By 1st Lt. Jacqueline Cash

Aloha! I am a former Makaha resident serving as an Army signal officer with the 67th Signal Battalion in Baghdad. Our unit, out of Fort Gordon, Ga., deployed to Iraq in October 2006, and we hope to be home soon from our 15-month deployment.

I am a 2001 graduate of Wai'anae High School and attended Hawai'i Pacific University. I also served with Detachment 2, 1984th U.S. Army Hospital at Tripler Army Medical Center.

By Sgt. Maj. Keith "Kaimana" Castaneda Forward Operating Base Warrior, Iraq

Aloha a me ka Mele Kalikimaka a me ka Hau oli Makahiki Hou! Howsit, Hawaiians! Mahalo plenty for the support and prayers from everyone back home. It gives us the strength and renewed resolve to do what needs to be done here. I personally thank those of you who support us even though you may disagree with our government’s decision. I pray for those that don’t understand or refuse to accept the reality of the world we live in. We all accept the kuleana of this mission so our family and friends don’t have to shoulder its burden and can enjoy the freedom to live and speak freely without fear. My personal prayers go out to everyone for a safe and fruitful holiday this year. Iesu pu a hui hou kakou,

By Sgt. Maj. Randy Harr

This picture is of the NCOs in my unit after a 10-kilometer run on Christmas morning in Baghdad. That is not what I am accustomed to doing on Christmas morning.

We are members of the 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade stationed at Fort Shafter Flats. We are a strong team that helps each other out in accomplishing our mission.

At left is Master Sgt. Terry Shigemoto, who in civilian life is a store manager for NAPA auto parts. In the center is Staff Sgt. Melanie Carlos, a teacher at Kamaile Elementary School. I am the haole guy with the bandana.

We miss our families and friends in Hawai'i, and the beautiful 'aina. We recently said aloha to our brothers and sisters in the 299th Infantry (Hawai'i National Guard) and the 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry (Army Reserve) “Go For Broke!” We miss them, but are happy they are home after a job well done!

Thank you, to all of Hawai'i, for the tremendous support you all have given to the troops over here. We know your hearts are with us.

By Wendy Castillo

Staff Sgt. William Castillo is serving in Baghdad with the 299th Infantry, 29th Brigade Combat Team.

William is from Kaläheo, Kaua'i, and is a member of the Hawai'i National Guard based in Hanapepe.

Our two sons, Joshua, 9, and Aaron, 7, and I are counting the days until his return from duty.

By John Chavez

Ben was born at Tripler and raised in Honolulu, mostly in Hickam, çAiea and Mililani. He attended middle school in Salt Lake and graduated from Radford High in 1999. In school Ben was in Navy Junior ROTC and commanded the drill team. He also played soccer and judo. He enlisted in the Army National Guard in the spring of 2004.

By Debbie Ashmore

By Nicole Carlson

They are leaving to be stationed in Uzbekistan. Both graduated from Lanakila Baptist High School in 1997.

So I dedicate this to my husband — a man of few words, always trying to find humor in everything he does, but serious when need be. I am very proud of you and pray for you every day. Loving husband and father of two daughters — you are my hero. I want to say that we all miss you very much. You are in our thoughts and prayers every day. We pray for your safe return.

Be safe out there. Stay alert. Keep each other safe! Take care, my love. Hope to see you soon. I love you!

Nicole, Tehani and Tiare Carlson

This is a picture of my boyfriend, Cpl. Makanaikaika J. Cortez, originally from Lana'i City. He is in the 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, currently stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i. He returned home April 26 after 10 months fighting in Fallujah, Iraq.

