AL TAQADDUM, Iraq — A rosary hangs from the protective vest of a Marine in Iraq. Many deployed servicemembers carry a memento or keepsake with them as a reminder of home or a source of strength.

Photo by: Sgt. Wayne Edmiston

Chief Master Sgt. Paula K. Johnson gives Army veteran Charles Beck a Christmas gift Dec. 19 during her visit to the North Dakota Veterans Nursing Home in Lisbon, N.D. Gifts are given to veterans at the nursing home each year by Airmen from the North Dakota National Guard. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp)

BAGHDAD – An altar boy eagerly rings a bell to celebrate Christmas at the conclusion of mass held at the St. John’s Chaldean Church in Doura. After receiving the sacrament, the congregation’s children were treated to a visit by Santa Claus. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Kirk Luedeke, 4IBCT, 1ID)

Soldiers from the Regiment Inter-Army Obock perform a celebratory dance after graduating from over six weeks of combat skills training in Obock, Djibouti, Dec. 21. The soldiers were trained by Soldiers from Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry (Light) of the Guam National Guard who are stationed at Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

Photographer: Petty Officer 2nd Class Regina L. Brown, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa

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NBC 12

NASSAU COUNTY, FL — Some soldiers in Iraq will soon be able to go bowling thanks to the generosity of a Nassau County man. It all started when the owner of a Yulee bowling alley received an email from a soldier in Iraq.

Doyle Claxton owns United Bowling Center in Yulee. “We were approached a couple months ago by email by a soldier in Iraq and he asked us how he could get some bowling lanes.”

Not only is Claxton sending two lanes to Iraq from his warehouse, he’s doing it for free.

“When I heard they were going to put plywood on the sand to bowl, it broke my heart.”

The military will help ship the lanes to Iraq. They won’t be the same electronic lanes you see in a bowling alley. Everything will be manual so the troops won’t have to worry about anything breaking down.

Matt Claxton of United Bowling Center says, “Just donating bowling equipment, it’s our way of doing a small part of what we can do to support the troops.”

For the soldiers, it will certainly be a lot better than bowling on plywood in the desert.

The soldiers in Iraq can expect to receive the new bowling lanes within the next two months.