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CNN Live Saturday

Bush Celebrates Christmas at Camp David; Russian Rocket Set to Bring Supplies to International Space Station

Aired December 25, 2004 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Here's what's happening now in the news. Falluja residents are trickling back to their war-ravaged town but many reacted with anger after finding damaged homes, unexploded ammunition and no water. A series of checkpoints also made for slow going.
Christmas at Camp David brings three generations of the Bush family together. Among the first family's guests are the president's parents, his sister and brothers and their spouses and children. The White House says Mr. Bush received a rain coat from the first lady and he gave her dessert plates matching her China pattern.

The two-man crew aboard the International Space Station is about to get a holiday delivery in space. An unmanned Russian rocket is bringing badly needed supplies to the crew. They've been forced to ration food because of shortages. Miles O'Brien will have a live update on the arrival scheduled for 6:30 Eastern.

Good evening, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Carol Lin has the evening off. Ahead, stranded in airports for Christmas -- what happened and why some passengers aren't making it home on this holiday. Also, a little warmth goes a long way for families with servicemen and women in Iraq. We'll reunite one family later on this hour. And it's supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. Not much of either is happening in Fort Lewis in Washington. The home of the Striker Brigade is mourning the loss of six of its own. They were killed in a suicide attack on a U.S. military base near Mosul, Iraq earlier this week. CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now from Fort Lewis -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you, Fredricka? Yes, as the families of the dead here at Fort Lewis start to talk to the press and say what's on their mind, one certainly hears a discordant mix of opinion and emotion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): They are six members of the Striker Brigade Combat team stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. All six died in a mess tent in Mosul, Iraq.

VICKIE CASTRO, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: He was everything to me.

MARQUEZ: Vickie and Jorge Castro lost their only son, Jonathan. The 21-year-old was the youngest to die that day. V. CASTRO: He was going to come home. He had so much promise.

PETER JOHNSON, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: Here he is again right after graduation.

MARQUEZ: Peter Johnson lost his only son, 23-year-old Staff Sergeant Robert Johnson. He says of all the places, his son should not have died while sitting in a mess hall.

JOHNSON: And I believe that it could have been avoided.

MARQUEZ: Thirty-one-year-old Captain William Jacobson was a company commander and father of four. His biggest hope was to bring everyone under his command home safely. BILL JACOBSON SR., SON KILLED IN IRAQ: And that was Bill's goal, having served in the Army as a second lieutenant in Vietnam, he knew that the chances of that were slim.

PAM WHITE, BROTHER KILLED IN IRAQ: He was a great dad.

MARQUEZ: Pam White is the sister of 33-year-old Sergeant Darren Van Comen (ph). He was the youngest of 10 kids. The baby of the family who always had had time to make a joke or dole out a hug.

WHITE: I miss him, I really do, but it's OK. It's OK. I know where he's at. He's in heaven with my dad and my sister.

MARQUEZ: Twenty-two-year-old Lionel Ayro was a combat engineer. He was also an avid collector of toy trucks.

CATHERINE AYRO, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: No, it's not no Christmas for us this year.

MARQUEZ: Forty-seven-year-old Staff Sergeant Julian Mellow leaves behind a wife and a son. In a statement, his family said -- "His wife, Norma, felt she could never live up to his expectations, because whenever she did anything for him, he would turn around and do something exceptional for her."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now, the Associated Press also reports that 62 people either from Washington State or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) have died so far in Iraq. For the latest six who died, a memorial service is planned for Wednesday here on base -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Miguel Marquez, thanks so much from Fort Lewis.

A dangerous place far from home but many men and women in uniform found ways to recognize day in Iraq. Some wounded troops marked the day in a military hospital in Baghdad and while recuperating, attended mass.

In Basra, British troops held services and sang hymns. And despite threats of violence, Assyrian held their Christmas mass today in Baghdad. Well, Christmas may seem as distant as home, but for some U.S. Marines in Ramadi the holiday is not forgotten. Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inside the relative safety of this base, if only for half an hour, this corporal can almost imagine being back home and forget about what's really on his mind, a new bride half a world away.

CORPORAL ELMER MIGUEL, U.S. MARINE CORPS: The holidays especially get a little harder.

LAWRENCE: Elmer Miguel got married last January but shipped out to Ramadi seven months later.

MIGUEL: I missed a lot of our firsts everything together this year.

LAWRENCE: Miguel put up a stocking his wife sent from home, but he's spending Christmas with men he considers his family.

MIGUEL: Whether that's just sitting around here in camp or out in a fire fight, they become your brothers.

LAWRENCE: The 2nd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment is serving in one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq this Christmas and they only go into Ramadi's neighborhoods with full body armor riding in armored convoys.

(on camera): There's nothing here that says Christmas, and a lot of Marines would completely forget if it wasn't for their families reminding them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know we try to not to pay a lot of attention to it because its not Christmas out here.

LAWRENCE: Corporal Edwin Hill has a wife back home in Georgia. She's the one who told him about the suicide attack on the mess hall in Mosul. But it's not something the men here dwell on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And our families are definitely worried about it, which, you know, in turn worries us a little bit. And you know we're kind of kept in the dark a lot here, which helps out quite, you know, as far as the gays not being too, too worried.

LAWRENCE: And this Christmas, the Marines may be praying for peace on earth, but they'll settle for a small corner of Iraq.

(on camera): The Marines aren't the only ones hoping for at least a few silent nights. At this Army camp we're living at now, the soldiers come under fire pretty frequently. There's no running water, no toilets, no showers, just a lot of expectations that next Christmas will be better than this one.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Ramadi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, there's no place like home, especially for some U.S. troops given surprise leave from the war front while others are making their way into Iraq. CNN's Sara Dorsey has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Salina Owens (ph) can't wait. She hasn't seen her husband, George, since October when he left for Iraq.

GEORGE OWENS, MISSOURI NATIONAL GUARD: Hey, baby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, sweetie.

DORSEY: It's a Christmas present many of the troops never expected they'd actually receive; two weeks of R&R at home in America with their family.

G. OWENS: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a short notice. I had 45 minutes to pack and get on the plane.

DORSEY (on camera): How would you describe this Christmas now?

G. OWENS: It's perfect. It's perfect.

DORSEY (voice-over): Tears flowed when Tina Cruz (ph) was finally able to hold her son again. It's been six long months. She didn't want to let go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it was a surprise that he was coming home. But it was the best Christmas present I've ever gotten.

DORSEY: Reunion after reunion, Christmas wishes were answered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you too, sweetie.

DORSEY: Sergeant Cruz had a few wishes of his own.

(on camera): What do you want to do while you're home for your two weeks?

SGT. JESSE CRUZ, UNITED STATES ARMY: Enjoy electricity, hot water and sleep in.

DORSEY: It's a bitter sweet day here for every soldier that gets to come home to their family on Christmas, another one has to leave.

Do you have to leave again?

PFC. CHRIS GIFFORD, UNITED STATES ARMY: Yes, real tough, real tough. I'm going to miss them a lot. DORSEY (voice-over): Private First Class Chris Gifford has said his goodbyes. His final Christmas meal comes from the USO Office at the airport.

These troops are heading back to a war zone. Gifford leaves behind his wife and four kids for another six months of duty.

GIFFORD: It's something we've got to do. I mean I just want to get over there and get our job done so we can all come home. That's what I really want.

DORSEY: A final Christmas wish. Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Chaos in the sky or rather on the ground. Comair Forced to cancel all of its weekend flights is now trying to book tens of thousands of passengers on parent company Delta Airlines. The airline grounded its 1,160 flights nationwide today and tomorrow. Comair says the computer system it uses to book flights broke down, forcing the cancellations. The airline is apologizing to its passengers. Some folks have already been stranded in airports for days because of winter storms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON SCRINHERST, COMAIR SPOKESMAN: Everyone who will be traveling that had travel plans between the 25 -- actually going back to the 22 all the way through January 1, we're offering refunds to -- or -- I'm sorry, giving them the ability to rebook without any fees, without any charges associated with that. If you were not able to complete your flights, we're offering you refunds. And for those who have been impacted mid travel, we're handling that on a case by case basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Other holiday air travel nightmares to tell you about, U.S. Airways says so many of its travelers have been separated from their luggage. It's so bad; the airlines have filled entire planes with just bags to get them to their rightful owners. The airline partly blames the flight schedule disruptions caused by the weather and says a number of flight attendants in Philadelphia Airport baggage handlers were out sick. U.S. Airways is apologizing and insisting it's trying to go resolve the problem.