My husband, Sgt. Jose Cabuco, is a member of the Hawai'i Army National Guard's 29th Support Battalion, Alpha Company, now deployed in Iraq. We were married in December, and he is a new father, meeting his 4-month-old son for the first time recently while on his R&R. I am very proud of my husband's courage and strength throughout his tour of duty. He, as well as the rest of the soldiers, are always in our thoughts and prayers for a quick and safe return home. Zae, thank you for all that you are doing. I love you so very much and Kai and I will be here waiting for you so our family will again be one. A hero from the start, Zae's always in our hearts!

MI would like to tell you about my husband, Staff Sgt. Cory Clothier, of the 725th Main Support Battalion out of Schofield Barracks. Cory is a wonderful man of God, husband, father of two and is a decorated war veteran, bringing home the Bronze Star medal from Iraq in 2003. He is currently in Afghanistan with his unit out of Schofield and was scheduled to redeploy back to Schofield yesterday.
He was the noncommissioned officer in charge of a mobile maintenance team in Afghanistan. His leadership earned him two Army commendation awards and seven Army achievement awards (that I know of so far).

I am proud of my husband as a soldier, but even more proud of him as a husband and father. He is the type of husband who loves to cook, clean and pamper his wife. He is the type of dad who plans parties (decorated cakes, party favors and all!) for our children’s stuffed animals when they have their very important “birthdays.” He instills morals, values and a strong work ethic into our children. Those who meet him are immediately drawn to his good nature, sense of humor and his integrity. He is my best friend and even though he has received recognition as a soldier and leader, I would like to see him get some recognition for who he is overall: a great family man (even called his mother-in-law from Afghanistan to check up on her and make her smile!), an amazing husband, a loving, creative daddy and a great friend to all who have ever met him.

We get calls from soldiers who knew my husband a decade ago and they tell us how he helped set the standard for them as soldiers but also as family men.

Single soldiers tell us they have new hope at having a family in the Army once they meet my husband and see that they can have healthy, happy, functional families even during the most challenging times. Thank you for taking the time to read about my husband/my soldier. He does so much for our family, the military and our country that I felt I had to write about him.

This is a picture of our son, Sgt. Jeffrey Czapla, Company B, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, out of Schofield Barracks. We are so very proud of him and all the soldiers serving abroad. We love you, Jeff. Come home safely.

This is my brave soldier, best friend and courageous husband, Sgt. Jared Chong, and me the day before he left for Iraq. We were lucky enough to spend a few unanticipated days of quality time together before he headed to the Middle East. Jared is with the 29th Brigade Combat Team, 229th Military Intelligence Company, out of Kalaeloa. The 29th BCT has been in Iraq since February and is expected home in early 2006. Honey, words cannot express how much I miss you and love you. Days away from you are often long, but I know that every day completed is a day closer to being in your arms again, which is where I belong. I am so proud of you! We may not be able to see each other, or talk to each other often, but thoughts of you fill my heart with loving memories of the times we've shared. The time will soon come when we will be together again and can create special memories once more. I love you, Jared! Your wife for life, Becca

This is my uncle, Duane Cruz, on Jan. 26 when he flew out to Iraq. I and my family want him to know that we love and miss him very much and we'll be waiting for you! I hope you know that I pray for you every day and night. I love you always. Love, Leilani

These two Island boyz is from the island of O'ahu. On da left, Bradda Jay (Staff Sgt. Daniel Jay Chaviera) was born and raised in Halawa and is a graduate of 'Aiea High School, '89. On da right, Bradda Junior-boy (Capt. Loreto V. Borce Jr.) was born and raised in Kalihi Valley and is a graduate of Damien High School, '96. They are both deployed in Afghanistan and serving with the 25th Aviation Brigade.

Aloha from Afghanistan! Here we are at the "Kandahar Bus Stop," which has nonstop service to Honolulu annually. Spc. Reuben Sabog, Spc. Artemio Montimore and I would like to wish our family a happy new year. We are part of Company B, 193rd Aviation, Hawai'i National Guard. We have been in Kandahar since May performing helicopter maintenance for the 25th Infantry Division (Light). For us home is surely the light at the end of the tunnel. Our tour is almost over and we can't wait to get home to our families. Thanks for all the support from our 'ohana!

