Not every family will be together this holiday season as many men and women in the armed services still are serving overseas in Iraq as well as other parts of the world.

But for at least one local family, Thanksgiving meant a little more this year when Spec. James M. Smith returned home the weekend of Nov. 22, just in time for the holidays.

His mother, Dixie Houck, said, "This has been a wonderful Thanksgiving, having him home. ... It's just great - no words, really."

"It's wonderful to have him back," said James' oldest sister, Jodie Smith Bare. "We missed him a great deal. I'm glad he's back to be with his son (Zachary). We all really missed his sense of humor. We're glad to have him back. When he walks in a room, the room lights up. Above all else, he's home and safe."

Saturday, James' family and friends held a "Welcome Home" party for him at American Legion Post 49, Warsaw.

"I'm ecstatic. I'm relieved so I don't have to worry about him anymore ... to know he's home safe," said James' older sister, Danielle Thomas.

"Words do not describe him," said his grandmother Jeanne Harman. "We have to touch him to make sure it's real."

James' younger brother, Brady Houck, said, "I'm glad to see him back. I'm happy he served for our country. I just love him. I'm glad he's back."

He said his brother is a role model.

James, who turned 22 while overseas, is a specialist with the 685th Transportation Company out of Hobart. That wasn't his original company, he said, but his original company - the 542nd Transportation Company out of Kingsbery - was one of many companies soldiers were taken out of and integrated into the 685th.

On Jan. 20, James received his activation orders at Fort Snelling, Minn. The next day, he married MariBeth, who was 8-1/2 months pregnant with his son, Zachary.

On Jan. 24, his company departed Hobart to Fort Campbell, Ky., to begin processing.

Zachary was born Feb. 16; James left March 9 for Camp Victory, Kuwait.

Though the company's base was there, James said, they ran missions north to Iraq.

For seven weeks, James said, they were stationed at Camp Cedar, Iraq. They moved back down to Kuwait, though still carrying on missions to Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.

"Our mission was to transport food supplies to the war fighters," said James, including those in the 101st, Third Infantry division, 82nd Airborne and other divisions they were supporting. "We hauled anything from ERIs, cases of water, to broken down aircraft that was disabled during the operation."

Asked about the dangers of his duties, James said they did see and at times were under gunfire - not every mission, he said, but they had to keep their eyes open. Those who waved hello to the soldiers during the day might be the same ones who fired upon them at night.

"You didn't take your eyes off anyone because that's when trouble would find you," he said.

Asked to describe what he saw, James said it was "something that no one should have to see. Definitely a wakeup call for those who needed it, that took life for granted. The ones that went over there are going to come back for the better" and be more mature.

The hardest part? In the beginning, James said it was seeing the starving children; the poor innocent kids begging for food and water. James said he knows of people here in the United States who complain and take life for granted. "They don't think about others."

During the approximate 10 months James was gone, his father, Jim Smith, said, "We talked to him during the summer." They received a few letters from him and eventually talked to him on the phone. But nothing compares with having him home in person.

And now that he's back, several members of his family have noticed a change in James.

"He went in a boy," said Jeanne, "and came out a man."

Danielle said she just wants him to be happy and to get to know his wife and son more.

"I hope he can fulfill his dream of being a sheriff, a cop," she said. "He's always had that goal, that dream. I hope he can fulfill it."

For Jim, the worst period of time of James' absence was toward the end. The war has been over for months, but the death toll keeps climbing.

"I was watching that (CNN) all the time," Jim said. "I was more nervous toward the end when he was there than during the war."

James knows he will be home for at least 90 days. But after that, there's no guarantee he may not be called back to duty.

"We're hoping not," said Peg Smith, Jim's wife. "... We're just glad he's home."

So is James.

He said, "I'm definitely glad to be back. It still doesn't feel real 100 percent."

But as he readjusts to life back in the states, James said, spending more time with his wife and son means more to him than anything.

He thanked his wife - his personal hero - for all she did. And he thanked his parents, Jim and Peggy Smith and George and Dixie Houck; Bertsch Services, James' employer before being deployed; and all his family and friends for all their support.

"The ones that supported us were the ones that helped us get through this operation," he said.

But it may be we who need to thank him.

James' grandfather, Richard Harman, said even the people at the South Bend Martin's, where Harman works, told him to thank James for them for "helping keep us free." [[In-content Ad]]