Nobody’s coming home for Christmas for one couple

SCIO, Ore. - None of Ben and Sue Gerding’s five children are coming home for the holidays, but it’s not because they’re shunning their parents, it’s because they’re serving their country.

This is the first Christmas Sue and Ben will spend without any of their children at home.

“It still feels like Christmas,” said Sue. “They call. We talk, and it’s just different.”

The couple says they’ve never steered their kids toward the military; still, all of them, ages 22 to 30, decided to join the Army.

The Gerding’s two oldest children, Amanda and Ben, are in Iraq. Their middle child, Emily, is a medevac pilot in Afghanistan. The second youngest, Anna, is in Germany and is heading to Afghanistan. And Katrina, the youngest, is a cadet based out of state.

“Well, it’s different this year that’s for sure,” said Ben. “With nobody home it’s a pretty quiet Christmas.”

 “They worry more about us,” said Sue. “They worry about us not having anybody home at Christmas, which we do fine.”

Sue already mailed her kids their Christmas presents: dried fruit and nuts they all wanted from home.

The couple says the best Christmas present they could receive is for their kids to come back safe.

“It’s not scary every time the phone rings,” Sue said. “You have to get past that. You worry, but not every minute of the day or you’d be crazy.”

Ben understands the military, because he spent 26 years in the Army. But he never fought in a war.

“They’ve done so much more than I ever did,” he said. “It’s amazing. [We’re] extremely proud of them.”

The last time the Gerding family was all together at home was Thanksgiving 2005.

The couple won’t be totally alone for the holidays, however; they have strong family connections locally.