Sgt. Joseph Bussanich. FOB Delhi, Afghanistan. December 2011.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Joseph Bussanich, 23, the assistant data chief for 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and native of Tuscumbia, Ala., sends an email while maintaining the battalion’s communication networks here on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. This Christmas morning, much like every morning of their seven-month deployment, the Marines and sailors of “America’s Battalion” donned their uniforms, tied their boots and began another workday. They celebrated Christmas with each other throughout the day and briefly shared it with friends and family by phone and internet. Another day complete, far away from their loved ones, they rested for the next day’s work, one day closer to returning home.