Jamie Koerner

    A meal, a movie and a nap is how the Valenzuela family of Seward plans to spend Thanksgiving this year, but most important is that they can now spend the holiday together, after the recent return of father and husband Command Sgt. Maj. Eli Valenzuela.
     Eli came back to the states in August 2007, after a 14-month tour in Iraq with the 867th Quartermaster Battalion of the Army National Guard.
     While abroad, Eli worked with the Corps Support Battalion, which was to provide logistic control of petroleum. The soldiers' responsibilities in Eli's Support Battalion were to transport army goods like water, food, ammunition, mail and supplies. In Iraq, Eli oversaw 10 companies and was responsible for 1,619 soldiers. He said their convoys traveled only at night when an attack from the enemy was less likely.
     "Invariably, the convoys were hit at least once sometime during the route," Eli said. "Either with improvised explosive devices, small arms or rocket propelled grenades."
     Faye said after her husband left for Iraq in June 2007, she cried often when she would think of him, but as time passed she decided that to make it easier she would take one week at a time.
     Eli would be gone for 60 weeks, so Faye marked off one week each Sunday, which helped pass time, she said.
     "It made time go faster and made it a lot more attainable," Faye said. "Sundays were hard."
     Since Eli has been home, his family said everything is returning to normal, but Eli sometimes thinks of how different life was abroad.
     He said a holiday in Iraq is just like another day on the job. The military can't take the day off for the holiday, so it does what it can to keep spirits high.
     "It helps to keep everyone busy," Eli said. "And then, being away from family on the holidays is not as difficult."
     Last year in Iraq, Eli's base had a Turkey Trot for Thanksgiving and a Jingle Run for Christmas, both five-kilometer races. They had a Christmas tree up in Eli's office on the base, but he said his secretary had to remind him to open his gifts Dec. 27 because he just hadn't felt like doing it yet.
     "It wasn't the same as the traditions we have at home," Eli said.
     The last holiday season was much different for the Valenzuelas back in the states also. Faye didn't put up a Christmas tree that winter because she said it just didn't feel right without her husband there.
     His daughter, Diane, said with the strong family ties the Valenzuelas have, she most missed being able to call her dad whenever she wanted and said the holidays weren't the same without their father there to share in the spirit. The Valenzuelas have one other daughter Brittney Poppe and her husband, Jason, who are expecting a baby in January.
     Eli and Faye, who have been married for 27-and-a-half years, have adjusted twice when Eli was called to serve the county abroad. Eli has been a member of the National Guard for 28 years and a Nebraska state trooper for 23 years.
     The first time Eli went abroad he went to Bosnia in 2002-03, with the last tour in Iraq advancing the overall time away to approximately two years.
     Eli, Faye and Diane watched Eli's Aug. 18 welcome home celebration Nov. 18 at the home of Faye's sister in Lincoln. Three months after his return, Eli said it feels like he's been home much longer.
     "After you're back for a month or two it almost feels like it's a dream," Eli said.
     Faye said watching her husband's return sent the same chills up her spine that she felt the actual day he returned home.
     "It was very exciting that day," she said. "Now, it seems like he never left."
     The Valenzuelas said they are thankful because their transition has been easier than some families – like those who have family members who have been wounded or killed or who have young children that have lived at home with one parent.
     "I was only responsible for myself," Faye said, whose daughters are both grown. "I have great respect for spouses and children who stay home because I had just myself to take care of. The people who have kids at home – that would be a really hard thing to raise kids by yourself. You basically become a single parent; I didn't have to do that."
     Even though she didn't have young children to raise, Faye said that she could not have made it without the help of the Valenzuelas' good friends in Seward, who helped her on occasion while Eli was away with household jobs like cleaning out leaves from the gutters.
     The military in the U.S., which is one percent of the total population, should be commended for their willingness to serve and fight for our country, Eli said.
     "I share with the soldiers how proud of them I am of their service," he said. "It is a small group of men and women who elect to serve their country. I am very thankful for the men and women that we have in today's military. They do an outstanding job."