them all a 'Happy Thanksgiving' and thanked them behalf of the American people" and that he "told them they were all patriots and asked them to pass along his wishes to their fellow service members."

AP: GIs Celebrate Thanksgiving, Hope---

QAIM, Iraq — Cpl. Brian Zwart set out his turkey, stuffing, corn and mashed potatoes on a makeshift picnic table — the hood of a Humvee — before going out to patrol the Syrian border Thursday to watch for foreign militants sneaking in to join Iraq's insurgency.

"Serving my country is important but losing friends makes me more thankful for what I have and for what I used to take for granted," the 20-year-old Marine from Fruitport, Mich., said as American fighting men and women celebrated a third Thanksgiving in Iraq.

U.S. troops around the world marked the holiday in a variety of ways, serving a traditional turkey meal to Serb schoolchildren in Kosovo, dining on food ladled out by senior officers in Afghanistan and staging a parade of makeshift floats in Kyrgyzstan.

For many of the 140,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in Iraq, Thanksgiving Day was another work day — albeit with special holiday meals. Troops in Baghdad and elsewhere turned out for three-mile fun runs called "Turkey Trots" before resuming security patrols and other duties.

"We feel like we're protecting our friends, family and loved ones back home," said Lt. Col. Guy Glad, a military chaplain from Colorado Springs, Colo. "On the other hand, the holidays can be a somber, sad day for soldiers away from home. Many young soldiers are away from home for the first time."
---
In the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, a small choir sang religious songs before soldiers dined at tables decorated with candles and flowers. Soldiers also cut large cakes, including one shaped as a Bible with frosting verses and another in the shape of a cross.

"We give them the traditional dinner to make them feel a little better about where they are," said chef Baron Whitehurst, who spent a week preparing a Thanksgiving feast for about 5,000 people, mostly soldiers.

In Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, soldiers set up a "fallen comrade" table for those killed, laying plates and lighting candles on a black tablecloth in front of several empty seats to remember the soldiers killed during their tour.

At Forward Operating Base Speicher north of the capital, country singer Aaron Tippin performed for soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division.

Senior officers served the holiday meal to the lower ranks at Bagram, the main U.S. base in Afghanistan. Soldiers, some with their weapons slung over their shoulders, lined up for turkey and the trimmings, pumpkin and custard pies and fresh fruit.

AP: Govs Thank Troops in Middle East---

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and three other governors personally thanked their troops serving in the Middle East on Thursday, and they brought Thanksgiving dinner with them.

Perdue said in a telephone interview from Kuwait City that morale was terrific among the Georgia troops he visited at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as they ate turkey and dressing, prime rib, shrimp, green beans, yams and mashed potatoes.

"I came to say thanks to these troops and they gave me a blessing I'll never forget," Perdue said.

The Defense Department invited the delegation of four governors to visit the Middle East: Perdue, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas.