Deployed Guardsmen send holiday greetings back home

Messages from the Missouri National Guard 203rd Engineer Battalion, based in Joplin, which has members from the Nevada area as well as throughout the state, have been posted online at http://www.youtube.com/ MoNationalGuard. The messages are from the entire group rather than individual messages and are available for public viewing.

Missouri National Guardsmen in Afghanistan and Iraq are sending holiday wishes home this December.

Soldiers from the 203rd Engineer Battalion, 1139th Military Police Company and 1138th Engineer Company took time to tape season's greetings to their friends, families and supporters back home.

"During a season marked by Families and friends coming together, it is vital that we remember our deployed citizen-Soldiers and Airmen who can't be here," said Brig. Gen. Stephen Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard. "These December holidays reflect the myriad of cultures and freedoms our troops sacrifice so much to defend."

The greetings are available for download and public use at: http://www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard.

Each unit's location is listed, but it is important to note that each unit draws soldiers from across Missouri.