~ It's Finally Friday!! ~
SANTA'S LITTLE HELPER
Santa Claus holds one of the children of Kivalina, Alaska, while members of the Alaska National Guard deliver toys, Dec. 6, 2008, as part of annual Operation Santa Claus. The guardsmen provide toys, books and school supplies for young people in communities across the state this time each year. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Paizley Ramsey
Canteen Mission Statement
Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies military
and family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.
2008 USO HOLIDAY TOUR VISITS TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN
Grammy award-winning musician Kid Rock, American Idol contestant and country musician Kellie Pickler, and musician Zack Brown entertain troops stationed at Kandahar, Afghanistan, Dec. 17, during the 2008 USO Holiday Tour. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley
Click for more tour pictures
BUG EYES
A U.S. Marine Corps CH-46E helicopter prepares to land aboard amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans under way in the Pacific Ocean, Dec. 6, 2008. The USS New Orleans is on a certification exercise as part of Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Barker
Aaron Neville ~ Louisiana Christmas Day
Ann Margret & Al Hirt ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside
Alabama ~ Christmas In Dixie
Julie Andrews ~ God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Jambalaya Cajun Band ~ Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
FACE OF DEFENSE: REFUGEE SURVIVES WAR, BECOMES U.S. SOLDIER
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, Dec. 17, 2008 – A former war refugee traveled across countries and continents in search of a better life -- a remarkable journey that ended in the United States when he became a U.S. citizen and a soldier.
Army Spc. Samuel Ladu, 20, a translator with the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, grew up in Sudan during the country's second civil war, and vividly remembers his life during that time.
"It was miserable because of the war," Ladu said. "We were living to survive. From day to day, if we woke up in the morning, we thanked God."
Ladu called a small farming community on the fringes of Juba, Sudan, his home for about 20 years. Ladu and his family were surrounded by two fighting factions.
"In the city, there were bombings every day," Ladu said.
Ladu's father died when he was 6. Soon after, his older brother, Charles, developed glaucoma. Two unsuccessful surgeries by underqualified doctors left Charles blind for life, Ladu said.
This left Ladu and his mother to care for Charles in a war-torn area with scarce food and money. His opportunity to leave Sudan came shortly after receiving a blessing from his mother to move away and search for a better life.
Ladu led Charles and his cousin to neighboring Ethiopia in search of treatments and an education. He continued his high school education there while living on rations of beans and corn provided by shelters and refugee camps. Surviving in Ethiopia became more difficult as time passed.
"While I was in Ethiopia, I considered going back to Sudan," he explained. "I couldn't go through with it, though. In Ethiopia, I didn't talk to anyone, and I didn't have any food to eat, so life became so difficult."
The rest of the story
CHARGE!!
Following the casing of the brigade, battalion and division colors, soldiers assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division Horse Detachment perform a cavalry charge accompanied by a helicopter flyover performed by the 1st Cavalry Division Air Cavalry Brigade on Fort Hood's Cooper Field, Texas, Dec. 12, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Phillip Turner
Good morning fellow cubevillians! 
