There are around 33 military bases in California representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines. While many Americans serving in the military will enjoy a California Christmas close to home, others won’t. The retrograde of more than 30,000 U.S. military personnel from Iraq was accomplished in less than a month without the loss of a single American life around Thanksgiving and Christmas-time 2011. All but forgotten in this week’s homecoming celebrations are more than 300,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who will observe Christmas far from home and those who love them.

• These are the U.S. troops stationed overseas from the Balkans to the Korean peninsula in the most difficult and dangerous places on earth. Despite hardship and risk, their steadfast commitment should inspire us in this holiday season.
• Nearly 90,000 Americans are spending this holiday in Afghanistan, deployed on lonely outposts high in the shadows of the Hindu Kush. The war in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 1,900 Americans and more than 15,000 have been wounded there.
• 28,500 Americans serving us are spending Christmas in the Republic of Korea.
• 48,000 American troops are in Japan for Christmas.
• Thousands of sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers are aboard U.S. Navy vessels deployed in the Pacific paying very close attention to what’s happening in North Korea while we’re opening presents beneath our Christmas trees.
• 1.5 million Americans wearing the nation’s military uniforms have absented themselves from the comforts of holidays at home, the affection of their loved ones, and have placed themselves in harm’s way so that the rest of us can enjoy the blessings of freedom & liberty.

On Christmas, say a prayer of thanks for their sacrifice.