Home for the Holidays
Marine Corporal Robert Cuestas returns from Iraq to celebrate Christmas with grandmother
By BURLON PARSONS bparsons@journal-spectator.com

Staff Photo by Burlon Parsons Returning from a tour in Iraq, U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Robert Cuestas gets a big Christmas hug from his grandmother Rachel Haggard.

Every day her grandson, Robert Cuestas, was in Iraq, Wharton resident Rachel Haggard lifted him up in prayer three or four times a day. He was part of her church's prayers at every meeting.

Robert, a U.S. Marine, and his siblings are very special grandchildren for Haggard. She had helped rear them when they were small. They became part of her life.

The young Marine returned to the U.S. Nov. 11 and finally made it home to East Bernard Saturday.

She expected to see him in a day or two afterwards after visiting with his parents Robert and Beatrice Sr. in East Bernard.

"He called me Saturday evening and I asked him where he was," Haggard said.

"I went into the bedroom to talk to him on the phone. He told me to hang on for a minute.

"The next thing I knew he was at my bedroom door talking to me on his cell phone."

Haggard said she got the best Christmas ever having him home after a year.

And Cuestas was enjoying sampling the Christmas tamales his grandmother was busy making Wednesday.

Cuestas became Cpl. Cuestas on Dec. 1 after his return to Camp Pendleton. He is going to enjoy his leave here until he has to return on Jan. 15.

The corporal is a 2004 East Bernard graduate who entered the U.S. Marine Corps right after graduation. He just turned 21 this year. Cuestas was a volunteer for the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) which left last May for Iraq.

The group was transported by ship to Iraq on a voyage that lasted a month. He is part of a Low Altitude Aircraft Defense team.

The mobile defense team uses Humvees to get to locations where they set up defensive positions.

Their anti-aircraft ordinance includes Stinger missiles and .50-cal. machine guns. Cpl. Cuestas likes the big machine gun.

"It will really tear things up," he said. He says that the equipment used by American troops is the best in the world.His team's main objective in Iraq was personal security for the Marine division's colonel.

One of his reasons for volunteering for the MEU was to get to travel. Going and coming he has visited ports in Africa, Guam, Singapore, Hawaii, Australia and the Middle East.

While Cpl. Cuestas came on home for leave, his unit stopped off in Africa and is doing humanitarian work there. He pointed out that there is a lot of humanitarian work going on in Iraq, too.

"There are units rebuilding towns and cities, hospitals and schools," he said. "There are times when there is calm and times of chaos."

He said terrorists are forced out of an area and things calm down. Then when allied troops withdraw the terrorists return to stir up trouble again. Cuestas says he's going to enjoy his time at home before thinking about returning to Iraq. He says his unit is scheduled to head back in August. But for right now he's going to enjoy family. His grandmother is certainly happy to have him home.