Aloha from Kandahar, Afghanistan. My name is Doc Collins and I'm representing Honolulu and attended Kaimuki High, Class of 1997. I'm a medic with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division (Light). I would like to tell my fiancee, Joan Marie Sobremante Balila, how much I love and appreciate her support, thanks for everything you've done for me. I am nothing without you, baby! Love you "Mind, Body, Soul" and can't wait until I get home so we can start our family together with our little one on the way! I would also like to send out much aloha to my family in Atlanta: Alekia (mom), Dwayne (dad), Deion (brother). Thanks for all of your support and for believing in me. I'll be home soon, but until then continue to take care of one another! Please continue to pray for the troops who continue to fight terrorism.

Here is a picture of Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Clayborn with Company B, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment from Schofield Barracks and our two beautiful children, Haley and Cody. This picture was taken a few days ago when he left Hawai'i after R&R. We had such an incredible time with you home, honey, and look forward to our homecoming soon. Thank you for being you, baby. You are such a great father to Haley and Cody. You are my soulmate. Stay safe, Yobo, and come home to us soon. We love you. — Sandy

Hi. My name is Isabell Marie Cardin. I was born a few weeks before my Daddy had to leave. In this picture I was just 2 hours old and my Dad is really proud to finally hold me in his arms. My Dad is Sgt. Donald E. Cardin and he is in Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division (Light). Mommy and I pray that he comes home in January or February so we can play outside. I love you, Daddy! And Mommy and I miss you very much!

This is a photo of my husband Spc. Jason Cruze in Taji, Iraq. He deployed out of Schofield Barracks in January and is a Kiowa helicopter crew chief with Company A, 1st Battalion, 25th Aviation. He is missed by his wife and kids very much. We pray for his safe and speedy return.

Here is our hero, Sgt. Eduardo Cruz-Rivera with our daughter on the day of deployment. He is serving in Afghanistan with the 25th Military Police Company. Eddie, we miss you very much and hope you and your comrades have a safe and speedy return. You are in our thoughts and prayers every day. We are all proud of you and can't wait till we get to be a family once again. I am waiting for you to see how much Savannah has grown and to chase her around the house. We miss you and love you so much. Be safe!

This is our friend, Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Carter. He is stationed at Schofield Barracks and is on a one-year tour in Afghanistan.

We would like him to know we are looking forward to seeing him again. Lord knows we need to catch up on lost time.

So we are here waiting for his safe return. We will be holding the fort down until you get back. Just take it one day at a time and do know you have friends out here who care.

Take care and God bless. Aloha!

This is our uncle, Senior Airman Joseph "Maika" Campos, 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. He is stationed out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, N.C., where Auntie Ashley is waiting for his safe return.

Our uncle was born and raised in Hawai'i and is the youngest of seven children. He has 19 nieces and nephews and four grandnieces and -nephews.

He graduated from Pearl City High School in 2000. Uncle Maika is on his second deployment and just celebrated his 21st birthday.

We all miss him and pray for his safe return.

We love you Uncle Maika!

I am writing to tell you about my husband, Cpl. Jorge H. Cobo. This is a picture of him and our son, Trevor, the day he left for Afghanistan, March 23.

Jorge, who is from Miami, joined the Army right out of high school. Schofield Barracks is his first duty station.

I met Jorge my first day in Hawai'i, and we were married six months later. Trevor was born in August 2003. Jorge will miss his first birthday, which is Aug. 5. He also missed seeing Trevor's first steps.

We miss Jorge very much and hope to see him soon.

We support our troops, and I am proud of Jorge and all of the other soldiers fighting in Afghanistan.

We pray for their safety.

This is my husband, Staff Sgt. Russell Char. He was deployed to Iraq with the 411th Engineer Battalion. He left Hawai'i on March 28 for a yearlong deployment.