A look now at how some Christians are observing the birth of Jesus this Christmas Day. The Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, celebrated mass at noon in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Celebrations around the world now -- in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II delivered his an annual Christmas message from the steps of Saint Peter's Basilica. He told the crowd, the world is yearning for peace and expressed concern about conflict in Iraq, the Middle East and Africa. The pope also read holiday greetings in 62 languages. Dozens of countries transmitted the speech live on television. Britain's Queen Elizabeth is urging people to get along in her Christmas message. She's calling for tolerance between different cultural and religious groups. The queen also broke tradition and sent a speech -- a special message, rather, to British troops ahead of her annual address. The radio recording especially praised those serving abroad.

And thousands of worshipers flocked to Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. A new thaw in Israeli/Palestinian relations brought many more pilgrims to this year's ceremony than last year. Among those attending services was interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The senior Roman Catholic official in the holy land called on Israelis and Palestinians to end the conflict in the Middle East.

Far away from home but close at heart, up next tonight, military families get a chance to see and speak to their loved ones for Christmas. Their emotional union straight ahead.

Plus, some big-named reunions on the court. Later, the Shaq/Kobe showdown.

And a history lesson in Christmas music. You know the tune but do you know the story behind it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Merry Christmas from 025, from Ramadi, Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, all holiday weekend we've been showing you our on-camera military family reunions, bringing service people in Iraq together with their loved ones back home. Well, this hour, a look at three families reunited across the miles thanks to our CNN cameras.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, mom. Hi, dad. I think I heard my grandpa there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, your grandpa's not -- but he's watching. He's watching and so are your brothers and your Aunt Jennifer and all of them are here with us. They can't be on camera but they're here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got the world...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brad, Trace, Vicky (ph), the whole group.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's good to see you, mom, dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's even better to be seeing you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Did you send a box to the house?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Christmas?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For Christmas?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, can I open it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We figured that -- well, why not spend Christmas together and open up our Christmas present from you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, I told you to open it -- yes, this morning. Open it up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's what we're doing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that what it is?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, wow, a digital camera. Now we can go and take some pictures and send to you on the Internet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fantastic! Thank you very much!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you! My love!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Love you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As his mother, I'd like to say it's really good to see him, really good to see him. I feel much better now than I did yesterday or the day before. I miss you, son. We'll wait for you to come home. We love you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I miss you too, mom. I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you do. I know you do. I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like to see your husband?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I would love to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a look. There he is, Master Sergeant Jeff Sweezer. Good morning to you and Merry Christmas.

MASTER SGT. JEFF SWEEZER, U.S. ARMY: Good morning. Merry Christmas to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I wish you could see your wife. She's got her hands up to her face. She's praying. She's got tears starting to flow. I'm going to get out of the way here. And have a conversation with your lovely wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, honey.

SWEEZER: Good morning, honey. Hey, Merry Christmas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have Josh...

SWEEZER: Is my little buddy there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Say hi, daddy.

SWEEZER: Tell him I said hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say hi daddy.

SWEEZER: Hey, Josh! Hi, buddy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He can't hear you. I'm...

SWEEZER: How are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm fine, how are you?

SWEEZER: I'm doing fine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you doing OK?

SWEEZER: Yes, I'm doing fine. I'd like to wish everybody there a Merry Christmas, my family, my wife, my two boys, all my friends, the soldiers and families of the Fort Lewis Striker Brigade here, the Bobcat Battalion. I'd like to send my heart and -- our hearts and prayers go out to the many soldiers who were lost that day. And you know it's hard to lose loved ones, especially this time of year, and - or any time of the year, but our hearts and our prayers from the units here, Bobcat Battalion for our Staff Sergeant Mellan (ph) and his wife and family. I lost a good friend that day, a good NCO. But our efforts here will continue and I will return home safely.

And considering I've spent six Christmases away from you and my family, I promise I'll do what I can next year to ensure that I am there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ah, the final Christmas wish. Well, at CNN, we'd like to send a holiday good wishes to everyone serving in Iraq and elsewhere overseas and their loved ones back home.

Well, chances are the toys you gave your kids this morning were not made in America. Up next, tonight, a closer look at a growing trend in the toy trade and how it could impact the U.S. economy. And an Iowa man plays Santa for his hometown. What he did and why he did it later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, I'm Commander Master Gerald Brant (ph) on the USS Harper's Ferry in Northern Arabian Gulf. I'd like to take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of America and all our service men and women. Thank you very much and enjoy your holidays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, if you take a good look at the toys your children found under the Christmas tree this morning, you might notice that few are American made. Some economic experts say there's a down side to all these imported toys, except for those imported from the North Pole, of course. CNN's Gary Nuremberg reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it? Oh, cool!

GARY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nine-year-old Justin Bennett's (ph) holiday haul...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's a new memory card. Oh, Harry Potter. Oh, yes, yes, it's like a pin ball game.

NUREMBERG: ... is a Christmas cash in for China. That pinball game...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was made in China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Made in China.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Made in China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Made in China. Made in the U.S.A. with the case made in China.

NUREMBERG: Christmas 2004 is Buzz Lightyear's away from a time when American kids got toys made in America. More toy imports come from China than any where else. The Census Bureau says more than $600 million in stuffed animals alone between January and July, contributing to a $124 billion trade deficit with China last year, according to the Commerce Department, a deficit expect to do grow to $160 billion this year. We asked Christmas shoppers if they even know where their purchases come from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't really look, you know, to see where something is made.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I have no idea where they were made. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I didn't look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the other day I said, you know what, we should look and see if they're made in the U.S. before we buy them. We didn't look. We didn't even check.

NUREMBERG: With lower wages and overhead, Chinese products usually cost less, a deciding factor for huge retailers like Wal-Mart who drive much of the demand for cheap imports.

ROGER SIMMERMAKER, AUTHOR, "HOW AMERICANS CAN BUY AMERICAN": We have to realize that workers in foreign countries pay no taxes to America.

NUREMBERG: And Roger Simmermaker says that money is needed to support American programs like social security and Medicare. He authored the books, "How Americans Can Buy American."

SIMMERMAKER: Anything else is slitting our own throats and it's going to drive down wages in this country, we're not going to be able to pay for the things that we demand from our government and we're going to become a third world country if we don't.

NUREMBERG: But the Treasury secretary tells "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER" cheap imports are a good thing.

JOHN W. SNOW, TREASURY SECRETARY: When we can buy things that we want at prices that are attractive to us, consumers are better off. Sure.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: So outsourcing is good. Is that what you're saying?

SNOW: Well, I'm saying trade is good.

NUREMBERG: This Christmas, the trade trend is clear. More Chinese imports under the tree and Justin's parents are only kidding when they say this...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, they're all going back.

NUREMBERG: Gary Nuremberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, we're not sure if they come from China, but we do know that toy trains are delighting the children who visit the holiday exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden in the nation's capitol. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going very slow, I told you! But that was going the fastest. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have one of the greatest train exhibits that you'll ever see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're just this big.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have seven different trains and trolleys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, it's going over the bridge now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When children come into this space, you can hear them screech with delight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going around us, see? Woo! It's going to come through the tunnel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have over 600 feet of tracks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just follow them, seeing them around their tracks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have over 40 different buildings. And you can see them putting together the puzzles of where the train is going to come out next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oops! It passed already. We need to wait until it comes again. It comes back very soon because it's very fast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And just minutes from now, astronauts at the International Space Station are set to get some much needed relief as a Russian resupply ship prepares to dock. And soon, you'll be seeing a live picture of Mission Control as they get ready to see it all happen.

And for the first time since their November brawl, the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons take to the court again. The outcome is straight ahead.

And later, a special family reunion. A military wife will see her husband in Iraq right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, how are you doing everybody at home? My name is Yassim Mohammad (ph) and I'm from New York City, New York and all my family in North Carolina, I just want to say, mommy, I love you. All my sisters and my cousins, I hope to see you soon and yes, everybody have a happy holidays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. A look at our top stories right now in the news -- U.S. troops celebrated Christmas in Iraq today, but many Iraqi Christians stayed away from churches in their own communities fearing attacks by militants. Those who did show up had to pass by armed, plain clothes guards posted outside the buildings.

Mahmoud Abbas kicked off his campaign for Palestinian president with a demand that Israel leave the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Abbas has been serving as interim president since the death of Yasser Arafat. The election is scheduled for January 9.

Ukraine will try again tomorrow to elect a new president. The results of last month's election were thrown out because of massive vote fraud. Ukraine's constitutional court says some new electoral procedures are unconstitutional, but that ruling will not stop the election.

Holiday from hell -- about 30,000 Comair passengers are facing hassles after the Delta subsidiary canceled all of his 1,160 flights for today and tomorrow. The cancellations are being blamed on a computer system break down. U.S. Air passengers also have problems. Hundreds of them have been separated from their luggage.

Well, there's a special delivery about to happen in space. A Russian cargo ship is bringing some anxiously awaited supplies to the International Space Station. Our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, joins us on the phone with some of the details.

