Homecoming: Plano soldier returns from Iraq to Christmas celebration

PLANO -- Trees and houses were decked out with decorative lights and Christmas carols filled the air Sunday night on Ishnala Trail.

No, residents were not confused about what month it was. They were celebrating the homecoming of one of their own, Army Spc. Cameron Kistler.

A 21-year-old Plano Senior High graduate, Kistler recently completed an 11-month tour in Iraq, with most of that time spent in the southern city of Basra. The Christmas-themed block party caught Kistler by surprise.

"It is amazing and surreal," Cameron said. "When we first drove up I was shocked. It is great. I wouldn't be able to do what I did without the support of my friends and family. This lets me know that while I was over there, I had all of these people supporting me."

When Cameron's family opened presents on Monday morning, the Christmas celebration would be different from the one Cameron and his fellow soldiers held last December. With Cameron's unit deployed thousands of miles away from friends and family, they made the best of a less-than-perfect situation.

"While we were in Basra, there was a group called Trees for Troops," Cameron said. "My girlfriend sent a live 2-foot tall Christmas tree to Iraq. We decorated the tree, and people from back home sent presents that we put under the tree. On Christmas Day, we had our own little Christmas celebration."

The Christmas block party was the brainchild of Kistler family friend Nicole Lightner.

"When we got word that Cameron would be coming home in June, I went to Nanci [Cameron's mother] and said, 'I know how you are with your family and how much you missed Cameron at Christmas,'" Lightner said. "I told her we should celebrate Christmas in June when Cameron got home. She started crying, and I knew I had hit the nail on the head."

Nicole enlisted the help of Tory Smith from DFWLights.com to made Ishnala Trail appear as festive as possible.

"As a show of support, we wanted to do a Christmas theme in the neighborhood," Tory said. "We got a bunch of people to donate Christmas lights, and we donated the labor. Everybody came together, and we had an outpouring of support. We tried to make this a Christmas to remember, even if it was in June."

Tory said he hopes when people see Christmas lights in the summer, they think of soldiers overseas. He wants Christmas lights to gain the same notoriety that yellow ribbons do. He said Christmas lights can be a new form of symbolism to remember those who are laying down their lives for their country, and Cameron's party is the first-step toward that cause.

While in Iraq, Cameron served with the 325th Military Intelligence Battalion, working to keep his fellow soldiers safe.

"I am in a battlefield surveillance brigade that specializes in force protection for the bases," Cameron said. "We find out when and where attacks are going to happen and try to limit them, whether they are on the road or on the base."

During his stint in Iraq, Cameron's father, John, said his son only complained once. The complaint didn't come when Cameron's unit was shelled by enemy mortar attacks for eight days in January -- it came when the air conditioner malfunctioned.

"That was the only time he complained," John said. "the only time he said he didn't know if he would make it, because the heat was so bad."

Having Cameron home is a relief for his mother. She said she got through his deployment with prayer and the loving support of her family and friends.

"We just want Cameron to relax and enjoy his family and friends," Nanci said. "It is a relief to have him home. You pray a lot and put it in the back of your mind. Then all of the sudden he walks through that front door uninjured."

Cameron's enlistment in the Army was not a surprise, since the Kistlers are a military family. Nanci's father was a general in the National Guard, and Cameron's paternal grandfather was a general in the U.S. Army. Nanci and John were both combat medics, and Cameron's older sister Christine is a 2010 graduate of the Air Force Academy. The Kistler children serving their country after they left high school was a logical next step.

"Christine had a full ride to TCU, but when she heard from the Air Force Academy, she said she was going there," Nanci said. "We said, 'Why, there is a war going on?' She told us she had an obligation to carry on the family tradition -- something we had never thought of. She really wanted to carry on the tradition, and so does Cameron. You can't be anything but proud of them."

While Cameron proudly served his country as part of the U.S. Army, he doesn't plan on making the Army his career. Cameron plans on following his older sister's footsteps and attending the Air Force Academy.

"Attending the Air Force Academy has been my dream and goal for the past six years," Cameron said. "The reason I joined the Army was so I could build my resume in order to get into the academy. My dream is to fly fighter jets, and I finally am going to get a chance to make that happen."

The switch didn't come without some good-natured ribbing from his fellow soldiers in the 325th.

"A lot of my friends in the Army have said that I am only joining the Air Force because I don't want to work for a living," Cameron said. "There is definitely a friendly rivalry. I made some great friends in the Army. My team leader and team members know my situation and what I have been working for the last couple of years. They are happy for me, and we are going to stay close."

Cameron's first step in his quest to become a fighter pilot will be attending the Air Force Academy Prep School for 10 months. After completing his studies there, Cameron will begin a four-year stint at the academy. Cameron said his sister's experience at the academy, as well as several other friends who are currently enrolled there, lets him know what he is getting into.

Cameron's mother said his time in Iraq made him a better person and allowed him to positively influence people.

"God has a plan, and I think his experience in Iraq helped him," Nanci said. "He made a difference in a lot of people's lives. Maybe you don't go over with the intention of fighting but rather to make a difference in people's lives. He does that naturally. I am sure he touched many lives over there. He is someone who doesn't break his promises and doesn't hold grudges. He is always positive, and I think this just shows that."

Whether Cameron ends up being a fighter pilot or not, he has already made his friends and family in Plano proud. The more than 50 people who showed up to welcome him home from the Middle East proved the love this community has for its soldiers.

"Life is about loving people to the best of your ability," said family friend Tricia Gura. "That is what we are doing here."

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