The kids and I miss him very, very much — life is not easy without him. 

We love him and pray for his safe return. We are all proud of him.

He misses us very much, too. He calls us almost every day from his cell phone. He goes shopping over there and sends us souvenirs from Iraq. I tell him that he doesn't have to do that, but that's just the kind of person he is, loving and kind.

It helps him to feel better by sending us stuff, since he can't do much else for us from all the way over there.

My son, 1st Lt. Jeremiah Cordovano, 1-21 IN BN, 2BCT, 25TH ID (L), Bravo Company is stationed in Kirkuk.

Jeremiah is 24 and loves Hawai'i. He enjoys the weather, the beach and the friendly people. He deployed to Iraq in January and is expected to be there a year.

This is the group High Intensity, which is on a long year deployment in Iraq. They are spreading the aloha with local island vibes that rock not only in the islands but in Iraq as well.

Also included in the band is the well-known artist Braddah Ira from the group Kolea.

Members of the band in Iraq is Sgt. Domingo, Spc. Sapolu, Sgt, 1st Class Pray and Staff Sgt. Crisco.

Anybody can say that they rocked Hawai'i, and now they can say they rocked Iraq! Look for the group High Intensity as they come back from Iraq to rock once again in Hawai'i.

Here is a picture of our son PFC Joshua Coombs right before he went into the Army last year. He is in Alpha Co, 1-27th Infantry, 2nd BCT, 25th ID. GO WOLFHOUNDS!  We love him and miss him very much. We are also very proud of him and all of our soldiers overseas. Good luck guys and gals, take it one day at a time and you'll be home before you know it.

Joshua, we love you and miss you. Your brothers send their love too. The house is surrounded with flags and yellow ribbons for you. Get the job done and then get your rear back to the good ole USA! 

Carrion in Afghanistan

This is a picture of myself and Ron Carrion with 125th Signal Battalion out of Helemano. It was taken last spring at the Signal Ball. He is in Afghanistan and will be there until about September 2005.

The second picture is of Ron in Afghanistan with a local man and his camel. I thought it was a neat picture. Just wanted to show off my special soldier. He is a wonderful person and soldier! I miss him a lot and pray for his safe return. A big MAHALO to all of our soldiers and their families for their sacrifices!

Another mahalo to The Advertiser for showing such awesome support for our troops and families with the Web site.

Aloha everybody! This is a photo of Crisco and Romeo of the C Co 193rd serving in Iraq. They said "We'll see you soon..."

We luv you, baby. Haley, Cody and I miss you so much. The kids are excited for our huge family vacation when you get home! They talk about it just about every day!

We are halfway there, baby. We pray for you every day, we will be here waiting for you, baby. I am proud of you.

Love, your soul mate, yobo.

This is a picture of my loving husband, Sgt. Kaika Colon, an infantryman with the 25th Infantry Division (Light) out of Schofield Barracks. Kaika deployed this past March for a yearlong tour in Afghanistan.

My husband, "Moloka'i Boy," wasn't home very long when he left for Afghanistan — he had only recently returned from a yearlong deployment in South Korea. His father recently passed away this month and he returned home on emergency leave. He went back to Afghanistan with unbelievable determination, strength and love for his family and country. He's a wonderful person with a great sense of humor who always puts 110 percent into everything he does.

We all miss him.

Be safe sweetheart and return home soon! We are all so very proud of you!

This is my son Pfc. Jason R. Chapman, 1-27th Infantry, 2 BCT, deployed to Iraq. We are all very proud of him and miss him terribly. We are from East Hampton, Conn.

By Carol Cartwright

My grandson, GSM3 Ryan D. Cartwright, served his country aboard the USS Chosin.

Ryan has always been a very patriotic American. At age 14, he selected a T-shirt with the words "all gave some, some gave all."

He enlisted right after graduation.