Miles, they're a little delayed right now. It was supposed to happen about now. But now it looks like it's going to be 30 minutes from now. Exactly what will transpire?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, what will happen is transpire, we hope, is two and a half tons of food and fuel and air and water, and a few Christmas presents for the two station keepers, Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov, will connect safely with the International Space Station in about 30 minutes time. The Russians were going to allow that docking to occur while the space station traveled over Brazil where it is now. They've decided they want to wait until about 24 minutes from now when it will be over Russian land mass and, thus, be able to have full communication with it. That's giving them a little better indication of what's going on up there, not sort of flying in the dark, if you will.

This is a critical docking for the International Space Station. The crew, as you well know, running short on fuel there. They may be festive there in their Santa hats, but they only have a couple of weeks left of food. And if this particular docking does not go off well, they will ultimately have to abandon ship, come back to earth. The thinking is right now that everything is going on schedule, everything seems to working well. And if all goes well, tomorrow when they open the hatch, they'll a 112 days more of food, more than enough to get them through to the next Russian freighter, which will fly later in the spring -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Miles, is there an answer to this question, how they miscalculated the amount of food and fuel and spare parts, water, oxygen, all of that? O'BRIEN: Well, the thing about -- the thing about the fuel -- food is that they initially thought they would have the astronauts use a bar code system to keep track of everything they ate and they decided that it was just too much trouble for them to go through every time they got out M & M's, they had to swipe the bar code. And so, it became very difficult over time to keep track of things. Astronauts go on a little midnight snack, the cupboards go bare. But the real problem here is the lack of shuttle flights. As long as the shuttle was flying up to the space station, it was very easy to resupply it with plenty of food and fuel and water.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, they are up there for a purpose, some experiments. They were able to conduct some kind of dental exams, some bone scans, et cetera. What are some of the things that they're doing during this mission?

O'BRIEN: Well, it's not a lot of science, quite frankly, Fredricka. This is a situation where there's two of them on board. The goal here is to keep it tended while the shuttle is grounded. Shuttles are expected to resume flight in May or June at which time the construction of the space station will continue in earnest. It will be staffed with three astronauts once again. And the hope is that they'll begin more serious science. In the meantime, the science they do is really on the margins of keeping that space station afloat and also keeping themselves healthy.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, space correspondent Miles O'Brien, thanks so much for joining us on the telephone.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, two high profile showdowns in pro basketball today. Some would say it was out of this world. A rematch between basket brawl contenders on this Christmas Day as well. A showdown between shock and -- Shaq, I should say, not shock. It was a shocker of a Shaq attack, wasn't it?

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN SPORTS: It was definitely that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Overmyer is here to talk a little baseball and...

OVERMYER: Basketball.

WHITFIELD: Basketball. Sorry, I'm all over the place.

OVERMYER: You know what? It might it might be base basketball.

WHITFIELD: Maybe I should just stop right now.

OVERMYER: No, it's quite all right.

WHITFIELD: Anyway, it was a good game. I did catch...

OVERMYER: It was. It was worth the price of admission even if you paid 2,000 bucks to get in. It's the day that both Shaq and Kobe have circled since the big fellow was traded from the Lakers to the Heat. L.A. is the town of stars but eight years of sharing the spotlight on the Lakers, clearly, not enough for Kobe. All the days, the feud has finally come to a head, on Christmas, a time of sharing, joy and goodwill. Let's see if the spirit of the holidays resonated with the players.

Shaq's first game in L.A. since he got the trade. He got a nice ovation. Everybody happy for Shaq. How about Kobe and Shaq? Well, kind of a chilly reception, not very good. Early on, Kobe, the corvette, goes after Shaq, the brick wall. Watch what happens. He gets fouled pretty hard by Shaq.

But the very next possession, Kobe was not afraid, going straight after Shaq once again. This time, somehow gets the shot to fall. And more of Kobe versus Shaq, now first off, these guys -- Kobe's a guard, Shaq is a center, so they're not going to match up too often but still, Kobe...

WHITFIELD: But they did seem to.

OVERMYER: They did. Kobe kept going straight after Shaq. And after Shaq fouled him hard, gave him a nice little wink there along with it, just letting him know who's the boss. Watch Shaq again. Offensively, nice spin move, the throw down, I don't think Kobe wants to be in the middle of that. Third quarter, Kobe was abusing Shandon Anderson (ph) as well. It wasn't all just Kobe versus Shaq. Kobe, is that an incredible move or what? Great jumper. Kobe, a season high, 42 points in this contest. Fourth quarter, Kobe goes after Shaq once again and Shaq fouls him hard. That was Shaq's sixth foul of the game. He had to sit down. This game goes into overtime. In O.T., Heat by two. Kobe gets the inbounds pass, chance to be a hero, off the mark. Miami wins 104-102. Shaq's team wins despite not having Shaq on the team in overtime. Though, Fredricka, that was the -- their 11th straight victory tying a franchise (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Wow! That was an impressive game and quite the turnout too...

OVERMYER: Yes, yes.

WHITFIELD: ...on a Christmas day.

OVERMYER: We saw Snoop Dog there. We saw Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, so everybody was there.

WHITFIELD: They were all there.

OVERMYER: Yes, exactly, but that wasn't the only game that was in town.

WHITFIELD: No, the kind of revisit of the basket brawl or at least the match up but not necessarily the brawl itself, thank goodness.

OVERMYER: Of course, the holiday cheer was spread in Hoosier land as well. Indiana and Detroit met on the court for the first time since that ugly brawl that has left this indelible mark on the NBA, better yet, a judge upheld an arbitrators' ruling to end one of the player's suspension. It just so happened, Jermaine O'Neil's first game back from the Motown mealy is against the Detroit Pistons. Security in place for this one and though -- even though extra security was there, it was really not needed. Jamal Tinsley, who -- O'Neil with the jumper -- Jermaine O'Neil was a bit rusty. He had 22 points. Pistons had a four point lead in the second. Watch this pass from Tinsley to Freddy Jones, the reigning slam dunk champion throwing down big time as the Pistons only had a two-point lead. This game, nobody threw some beer, nobody threw punches after -- in fact, after the game...

WHITFIELD: That's because a lot of the players had been suspended. They weren't there.

OVERMYER: After the game, the only thing that was thrown was the Pistons' Rasheed Wallace actually threw something in the stands, his headband.

WHITFIELD: Come on.

OVERMYER: No, he didn't. He threw his headband into the stands as a souvenir for...

WHITFIELD: OK, all right. That's OK.

OVERMYER: So everybody was cool in this game.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right, good. I'm glad everybody, you know, behaved themselves.

OVERMYER: But the holiday cheer was resonating.

WHITFIELD: OK. Good, Steve. Thanks so much.

OVERMYER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Well, residents of one Iowa town received an early Christmas gift this year. That's when one of their fellow residents paid the entire town's electricity bill. So who is this person and why in the world did he do it? I'll talk with him coming up next.

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We both thought it was God awful. My God, that won't even sell 100 copies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Sound and music, lyrics and success, the story behind one of America's favorite Christmas songs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Jason Eicorn (ph) on the Harper's Ferry from (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Illinois. I just want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all my friends and family back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The town of Anthon, Iowa is having a very special Christmas due to one couple's generosity. Retired farmer, Richard Hamann, and his wife, Donna, paid a month's electricity bill for everyone in the town, about $25,000 in all. Richard Hamann is on the phone with us now from his hometown in Anthon. You're looking at a still picture of him right there.

All right, Mr. Hamann...

RICHARD HAMANN, PAID HOMETOWN'S ELECTRIC BILL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: ...so glad you could join us. Merry Christmas.

HAMANN: Merry Christmas to you.

WHITFIELD: I'm sure you're getting lots of great, special greetings from all the folks in your town. Why did you decide to do this, pay $25,000 in electricity bills for everyone?

HAMANN: Well, I guess you'd have to say that the Lord has been very good to us and the people of this community have been good to us also. And I have a saying that says everything that I have is a gift from God and what I do with it is my gift to God. And therefore, we wanted to help out the people of the town a little bit at Christmas time.

WHITFIELD: And this idea really kind of came by default, didn't it? You had another idea, which was to try and pay for everyone's electric bill but that idea didn't quite pan out. What happened?

HAMANN: Well, last spring we wanted to build a wind turbine on top of a hill that I have here that joins Anthon on the west side, and that would have provided about a third of the electricity that the town of Anthon was needed. But when we got working on the project, we found out that Anthon had a contract with their power supplier, which is Northwest Iowa Power...

WHITFIELD: So a little red tape got in the way.

HAMANN: ...known as NIPCO and at any rate, that didn't allow it and so, got a long story short, that's what happened.

