Holidays are difficult for those apart

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- Joshua Carrasco got braces this year and his younger brother was the fastest boy on his school's cross-country team. Their little sister, whose front teeth are still growing in, picked out carnations for their mom's 40th birthday.
Their father hasn't had a chance to see any of it: Sgt. 1st Class Manuel Carrasco, part of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Carson near here, is still in Iraq.
"There's things he's missing out on that he will never get back," his wife, Donna, said.
This Thanksgiving, the Carrascos are among the families of some 6,000 Fort Carson soldiers who are spending the holiday in Iraq.
Joshua, 14, and Joseph, 12, say they're used to Dad being gone for long periods of time, though Joseph said he wishes his dad could be home for his birthday next month. Gabrielle, 7, has deserted her pink bedroom to sleep with her mom, in Dad's spot in the bed.
"I get hugs from my kids," Donna Carrasco said. "I just feel like he's the one that's paying the ultimate sacrifice. He's the one who's away from us, and so I don't have the right to complain or feel sorry for myself."
As of Tuesday, nearly 2,100 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003. Sixty-three were from Manuel Carrasco's regiment.
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