Ryan began training at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. Upon completion of basic training, he was assigned to the Chosin, homeported at Pearl Harbor.

He was raised by his dad, a single father, who is also his best bud. Ryan's dad, Ron Cartwright of Burlington, Wis., flew to Guam on Oct. 24 to join his son on the last leg of the return of the Chosin from deployment in the Persian Gulf.

The Chosin arrived back at Pearl Harbor on Nov. 2. Ryan's brothers, twins Ross and Robb, along with the rest of his family, proudly cheered its return with loving hearts and open arms.

By Jon Concepcion

My nephew Lance Cpl. Kellen Concepcion is in Najaf, Iraq, with Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. 

Kellen was born and raised in Pearl City. He excelled in baseball and football and graduated from Pearl City High School in 2002.

Before graduating, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He completed boot camp in November 2002 and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.  Kellen had a two-week leave in December, so we got to spend Christmas and New Year's with him.

After returning to Camp Pendleton, he was deployed to Kuwait on Feb. 27. We could track him and his unit, the 1/7 Marines, on television as they charged through Iraq on their way to Baghdad with CNN reporter Martin Savage embedded in the battalion. War action was very stressful during this time for Kel's family and friends. 

I recently received my first phone call from Kellen. He was in the city of Babylon and was heading back to Najaf the next day. He and his fellow Marines are in good spirits. He is anticipating his return home, hopefully by September in time for his 19th birthday. He can expect a hero's welcome. 

His parents, Jerome and Wendy Concepcion, of Pearl City and Palolo, respectively, and brother Gavin, sisters Brittney and Paige, and the rest of his 'ohana are so proud of Kellen and all he has accomplished. We miss him dearly and await his return home.

(We love you, boy! Semper fi. Hoooorah! — Uncle Jon)

By Susan Piper

My son, Damien Cerny, is in the 82nd Airborne Division, 1-505, stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was in Afghanistan shortly after the war on terrorism was announced, from July 2002 to January 2003.

He will start special forces training in August.

Damien is a 1999 graduate of Mililani High School. He fought for all the freedoms that we take for granted every day.

I am proud of my son. He has experienced more during those few months than most people do in a lifetime. And I do not wish that upon anyone's child. If it was on the news, he was there. Maturity set in quickly.

After his tour of duty he came home for a visit. He was so happy to go spear fishing, and do nothing else but be at the beach. By this picture, you can see he has the spirit of Hawai'i in him. He was a model in high school and loves to do his King Kamehameha stance.

Fox News

By Debbie Canionero

This is our son, Airman Jesse Canionero from Wai'anae, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln the day President Bush landed on the "Abe."

Jesse's at left, with the president's arm on his shoulder.

Jesse considers himself lucky to have been on the flight deck when the president landed. What made it even more special for Jesse was that he actually got the honor of shaking the president's hand and having his photo taken with him.

It's a day he will never forget. Jesse considers it an honor and privilege to have been a part of making history. We are very proud of Jesse, and we continue to pray for the safe return of all the men and women serving at home and abroad.

Heath family photo

By Anna Mae Distajo Heath

I am the proud mother of 1st Lt. Donna Mae Heath Chun, USAF, who is stationed in Kansas but is now deployed to the Persian Gulf. I remain strong because I am comforted by her strength and beliefs.

She was the first woman in 18 years and only the second in the history of the UH Air Force ROTC program to receive a pilot's slot.

Since her commissioning, and after nearly two years of grueling training to qualify her to fly the KC135 refueling tanker aircraft, her commitment has only grown. She serves with pride, and despite the long hours and missions over Iraq, she writes, "I believe in what we're doing. I'm trusting in my Lord and training to keep me safe."

Donna Mae is a 1990 graduate of the Kamehameha Schools and is the wife of Hawai'i Air National Guard Tech Sgt. James Chun of Mililani, who is her "hero" for supporting her in her endeavors and for his choice in serving his country on the home front.