WHITFIELD: So instead you decided to pay everyone's electricity bill. I imagine you are a huge hero -- you and your wife are heroes in your town now. What has the reaction been like from people there?

HAMANN: Well, we've had many, many cards and thank you's. I've gotten hundreds of cards, as well as many, many personal thank you's and, in fact, I've heard from all over the United States, which is sort of...

WHITFIELD: And around the world, I understand, too.

HAMANN: Well, that's right. I guess the story is all over Canada. I've had calls from Canada. And two hours from right now, I'll be on television over in London, England. They're going to be interviewing me in two hours from now.

WHITFIELD: Well, fantastic! Richard Hamann, along with your wife, thank you so much and I'm sure a huge thanks on behalf of the town of Anthon, Iowa for your generosity this holiday season. Have a great holiday and thanks for being with us.

HAMANN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, he spoke to CNN earlier today from Iraq. Little did he know his wife would be joining us later. Up next, I'll talk with her about what it was like seeing her soldier husband for the first time in months on television.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, all of this week we've been happy to arrange some military family reunions, if only on television. Earlier today, our Betty Nguyen spoke to a soldier who misses his loved ones and is glad he's serving in Iraq. Army Specialist Matthew Van Ravenhorst joined us after he had just finished his shift patrolling the area around his base in Balad. We weren't able to connect him with his wife at that point, but he did tell us that he had spent the day thinking about how his family was spending their Christmas in Phoenix, Arizona.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SPC. MATTHEW VAN RAVENHORST, U.S. ARMY: Well, I wish I could be home with them, just hanging out with the family. We've got a bunch of family over at my in-laws' house. And I know they're eating great food that mom prepared and they're opening presents and just watching my daughter with the joy in her face. I wish I was there to see all that.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. I know they are going to be just thrilled to see you today. Any questions that you have? Any thoughts that you want to send out to them on this Christmas?

M. VAN RAVENHORST: Well, I want to say Merry Christmas first, and I want them to know that I'm OK and I'm enjoying my Christmas away and I hope they have a wonderful time alone without me and just enjoy family and I'll be home next Christmas and we'll have fun then.

NGUYEN: Hopefully, you will be home next Christmas. Tell us a little bit about what you have been doing and what you will be doing in the coming days.

M. VAN RAVENHORST: Well, the last few months, we've been doing base security. We patrol the surrounding area and I don't see much of a change in that. We're still doing force protection and that'll be until we leave.

NGUYEN: I think a lot of people at home also want to know how receptive are the Iraqis to what the U.S. forces are doing there in that country?

M. VAN RAVENHORST: Well, just like any other place, you've got people that are receptive and you've got people that are not. Most people tend to be pretty receptive to us. We see people every day. We're on the road every day. So we talk with children. We wave at children and we deal with the parents on a daily basis. So most of them seem to like us and talk with us nicely and there's always the bad apples that we have to arrest and take care of.

NGUYEN: Specialist Matthew Van Ravenhorst in Balad, Iraq, we appreciate you spending some time with us on this Christmas. Merry Christmas to you.

M. VAN RAVENHORST: Merry Christmas to you too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So that was Specialist Matthew Van Ravenhorst on tape from Iraq earlier. Right now, we've got his wife, Tisch Van Ravenhorst joining us from Phoenix and your lovely daughter there, and very talkative too.

Good to see you, Tisch. Well, you're seeing the tape for the first time. How does he look?

TISCH VAN RAVENHORST, WIFE OF SOLDIER IN IRAQ: He looks fantastic!

WHITFIELD: What are some of the thoughts running through your mind as you're looking at this tape?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: Gosh, I don't even know. It's been so long since I've seen him. It's just good to see him alive in moving pictures.

WHITFIELD: Has he been there over a year? That's my understanding.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: He has been in Iraq since the beginning of April. They began their training in Fort Lewis at the end of November.

WHITFIELD: And how often do you get a chance to communicate with him and by what means?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: It really depends on what's going on. Sometimes he's on missions that last a good deal of time and I won't talk to him for over a week. And other times, he's just hanging around the base and we'll be able to chat for -- once a day. Usually, we're able to chat instant message if the Internet is holding up, which is sometimes a little bit iffy. And occasionally, he's able to call on the phone, which is a very rare thing, very special. WHITFIELD: Oh, but that's a nice treat. And so when you do get a chance to talk with him, you know, whether it's on the phone or e- mail, et cetera, how much time do you end up spending on what kind of missions he's undergoing?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: None really on what he's doing. Most of the time, I don't know what he's doing.

WHITFIELD: Does that make you more nervous or more comforted not knowing exactly what he's doing out there?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: Probably more comforted. As much as I do hear on the news, I think I'm happy to not know what he's doing.

WHITFIELD: I've heard a lot of family members sometimes say they try to shut off, you know, the news so that they don't have any kind of inkling of what their loved one might be up against. How do you handle it?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: I pretty much try to avoid it as much as possible, at least any news that I know might be coming from Iraq.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tisch Van Ravenhorst, thanks so much for joining us from Phoenix. I'm glad we were able to give you're an opportunity to see your husband albeit on tape. At least, you saw him moving, as you put it.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: It works for me, it really, really does.

WHITFIELD: Oh, great. Well, have a great holiday.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: I will. You too.

WHITFIELD: I'm glad to see that he's doing well and you are as well too.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, take care.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: I will.

WHITFIELD: Well, coming up next tonight, a story about children, Christmas, teeth and music. See if you can name that tune. But first, here's Mark Shields to tell us what's ahead on "CAPITAL GANG" -- Mark.

MARK SHIELDS, CO-HOST, "THE CAPITAL GANG": "THE CAPITAL GANG" will look at the meal time massacre in Iraq and the Bush agenda for a second term, also our awards for the best and worst of 2004. Humorist Mark Russell joins us later. All that and much more right here next on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: He made a big impact on many of our Christmases, so when we saw a small announcement on the death of the man named Donald Gardner a few months ago, we decided to add him to the list of those who will be greatly missed and remembered especially at Christmas time. His story and his song from CNN's Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald and Doris Gardner were married in 1939. By 1944, they were both music teachers in a small public school in Smithtown, New York. One day that December, Don filled in for Doris in the second grade class. Decades later, he was still telling the story.

DONALD GARDNER, FORMER MUSIC TEACHER: So I went in the classroom and the teacher had given each child the chance to stand up and say what each one wanted for Christmas. Well, they started with expression of well, all I want for Christmas is a dog or a sled or skates, whatever it happened to be.

NISSEN: Don noticed that many of the second graders seemed to lisp their answers. He soon found out why.

DORIS GARDNER, DONALD GARDNER'S WIDOW: He told them a little Christmas joke and they all laughed. Sixteen out of the 22 had no front teeth.

NISSEN: It took Don Gardner about half an hour that night to write the words and music to a song for the school Christmas pageant. It took a few more years for the song to be published. And it was 1948 before release of the first recording by band leader Spike Jones. Don and Doris were astonished that a major recording had been recorded and horrified by how it sounded.

DONALD GARDNER: We both thought it was God awful. I said, "My God, that won't even sell 100 copies."

NISSEN: Almost two million copies were sold in eight weeks. "Two Front Teeth: made that year's Billboard Top 10 List and was soon standard on Christmas albums recorded by artists ranging from the London Symphony to the Muppets.

DORIS GARDNER: And this is Christmas with The Platters. We love that one.

SINGER: All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

DORIS GARNER: And this is Arthur Godfrey.

SINGER: Gee, if I could only have my two front teeth, then I could wish you Merry Christmas.

NISSEN: John Williams and the Boston Pops recorded the song. So did Alvin and The Chipmunks.

CHIPMUNKS: Gosh, oh gee, how happy I'd be if only I could whistle.

NISSEN (on camera): Did Don have a favorite recording?

DORIS GARDNER: I think Nat King Cole. He loved the way he sang that.

NAT KING COLE, MUSICIAN: All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth.

NISSEN (voice-over): Gardner, an accomplished composer of choral anthems and other works, worried of being known only for one 90-second song about missing frontal dental appendages. But after he retired, he had cards made that he handed out to almost everyone he met identifying himself as the song's author and composer.

DICK GARDNER, SON: It helped sustain my dad. It was a wonderful gift that he had and a wonderful gift that he could give others.

NISSEN: This is the Gardner family's first Christmas without Don. He died in September at the age of 91 but his catchy, little Christmas song about a child's wistful wish plays on.

