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thedrifter
12-10-06, 07:10 AM
It's another holiday away from home
December 10,2006
JOE MILLER
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Fourty-one Marines will soon dream of a hot and sandy Christmas.

The Marines are members of the Regimental Combat Team 2 that left Camp Lejeune on Saturday for Iraq. Despite the timing of the deployment, the Marines are willing to miss the holidays to defend freedom.

"Anytime you leave over Christmas it has some personal challenges, but a lot of these Marines have done it before," said Lt. Col. Drew Smith, who said he's only been home for one of the last four Christmases. "You and your family adapt."

Staff Sgt. Steven Ledyard will miss the first Christmas of his 4-month-old daughter, Kylie. That's not all he'll miss during the unit's 12 months in Iraq.

"She's going to come back talking, walking," he said. "She'll be on solid foods. I'll miss every important moment."

Wendy Davis just married her Marine, Sgt. Daniel Heavner, seven months ago. Since he won't be home for the holidays, she plans to spend it with family in Boston.

"We tried celebrating a little bit before he left," Davis said.

Cpl. Charles Riggs of Louisville, Ky., already knows how he will get through Dec. 25.

"Go to work. Eat a good meal. Call the family," he said.

The Marines who left Saturday are part of the advance party for the unit. More troops will deploy early next year.

"We go and we essentially set the foundation for receiving the main body of the Regimental Combat Team headquarters," Smith said.

RCT-2 will deploy to the western Al-Anbar province to conduct combined counterinsurgency operations with Iraqi security forces and train the Iraqis to conduct independent operations.

Family members turned out Saturday to wish their loved ones well. Hugs and tears were a common sight as they are with any deployment.

Many of the Marines have served in Iraq previously, including Cpl. Christopher Cutter of Cincinnati. Like all who wear the uniform, Cutter is proud of serve his country.

"It's one of the things that not many people get to do in their lifetime," he said.