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Iraq

Vision of Christmas from afar

When the Blair family gathers to celebrate Christmas, Army Capt. Rex Blair II will have to watch from Iraq via a Web camera.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published December 24, 2004

[Times photo: Keri Wiginton]

Rex Blair, right, licks icing off the fingers of his grandson, Connor, 1, after celebrating the birthday of grandson Rex L. Blair III, 2, far left, in the Blairs' Largo home on Thursday. The Blairs' son is serving in Iraq.

	[Special to the Times]
	Capt. Rex Blair II, 29, is the commander of Delta Company, which is responsible for securing more than 70 square kilometers of land in southern Baghdad. Blair will be in Iraq on Christmas Day, but his wife and sons are spending the holiday with his parents.
	[Times photo: Keri Wiginton]
	Michelle Blair holds the phone up to her son Rex Blair III, 2, so he can hear his father's voice Thursday. She and her two sons are in Largo for the holidays.
	[Times photo: Keri Wiginton]
	Clockwise from bottom left, Michelle Blair, her son, Rex Blair III, 2, sister-in-law Robin Laurencio and nephew J. J., father-in-law Rex Blair, and mother-in-law Charlene, try to comfort Blair's youngest son Connor, 1, after having a birthday celebration for Rex II on Thursday. Blair's husband, Rex II, is currently stationed in Iraq.

LARGO - He won't taste his mom's turkey and mashed potatoes, but he might see his father don a Santa cap and read the biblical Christmas story like he does every Christmas morning.

Army Capt. Rex Blair II will be 7,000 miles away in Iraq, where he hopes to watch his sons tear open their presents via a Web camera.

Blair, 29, commands about 200 men who search for enemy forces, foster relationships with Iraqis and help rebuild the country.

Seeing his family on a computer screen will be wonderful, but it won't be the same as being there.

"Not being there with them on Christmas is tough for me to get a handle on," Blair said in an e-mail interview from southern Baghdad. "I try not to think about it."

Blair's home is in Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood. His wife, Michelle, his sons, Rex III, who turned 2 Thursday, and 1-year-old Connor, his sister and his nephew are all spending Christmas day together at his parents' home in Largo.

Having the three little ones romping around the house makes it a bit easier to deal with the danger and distance, Blair's mother, Charlene Blair, said.

"When you have those little moments of quiet is when you miss him the most," she said.

Charlene Blair teaches physical education at Melrose Elementary. Blair's father, also named Rex, is a sales manager for a beauty supply wholesaler.

Blair's tour of duty ends in March. The family's faith helps them cope with the separation until then.

"I'm a control kind of person. There are just things you can't control. The only thing we know to do is to give it to God," Blair's father said.

Faith is just as important to Blair. Almost everywhere he has been in the 27-square-mile area his company patrols, his men have been attacked with either small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades or improvised explosive devices. Three of Blair's men have been killed. Many more have been injured.

"I believe my life is in God's hands. I believe I am as safe here as I am back home. He will call me home when I am supposed to go. If I didn't believe that, I would be one big ulcer," said Blair, who is commander of Headquarters Company, 1-8 Cavalry Regiment, 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

Blair, a full-time Army soldier whose first duty station was in Germany in December 1997, arrived in Iraq in March. Sometimes, while talking with Iraqi men or playing soccer with Iraqi children, he hears an explosion rip through the air.

"It was strange knowing just a few miles away fellow Americans were under attack as I was playing with Iraqi children trying to earn their trust," Blair said.

Once, he was using a mounted mine detector to prepare a road for paving when he received word that one of his soldiers had been critically wounded.

"It is extremely hard to reconcile that you are trying to help these people while simultaneously some of them are attacking you and hurting your men," Blair said.

Blair's men are like family. He doesn't sleep well when they're in the field, and they often don't return until 2 or 3 in the morning. Three didn't come back at all.

"Losing those three men felt like my soul was ripped from me. I knew each of them. I had spent time with them. Joked with them, laughed with them, lived down the hall from them. I saw them almost every day whether while out on patrol or in the mess hall or in the barracks," he said.

Despite his hectic schedule, Blair manages to phone his parents every couple of weeks. He sometimes asks them to pray for his men when they're wounded. And as the holidays approach, Blair's calls come closer and closer together.

"He hates missing anything," his mom said.

Blair already received Christmas presents from his mom and his wife. Charlene sent Rice Krispies treats, DVDs and a football video game for his Xbox console. Michelle shipped him candy, movies, cigars and a framed family picture.

As the leader of her husband's company support group, Michelle also looked out for her husband's men, making sure they'll have cappuccino mugs with cocoa mix, popcorn and candy on Christmas morning.

Knowing the pressures Blair faces every day, his mother feels guilty when her son calls while she's enjoying a good meal. His dad sometimes feels guilty when his son catches him on the golf course.

But Blair tells them not to feel bad. He's in Iraq so they can live their lives without fear.

Being in Iraq has made him grateful for what he has in America, he said.

In Baghdad, the highways are crowded with an assortment of vehicles ranging from the newest model luxury cars to beat-up clunkers.

Iraqis in nice homes live just a few miles away from others in mud huts, who look as though they are barely surviving. The sky is smoggy from the local power plant and there are constant explosions and fires.

"I want Americans to enjoy every minute they have with family and friends," Blair said.

"I would beg them to appreciate every warm night, every special smile, every beautiful fall day, every white Christmas, every single moment they have because that is what we are here protecting."

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 24, 2004, 00:23:15]