Beth Nissen, CNN, Nader, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that's all we have time for this hour. Coming up next at 7:00 Eastern, "THE CAPITAL GANG." Then at 8:00 Eastern on "CNN PRESENTS," "The Mystery of Jesus," and at 9:00, "LARRY KING." He's 2-feet tall and an inspiration you'll never forget. Don't miss an interview with the incredible Kyle Maynard. And I'll be back at 10 Eastern tonight.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired December 25, 2004 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Here's what's happening now in the news. Falluja residents are trickling back to their war-ravaged town but many reacted with anger after finding damaged homes, unexploded ammunition and no water. A series of checkpoints also made for slow going.
Christmas at Camp David brings three generations of the Bush family together. Among the first family's guests are the president's parents, his sister and brothers and their spouses and children. The White House says Mr. Bush received a rain coat from the first lady and he gave her dessert plates matching her China pattern.

The two-man crew aboard the International Space Station is about to get a holiday delivery in space. An unmanned Russian rocket is bringing badly needed supplies to the crew. They've been forced to ration food because of shortages. Miles O'Brien will have a live update on the arrival scheduled for 6:30 Eastern.

Good evening, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Carol Lin has the evening off. Ahead, stranded in airports for Christmas -- what happened and why some passengers aren't making it home on this holiday. Also, a little warmth goes a long way for families with servicemen and women in Iraq. We'll reunite one family later on this hour. And it's supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. Not much of either is happening in Fort Lewis in Washington. The home of the Striker Brigade is mourning the loss of six of its own. They were killed in a suicide attack on a U.S. military base near Mosul, Iraq earlier this week. CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now from Fort Lewis -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you, Fredricka? Yes, as the families of the dead here at Fort Lewis start to talk to the press and say what's on their mind, one certainly hears a discordant mix of opinion and emotion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): They are six members of the Striker Brigade Combat team stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. All six died in a mess tent in Mosul, Iraq.

VICKIE CASTRO, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: He was everything to me.

MARQUEZ: Vickie and Jorge Castro lost their only son, Jonathan. The 21-year-old was the youngest to die that day. V. CASTRO: He was going to come home. He had so much promise.

PETER JOHNSON, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: Here he is again right after graduation.

MARQUEZ: Peter Johnson lost his only son, 23-year-old Staff Sergeant Robert Johnson. He says of all the places, his son should not have died while sitting in a mess hall.

JOHNSON: And I believe that it could have been avoided.

MARQUEZ: Thirty-one-year-old Captain William Jacobson was a company commander and father of four. His biggest hope was to bring everyone under his command home safely. BILL JACOBSON SR., SON KILLED IN IRAQ: And that was Bill's goal, having served in the Army as a second lieutenant in Vietnam, he knew that the chances of that were slim.

PAM WHITE, BROTHER KILLED IN IRAQ: He was a great dad.

MARQUEZ: Pam White is the sister of 33-year-old Sergeant Darren Van Comen (ph). He was the youngest of 10 kids. The baby of the family who always had had time to make a joke or dole out a hug.

WHITE: I miss him, I really do, but it's OK. It's OK. I know where he's at. He's in heaven with my dad and my sister.

MARQUEZ: Twenty-two-year-old Lionel Ayro was a combat engineer. He was also an avid collector of toy trucks.

CATHERINE AYRO, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: No, it's not no Christmas for us this year.

MARQUEZ: Forty-seven-year-old Staff Sergeant Julian Mellow leaves behind a wife and a son. In a statement, his family said -- "His wife, Norma, felt she could never live up to his expectations, because whenever she did anything for him, he would turn around and do something exceptional for her."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now, the Associated Press also reports that 62 people either from Washington State or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) have died so far in Iraq. For the latest six who died, a memorial service is planned for Wednesday here on base -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Miguel Marquez, thanks so much from Fort Lewis.

A dangerous place far from home but many men and women in uniform found ways to recognize day in Iraq. Some wounded troops marked the day in a military hospital in Baghdad and while recuperating, attended mass.

In Basra, British troops held services and sang hymns. And despite threats of violence, Assyrian held their Christmas mass today in Baghdad. Well, Christmas may seem as distant as home, but for some U.S. Marines in Ramadi the holiday is not forgotten. Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inside the relative safety of this base, if only for half an hour, this corporal can almost imagine being back home and forget about what's really on his mind, a new bride half a world away.

CORPORAL ELMER MIGUEL, U.S. MARINE CORPS: The holidays especially get a little harder.

LAWRENCE: Elmer Miguel got married last January but shipped out to Ramadi seven months later.

MIGUEL: I missed a lot of our firsts everything together this year.

LAWRENCE: Miguel put up a stocking his wife sent from home, but he's spending Christmas with men he considers his family.

MIGUEL: Whether that's just sitting around here in camp or out in a fire fight, they become your brothers.

LAWRENCE: The 2nd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment is serving in one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq this Christmas and they only go into Ramadi's neighborhoods with full body armor riding in armored convoys.

(on camera): There's nothing here that says Christmas, and a lot of Marines would completely forget if it wasn't for their families reminding them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know we try to not to pay a lot of attention to it because its not Christmas out here.

LAWRENCE: Corporal Edwin Hill has a wife back home in Georgia. She's the one who told him about the suicide attack on the mess hall in Mosul. But it's not something the men here dwell on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And our families are definitely worried about it, which, you know, in turn worries us a little bit. And you know we're kind of kept in the dark a lot here, which helps out quite, you know, as far as the gays not being too, too worried.

LAWRENCE: And this Christmas, the Marines may be praying for peace on earth, but they'll settle for a small corner of Iraq.

(on camera): The Marines aren't the only ones hoping for at least a few silent nights. At this Army camp we're living at now, the soldiers come under fire pretty frequently. There's no running water, no toilets, no showers, just a lot of expectations that next Christmas will be better than this one.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Ramadi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, there's no place like home, especially for some U.S. troops given surprise leave from the war front while others are making their way into Iraq. CNN's Sara Dorsey has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Salina Owens (ph) can't wait. She hasn't seen her husband, George, since October when he left for Iraq.

GEORGE OWENS, MISSOURI NATIONAL GUARD: Hey, baby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, sweetie.

DORSEY: It's a Christmas present many of the troops never expected they'd actually receive; two weeks of R&R at home in America with their family.

G. OWENS: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a short notice. I had 45 minutes to pack and get on the plane.

DORSEY (on camera): How would you describe this Christmas now?

G. OWENS: It's perfect. It's perfect.

DORSEY (voice-over): Tears flowed when Tina Cruz (ph) was finally able to hold her son again. It's been six long months. She didn't want to let go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it was a surprise that he was coming home. But it was the best Christmas present I've ever gotten.

DORSEY: Reunion after reunion, Christmas wishes were answered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you too, sweetie.

DORSEY: Sergeant Cruz had a few wishes of his own.

(on camera): What do you want to do while you're home for your two weeks?

SGT. JESSE CRUZ, UNITED STATES ARMY: Enjoy electricity, hot water and sleep in.

DORSEY: It's a bitter sweet day here for every soldier that gets to come home to their family on Christmas, another one has to leave.

Do you have to leave again?

PFC. CHRIS GIFFORD, UNITED STATES ARMY: Yes, real tough, real tough. I'm going to miss them a lot. DORSEY (voice-over): Private First Class Chris Gifford has said his goodbyes. His final Christmas meal comes from the USO Office at the airport.

These troops are heading back to a war zone. Gifford leaves behind his wife and four kids for another six months of duty.

GIFFORD: It's something we've got to do. I mean I just want to get over there and get our job done so we can all come home. That's what I really want.

DORSEY: A final Christmas wish. Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Chaos in the sky or rather on the ground. Comair Forced to cancel all of its weekend flights is now trying to book tens of thousands of passengers on parent company Delta Airlines. The airline grounded its 1,160 flights nationwide today and tomorrow. Comair says the computer system it uses to book flights broke down, forcing the cancellations. The airline is apologizing to its passengers. Some folks have already been stranded in airports for days because of winter storms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON SCRINHERST, COMAIR SPOKESMAN: Everyone who will be traveling that had travel plans between the 25 -- actually going back to the 22 all the way through January 1, we're offering refunds to -- or -- I'm sorry, giving them the ability to rebook without any fees, without any charges associated with that. If you were not able to complete your flights, we're offering you refunds. And for those who have been impacted mid travel, we're handling that on a case by case basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Other holiday air travel nightmares to tell you about, U.S. Airways says so many of its travelers have been separated from their luggage. It's so bad; the airlines have filled entire planes with just bags to get them to their rightful owners. The airline partly blames the flight schedule disruptions caused by the weather and says a number of flight attendants in Philadelphia Airport baggage handlers were out sick. U.S. Airways is apologizing and insisting it's trying to go resolve the problem.

A look now at how some Christians are observing the birth of Jesus this Christmas Day. The Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, celebrated mass at noon in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Celebrations around the world now -- in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II delivered his an annual Christmas message from the steps of Saint Peter's Basilica. He told the crowd, the world is yearning for peace and expressed concern about conflict in Iraq, the Middle East and Africa. The pope also read holiday greetings in 62 languages. Dozens of countries transmitted the speech live on television. Britain's Queen Elizabeth is urging people to get along in her Christmas message. She's calling for tolerance between different cultural and religious groups. The queen also broke tradition and sent a speech -- a special message, rather, to British troops ahead of her annual address. The radio recording especially praised those serving abroad.

