Thankful to be home

And there's nothin' short of dyin',

Half as lonesome as the sound,

Of the sleepin' city sidewalks:

Sunday mornin' comin' down.

    - Kris Kristofferson

Nothing, perhaps, unless you consider a military outpost in a war zone half a world away from loved ones on a major family-oriented holiday.

For 2,800 Iowa National Guard members, spending today at home with family will help erase melancholy memories of chow hall turkey that passed for celebration last Thanksgiving in Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Josh Michel, 26, a Bellevue native living in Ames, ate last year's Thanksgiving meal in a large tent at a remote forward operating base with 15 members of his military intelligence team.

"It was turkey and dressing and everything, but it was not mom's and grandma's home cooking," said Michel, whose dad, Sgt. First Class John Michel, and brother, Spc. Mitchel Michel, also served with the Guard during the Afghanistan deployment.

Today, they and more than 60 members of their extended family are to gather at the American Legion Hall in Bellevue to share a festive meal and give thanks for the soldiers' safe return.

Like his older brother, Mitchel Michel said he has come to appreciate home cooking and looks especially forward to his grandma's cherry pie. "She usually makes two, and one is for me," he said.

Mitchel and his dad - both members of the Guard's 2nd Brigade, 34th Infantry, Brigade Special Troops Battalion based at Bagram Air Field, the hub of U.S. operations in Afghanistan - often saw each other and shared last year's Thanksgiving meal. But Josh, who spent most of his time in remote outposts, rarely connected with his dad and brother.

"Knowing what it's like otherwise, just having my family around me makes me thankful," said Josh Michel, a member of the 2nd Brigade's headquarters unit.

Remembering

Holidays in a combat zone are "pretty much business as usual - you might get some time off but you know you won't get the day off," said Col. Ben Corell, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, all but four of whose 2,800 Iowa Guard troops returned from combat duty in Afghanistan this summer.

While soldiers think about what their loved ones are doing, their focus still is on doing their jobs, Corell said.

Corell, a Strawberry Point native, said he spent last Thanksgiving traveling to remote outposts to greet his soldiers, even carving a turkey at one stop.

"At times like that, I want to look them in the eye and thank them for their sacrifices," he said.

Corell, who has spent five of the last 10 Thanksgivings away from home, said he is looking forward to spending today at home with his family.

"My thoughts and prayers will be with the four families of my Red Bull soldiers who will be without their loved ones. This holiday season will be especially tough for them, and I pray they will be at peace with their soldiers' sacrifices," said Corell, who commanded the Iowa Guard's largest deployment since World War II.

Chairs will sit unoccupied at the Thanksgiving tables of the families of Sgt. Brent Maher, 31, of Honey Creek; Sgt. First Class Terryl Pasker, 39, of Cedar Rapids; Spc. Donald Nichols, 21, of Shell Rock; and Staff Sgt. James Justice, 32, of Grimes, all of whom were killed in combat during the deployment.

Newlyweds

Sgt. Seth Van Steenwyk and his wife, Staff Sgt. Amanda Van Steenwyk, both deployed to Afghanistan with the Guard, but the newlyweds (married April 10, 2010) seldom saw each other at all, let alone on Thanksgiving.

Seth, 27, a member of the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, was in the mountains with his unit when a plane dropped supplies, including a couple of cases of beer. "We had a good meal and everyone pitched in to make it a little special," he said.

For Amanda, 27, a paralegal at Bagram, last Thanksgiving was "nothing real exciting - a big meal but nothing as good as my mom's." She said she spent parts of the day missing and worrying about her husband, who "was in a more dangerous place."

Today the Van Steenwyks, residents of Sigourney, will celebrate Amanda's favorite holiday with both sides of the family.

"Nothing beats being with family during the holiday season," she said.

Special day

For Pfc. Josh Hundt, 20, of McGregor, who spent last Thanksgiving at Bagram with the Guard's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, "There was nothing special about it - just another day in the service."

Though his dad, Spc. Doug Hundt, 46, of McGregor, was also serving with the 1-133rd in Afghanistan, they did not see each other that day.

Today, however, will be different.

"It's going to be beautiful. No one is going to be shooting at me. Josh and I will be together with family celebrating all the great things this country stands for," up to and including the green bean casserole with the onion rings on top, Doug Hundt said.

? ? ?

Spc. Chad Herold, 23, of Waukon, an infantryman with the 1-133rd, spent part of last Thanksgiving, like most other days during his deployment, conducting patrols, searching for roadside bombs and building rapport with villagers.

As days "outside the wire" went, last Thanksgiving was calmer than most, he said.

"In the chow hall they had decorations and a nice meal with turkey. Otherwise it was another day in Afghanistan," he said.

Herold said he saw his sister, Pfc. Penny Herold, 21, also a member of the 1-133rd, almost every day and that they often participated in the same patrols. As a member of one of the Guard's female engagement teams, she specialized in eliciting information from and establishing good relations with Afghan women.

Chad Herold said he "kind of missed out last year," but this Thanksgiving will be different.

Today he and his wife and their two young sons will celebrate with his wife's family, and on Friday they will be with his sister and their parents in Monona.