And thousands of worshipers flocked to Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. A new thaw in Israeli/Palestinian relations brought many more pilgrims to this year's ceremony than last year. Among those attending services was interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The senior Roman Catholic official in the holy land called on Israelis and Palestinians to end the conflict in the Middle East.

Far away from home but close at heart, up next tonight, military families get a chance to see and speak to their loved ones for Christmas. Their emotional union straight ahead.

Plus, some big-named reunions on the court. Later, the Shaq/Kobe showdown.

And a history lesson in Christmas music. You know the tune but do you know the story behind it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Merry Christmas from 025, from Ramadi, Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, all holiday weekend we've been showing you our on-camera military family reunions, bringing service people in Iraq together with their loved ones back home. Well, this hour, a look at three families reunited across the miles thanks to our CNN cameras.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, mom. Hi, dad. I think I heard my grandpa there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, your grandpa's not -- but he's watching. He's watching and so are your brothers and your Aunt Jennifer and all of them are here with us. They can't be on camera but they're here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got the world...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brad, Trace, Vicky (ph), the whole group.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's good to see you, mom, dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's even better to be seeing you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Did you send a box to the house?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Christmas?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For Christmas?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, can I open it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We figured that -- well, why not spend Christmas together and open up our Christmas present from you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes, I told you to open it -- yes, this morning. Open it up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's what we're doing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that what it is?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, wow, a digital camera. Now we can go and take some pictures and send to you on the Internet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fantastic! Thank you very much!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you! My love!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Love you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As his mother, I'd like to say it's really good to see him, really good to see him. I feel much better now than I did yesterday or the day before. I miss you, son. We'll wait for you to come home. We love you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I miss you too, mom. I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you do. I know you do. I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like to see your husband?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I would love to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a look. There he is, Master Sergeant Jeff Sweezer. Good morning to you and Merry Christmas.

MASTER SGT. JEFF SWEEZER, U.S. ARMY: Good morning. Merry Christmas to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I wish you could see your wife. She's got her hands up to her face. She's praying. She's got tears starting to flow. I'm going to get out of the way here. And have a conversation with your lovely wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, honey.

SWEEZER: Good morning, honey. Hey, Merry Christmas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have Josh...

SWEEZER: Is my little buddy there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Say hi, daddy.

SWEEZER: Tell him I said hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say hi daddy.

SWEEZER: Hey, Josh! Hi, buddy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He can't hear you. I'm...

SWEEZER: How are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm fine, how are you?

SWEEZER: I'm doing fine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you doing OK?

SWEEZER: Yes, I'm doing fine. I'd like to wish everybody there a Merry Christmas, my family, my wife, my two boys, all my friends, the soldiers and families of the Fort Lewis Striker Brigade here, the Bobcat Battalion. I'd like to send my heart and -- our hearts and prayers go out to the many soldiers who were lost that day. And you know it's hard to lose loved ones, especially this time of year, and - or any time of the year, but our hearts and our prayers from the units here, Bobcat Battalion for our Staff Sergeant Mellan (ph) and his wife and family. I lost a good friend that day, a good NCO. But our efforts here will continue and I will return home safely.

And considering I've spent six Christmases away from you and my family, I promise I'll do what I can next year to ensure that I am there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ah, the final Christmas wish. Well, at CNN, we'd like to send a holiday good wishes to everyone serving in Iraq and elsewhere overseas and their loved ones back home.

Well, chances are the toys you gave your kids this morning were not made in America. Up next, tonight, a closer look at a growing trend in the toy trade and how it could impact the U.S. economy. And an Iowa man plays Santa for his hometown. What he did and why he did it later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, I'm Commander Master Gerald Brant (ph) on the USS Harper's Ferry in Northern Arabian Gulf. I'd like to take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of America and all our service men and women. Thank you very much and enjoy your holidays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, if you take a good look at the toys your children found under the Christmas tree this morning, you might notice that few are American made. Some economic experts say there's a down side to all these imported toys, except for those imported from the North Pole, of course. CNN's Gary Nuremberg reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it? Oh, cool!

GARY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nine-year-old Justin Bennett's (ph) holiday haul...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's a new memory card. Oh, Harry Potter. Oh, yes, yes, it's like a pin ball game.

NUREMBERG: ... is a Christmas cash in for China. That pinball game...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was made in China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Made in China.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Made in China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Made in China. Made in the U.S.A. with the case made in China.

NUREMBERG: Christmas 2004 is Buzz Lightyear's away from a time when American kids got toys made in America. More toy imports come from China than any where else. The Census Bureau says more than $600 million in stuffed animals alone between January and July, contributing to a $124 billion trade deficit with China last year, according to the Commerce Department, a deficit expect to do grow to $160 billion this year. We asked Christmas shoppers if they even know where their purchases come from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't really look, you know, to see where something is made.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I have no idea where they were made. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I didn't look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the other day I said, you know what, we should look and see if they're made in the U.S. before we buy them. We didn't look. We didn't even check.

NUREMBERG: With lower wages and overhead, Chinese products usually cost less, a deciding factor for huge retailers like Wal-Mart who drive much of the demand for cheap imports.

ROGER SIMMERMAKER, AUTHOR, "HOW AMERICANS CAN BUY AMERICAN": We have to realize that workers in foreign countries pay no taxes to America.

NUREMBERG: And Roger Simmermaker says that money is needed to support American programs like social security and Medicare. He authored the books, "How Americans Can Buy American."

SIMMERMAKER: Anything else is slitting our own throats and it's going to drive down wages in this country, we're not going to be able to pay for the things that we demand from our government and we're going to become a third world country if we don't.

NUREMBERG: But the Treasury secretary tells "LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER" cheap imports are a good thing.

JOHN W. SNOW, TREASURY SECRETARY: When we can buy things that we want at prices that are attractive to us, consumers are better off. Sure.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: So outsourcing is good. Is that what you're saying?

SNOW: Well, I'm saying trade is good.

NUREMBERG: This Christmas, the trade trend is clear. More Chinese imports under the tree and Justin's parents are only kidding when they say this...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, they're all going back.

NUREMBERG: Gary Nuremberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, we're not sure if they come from China, but we do know that toy trains are delighting the children who visit the holiday exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden in the nation's capitol. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going very slow, I told you! But that was going the fastest. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have one of the greatest train exhibits that you'll ever see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're just this big.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have seven different trains and trolleys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, it's going over the bridge now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When children come into this space, you can hear them screech with delight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going around us, see? Woo! It's going to come through the tunnel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have over 600 feet of tracks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just follow them, seeing them around their tracks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have over 40 different buildings. And you can see them putting together the puzzles of where the train is going to come out next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oops! It passed already. We need to wait until it comes again. It comes back very soon because it's very fast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And just minutes from now, astronauts at the International Space Station are set to get some much needed relief as a Russian resupply ship prepares to dock. And soon, you'll be seeing a live picture of Mission Control as they get ready to see it all happen.

And for the first time since their November brawl, the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons take to the court again. The outcome is straight ahead.

And later, a special family reunion. A military wife will see her husband in Iraq right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, how are you doing everybody at home? My name is Yassim Mohammad (ph) and I'm from New York City, New York and all my family in North Carolina, I just want to say, mommy, I love you. All my sisters and my cousins, I hope to see you soon and yes, everybody have a happy holidays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. A look at our top stories right now in the news -- U.S. troops celebrated Christmas in Iraq today, but many Iraqi Christians stayed away from churches in their own communities fearing attacks by militants. Those who did show up had to pass by armed, plain clothes guards posted outside the buildings.

Mahmoud Abbas kicked off his campaign for Palestinian president with a demand that Israel leave the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Abbas has been serving as interim president since the death of Yasser Arafat. The election is scheduled for January 9.

Ukraine will try again tomorrow to elect a new president. The results of last month's election were thrown out because of massive vote fraud. Ukraine's constitutional court says some new electoral procedures are unconstitutional, but that ruling will not stop the election.

Holiday from hell -- about 30,000 Comair passengers are facing hassles after the Delta subsidiary canceled all of his 1,160 flights for today and tomorrow. The cancellations are being blamed on a computer system break down. U.S. Air passengers also have problems. Hundreds of them have been separated from their luggage.

Well, there's a special delivery about to happen in space. A Russian cargo ship is bringing some anxiously awaited supplies to the International Space Station. Our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, joins us on the phone with some of the details.

Miles, they're a little delayed right now. It was supposed to happen about now. But now it looks like it's going to be 30 minutes from now. Exactly what will transpire?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, what will happen is transpire, we hope, is two and a half tons of food and fuel and air and water, and a few Christmas presents for the two station keepers, Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov, will connect safely with the International Space Station in about 30 minutes time. The Russians were going to allow that docking to occur while the space station traveled over Brazil where it is now. They've decided they want to wait until about 24 minutes from now when it will be over Russian land mass and, thus, be able to have full communication with it. That's giving them a little better indication of what's going on up there, not sort of flying in the dark, if you will.

This is a critical docking for the International Space Station. The crew, as you well know, running short on fuel there. They may be festive there in their Santa hats, but they only have a couple of weeks left of food. And if this particular docking does not go off well, they will ultimately have to abandon ship, come back to earth. The thinking is right now that everything is going on schedule, everything seems to working well. And if all goes well, tomorrow when they open the hatch, they'll a 112 days more of food, more than enough to get them through to the next Russian freighter, which will fly later in the spring -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Miles, is there an answer to this question, how they miscalculated the amount of food and fuel and spare parts, water, oxygen, all of that? O'BRIEN: Well, the thing about -- the thing about the fuel -- food is that they initially thought they would have the astronauts use a bar code system to keep track of everything they ate and they decided that it was just too much trouble for them to go through every time they got out M & M's, they had to swipe the bar code. And so, it became very difficult over time to keep track of things. Astronauts go on a little midnight snack, the cupboards go bare. But the real problem here is the lack of shuttle flights. As long as the shuttle was flying up to the space station, it was very easy to resupply it with plenty of food and fuel and water.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, they are up there for a purpose, some experiments. They were able to conduct some kind of dental exams, some bone scans, et cetera. What are some of the things that they're doing during this mission?

O'BRIEN: Well, it's not a lot of science, quite frankly, Fredricka. This is a situation where there's two of them on board. The goal here is to keep it tended while the shuttle is grounded. Shuttles are expected to resume flight in May or June at which time the construction of the space station will continue in earnest. It will be staffed with three astronauts once again. And the hope is that they'll begin more serious science. In the meantime, the science they do is really on the margins of keeping that space station afloat and also keeping themselves healthy.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, space correspondent Miles O'Brien, thanks so much for joining us on the telephone.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, two high profile showdowns in pro basketball today. Some would say it was out of this world. A rematch between basket brawl contenders on this Christmas Day as well. A showdown between shock and -- Shaq, I should say, not shock. It was a shocker of a Shaq attack, wasn't it?

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN SPORTS: It was definitely that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Overmyer is here to talk a little baseball and...

OVERMYER: Basketball.

WHITFIELD: Basketball. Sorry, I'm all over the place.

OVERMYER: You know what? It might it might be base basketball.

WHITFIELD: Maybe I should just stop right now.

OVERMYER: No, it's quite all right.

WHITFIELD: Anyway, it was a good game. I did catch...

OVERMYER: It was. It was worth the price of admission even if you paid 2,000 bucks to get in. It's the day that both Shaq and Kobe have circled since the big fellow was traded from the Lakers to the Heat. L.A. is the town of stars but eight years of sharing the spotlight on the Lakers, clearly, not enough for Kobe. All the days, the feud has finally come to a head, on Christmas, a time of sharing, joy and goodwill. Let's see if the spirit of the holidays resonated with the players.

Shaq's first game in L.A. since he got the trade. He got a nice ovation. Everybody happy for Shaq. How about Kobe and Shaq? Well, kind of a chilly reception, not very good. Early on, Kobe, the corvette, goes after Shaq, the brick wall. Watch what happens. He gets fouled pretty hard by Shaq.

But the very next possession, Kobe was not afraid, going straight after Shaq once again. This time, somehow gets the shot to fall. And more of Kobe versus Shaq, now first off, these guys -- Kobe's a guard, Shaq is a center, so they're not going to match up too often but still, Kobe...

WHITFIELD: But they did seem to.

OVERMYER: They did. Kobe kept going straight after Shaq. And after Shaq fouled him hard, gave him a nice little wink there along with it, just letting him know who's the boss. Watch Shaq again. Offensively, nice spin move, the throw down, I don't think Kobe wants to be in the middle of that. Third quarter, Kobe was abusing Shandon Anderson (ph) as well. It wasn't all just Kobe versus Shaq. Kobe, is that an incredible move or what? Great jumper. Kobe, a season high, 42 points in this contest. Fourth quarter, Kobe goes after Shaq once again and Shaq fouls him hard. That was Shaq's sixth foul of the game. He had to sit down. This game goes into overtime. In O.T., Heat by two. Kobe gets the inbounds pass, chance to be a hero, off the mark. Miami wins 104-102. Shaq's team wins despite not having Shaq on the team in overtime. Though, Fredricka, that was the -- their 11th straight victory tying a franchise (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Wow! That was an impressive game and quite the turnout too...

OVERMYER: Yes, yes.

WHITFIELD: ...on a Christmas day.

OVERMYER: We saw Snoop Dog there. We saw Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, so everybody was there.

WHITFIELD: They were all there.

OVERMYER: Yes, exactly, but that wasn't the only game that was in town.

WHITFIELD: No, the kind of revisit of the basket brawl or at least the match up but not necessarily the brawl itself, thank goodness.

OVERMYER: Of course, the holiday cheer was spread in Hoosier land as well. Indiana and Detroit met on the court for the first time since that ugly brawl that has left this indelible mark on the NBA, better yet, a judge upheld an arbitrators' ruling to end one of the player's suspension. It just so happened, Jermaine O'Neil's first game back from the Motown mealy is against the Detroit Pistons. Security in place for this one and though -- even though extra security was there, it was really not needed. Jamal Tinsley, who -- O'Neil with the jumper -- Jermaine O'Neil was a bit rusty. He had 22 points. Pistons had a four point lead in the second. Watch this pass from Tinsley to Freddy Jones, the reigning slam dunk champion throwing down big time as the Pistons only had a two-point lead. This game, nobody threw some beer, nobody threw punches after -- in fact, after the game...

WHITFIELD: That's because a lot of the players had been suspended. They weren't there.

OVERMYER: After the game, the only thing that was thrown was the Pistons' Rasheed Wallace actually threw something in the stands, his headband.

WHITFIELD: Come on.

OVERMYER: No, he didn't. He threw his headband into the stands as a souvenir for...

WHITFIELD: OK, all right. That's OK.

OVERMYER: So everybody was cool in this game.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right, good. I'm glad everybody, you know, behaved themselves.

OVERMYER: But the holiday cheer was resonating.

WHITFIELD: OK. Good, Steve. Thanks so much.

OVERMYER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Well, residents of one Iowa town received an early Christmas gift this year. That's when one of their fellow residents paid the entire town's electricity bill. So who is this person and why in the world did he do it? I'll talk with him coming up next.

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We both thought it was God awful. My God, that won't even sell 100 copies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Sound and music, lyrics and success, the story behind one of America's favorite Christmas songs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Jason Eicorn (ph) on the Harper's Ferry from (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Illinois. I just want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all my friends and family back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The town of Anthon, Iowa is having a very special Christmas due to one couple's generosity. Retired farmer, Richard Hamann, and his wife, Donna, paid a month's electricity bill for everyone in the town, about $25,000 in all. Richard Hamann is on the phone with us now from his hometown in Anthon. You're looking at a still picture of him right there.

All right, Mr. Hamann...

RICHARD HAMANN, PAID HOMETOWN'S ELECTRIC BILL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: ...so glad you could join us. Merry Christmas.

HAMANN: Merry Christmas to you.

WHITFIELD: I'm sure you're getting lots of great, special greetings from all the folks in your town. Why did you decide to do this, pay $25,000 in electricity bills for everyone?

HAMANN: Well, I guess you'd have to say that the Lord has been very good to us and the people of this community have been good to us also. And I have a saying that says everything that I have is a gift from God and what I do with it is my gift to God. And therefore, we wanted to help out the people of the town a little bit at Christmas time.

WHITFIELD: And this idea really kind of came by default, didn't it? You had another idea, which was to try and pay for everyone's electric bill but that idea didn't quite pan out. What happened?

HAMANN: Well, last spring we wanted to build a wind turbine on top of a hill that I have here that joins Anthon on the west side, and that would have provided about a third of the electricity that the town of Anthon was needed. But when we got working on the project, we found out that Anthon had a contract with their power supplier, which is Northwest Iowa Power...

WHITFIELD: So a little red tape got in the way.

HAMANN: ...known as NIPCO and at any rate, that didn't allow it and so, got a long story short, that's what happened.

WHITFIELD: So instead you decided to pay everyone's electricity bill. I imagine you are a huge hero -- you and your wife are heroes in your town now. What has the reaction been like from people there?

HAMANN: Well, we've had many, many cards and thank you's. I've gotten hundreds of cards, as well as many, many personal thank you's and, in fact, I've heard from all over the United States, which is sort of...

WHITFIELD: And around the world, I understand, too.

HAMANN: Well, that's right. I guess the story is all over Canada. I've had calls from Canada. And two hours from right now, I'll be on television over in London, England. They're going to be interviewing me in two hours from now.

WHITFIELD: Well, fantastic! Richard Hamann, along with your wife, thank you so much and I'm sure a huge thanks on behalf of the town of Anthon, Iowa for your generosity this holiday season. Have a great holiday and thanks for being with us.

HAMANN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, he spoke to CNN earlier today from Iraq. Little did he know his wife would be joining us later. Up next, I'll talk with her about what it was like seeing her soldier husband for the first time in months on television.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, all of this week we've been happy to arrange some military family reunions, if only on television. Earlier today, our Betty Nguyen spoke to a soldier who misses his loved ones and is glad he's serving in Iraq. Army Specialist Matthew Van Ravenhorst joined us after he had just finished his shift patrolling the area around his base in Balad. We weren't able to connect him with his wife at that point, but he did tell us that he had spent the day thinking about how his family was spending their Christmas in Phoenix, Arizona.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SPC. MATTHEW VAN RAVENHORST, U.S. ARMY: Well, I wish I could be home with them, just hanging out with the family. We've got a bunch of family over at my in-laws' house. And I know they're eating great food that mom prepared and they're opening presents and just watching my daughter with the joy in her face. I wish I was there to see all that.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. I know they are going to be just thrilled to see you today. Any questions that you have? Any thoughts that you want to send out to them on this Christmas?

M. VAN RAVENHORST: Well, I want to say Merry Christmas first, and I want them to know that I'm OK and I'm enjoying my Christmas away and I hope they have a wonderful time alone without me and just enjoy family and I'll be home next Christmas and we'll have fun then.

NGUYEN: Hopefully, you will be home next Christmas. Tell us a little bit about what you have been doing and what you will be doing in the coming days.

M. VAN RAVENHORST: Well, the last few months, we've been doing base security. We patrol the surrounding area and I don't see much of a change in that. We're still doing force protection and that'll be until we leave.

NGUYEN: I think a lot of people at home also want to know how receptive are the Iraqis to what the U.S. forces are doing there in that country?

M. VAN RAVENHORST: Well, just like any other place, you've got people that are receptive and you've got people that are not. Most people tend to be pretty receptive to us. We see people every day. We're on the road every day. So we talk with children. We wave at children and we deal with the parents on a daily basis. So most of them seem to like us and talk with us nicely and there's always the bad apples that we have to arrest and take care of.

NGUYEN: Specialist Matthew Van Ravenhorst in Balad, Iraq, we appreciate you spending some time with us on this Christmas. Merry Christmas to you.

M. VAN RAVENHORST: Merry Christmas to you too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So that was Specialist Matthew Van Ravenhorst on tape from Iraq earlier. Right now, we've got his wife, Tisch Van Ravenhorst joining us from Phoenix and your lovely daughter there, and very talkative too.

Good to see you, Tisch. Well, you're seeing the tape for the first time. How does he look?

TISCH VAN RAVENHORST, WIFE OF SOLDIER IN IRAQ: He looks fantastic!

WHITFIELD: What are some of the thoughts running through your mind as you're looking at this tape?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: Gosh, I don't even know. It's been so long since I've seen him. It's just good to see him alive in moving pictures.

WHITFIELD: Has he been there over a year? That's my understanding.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: He has been in Iraq since the beginning of April. They began their training in Fort Lewis at the end of November.

WHITFIELD: And how often do you get a chance to communicate with him and by what means?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: It really depends on what's going on. Sometimes he's on missions that last a good deal of time and I won't talk to him for over a week. And other times, he's just hanging around the base and we'll be able to chat for -- once a day. Usually, we're able to chat instant message if the Internet is holding up, which is sometimes a little bit iffy. And occasionally, he's able to call on the phone, which is a very rare thing, very special. WHITFIELD: Oh, but that's a nice treat. And so when you do get a chance to talk with him, you know, whether it's on the phone or e- mail, et cetera, how much time do you end up spending on what kind of missions he's undergoing?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: None really on what he's doing. Most of the time, I don't know what he's doing.

WHITFIELD: Does that make you more nervous or more comforted not knowing exactly what he's doing out there?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: Probably more comforted. As much as I do hear on the news, I think I'm happy to not know what he's doing.

WHITFIELD: I've heard a lot of family members sometimes say they try to shut off, you know, the news so that they don't have any kind of inkling of what their loved one might be up against. How do you handle it?

T. VAN RAVENHORST: I pretty much try to avoid it as much as possible, at least any news that I know might be coming from Iraq.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tisch Van Ravenhorst, thanks so much for joining us from Phoenix. I'm glad we were able to give you're an opportunity to see your husband albeit on tape. At least, you saw him moving, as you put it.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: It works for me, it really, really does.

WHITFIELD: Oh, great. Well, have a great holiday.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: I will. You too.

WHITFIELD: I'm glad to see that he's doing well and you are as well too.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, take care.

T. VAN RAVENHORST: I will.

WHITFIELD: Well, coming up next tonight, a story about children, Christmas, teeth and music. See if you can name that tune. But first, here's Mark Shields to tell us what's ahead on "CAPITAL GANG" -- Mark.

MARK SHIELDS, CO-HOST, "THE CAPITAL GANG": "THE CAPITAL GANG" will look at the meal time massacre in Iraq and the Bush agenda for a second term, also our awards for the best and worst of 2004. Humorist Mark Russell joins us later. All that and much more right here next on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: He made a big impact on many of our Christmases, so when we saw a small announcement on the death of the man named Donald Gardner a few months ago, we decided to add him to the list of those who will be greatly missed and remembered especially at Christmas time. His story and his song from CNN's Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald and Doris Gardner were married in 1939. By 1944, they were both music teachers in a small public school in Smithtown, New York. One day that December, Don filled in for Doris in the second grade class. Decades later, he was still telling the story.

DONALD GARDNER, FORMER MUSIC TEACHER: So I went in the classroom and the teacher had given each child the chance to stand up and say what each one wanted for Christmas. Well, they started with expression of well, all I want for Christmas is a dog or a sled or skates, whatever it happened to be.

NISSEN: Don noticed that many of the second graders seemed to lisp their answers. He soon found out why.

DORIS GARDNER, DONALD GARDNER'S WIDOW: He told them a little Christmas joke and they all laughed. Sixteen out of the 22 had no front teeth.

NISSEN: It took Don Gardner about half an hour that night to write the words and music to a song for the school Christmas pageant. It took a few more years for the song to be published. And it was 1948 before release of the first recording by band leader Spike Jones. Don and Doris were astonished that a major recording had been recorded and horrified by how it sounded.

DONALD GARDNER: We both thought it was God awful. I said, "My God, that won't even sell 100 copies."

NISSEN: Almost two million copies were sold in eight weeks. "Two Front Teeth: made that year's Billboard Top 10 List and was soon standard on Christmas albums recorded by artists ranging from the London Symphony to the Muppets.

DORIS GARDNER: And this is Christmas with The Platters. We love that one.

SINGER: All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

DORIS GARNER: And this is Arthur Godfrey.

SINGER: Gee, if I could only have my two front teeth, then I could wish you Merry Christmas.

NISSEN: John Williams and the Boston Pops recorded the song. So did Alvin and The Chipmunks.

CHIPMUNKS: Gosh, oh gee, how happy I'd be if only I could whistle.

NISSEN (on camera): Did Don have a favorite recording?

DORIS GARDNER: I think Nat King Cole. He loved the way he sang that.

NAT KING COLE, MUSICIAN: All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth.

NISSEN (voice-over): Gardner, an accomplished composer of choral anthems and other works, worried of being known only for one 90-second song about missing frontal dental appendages. But after he retired, he had cards made that he handed out to almost everyone he met identifying himself as the song's author and composer.

DICK GARDNER, SON: It helped sustain my dad. It was a wonderful gift that he had and a wonderful gift that he could give others.

NISSEN: This is the Gardner family's first Christmas without Don. He died in September at the age of 91 but his catchy, little Christmas song about a child's wistful wish plays on.

Beth Nissen, CNN, Nader, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that's all we have time for this hour. Coming up next at 7:00 Eastern, "THE CAPITAL GANG." Then at 8:00 Eastern on "CNN PRESENTS," "The Mystery of Jesus," and at 9:00, "LARRY KING." He's 2-feet tall and an inspiration you'll never forget. Don't miss an interview with the incredible Kyle Maynard. And I'll be back at 10 Eastern tonight.

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