Long-time employee of Gulliver’s Donna Bowman displays stockings that will be filled for the soliders and places one in the box.

Perhaps more than any other holiday, Christmas is seen as a time to gather together with family and friends. But as long as war rages in the Middle East, many members of the military will find themselves celebrating the season thousands of miles from home.

For Linda Lewis, it’s important that these soldiers aren’t forgotten over the holiday season. Now through December 3, she and the staff of Gulliver’s Crossflite Restaurant will be collecting items and monetary donations to help fill stockings to be sent to troops stationed overseas.

It won’t be the first time Lewis has embarked on such a project. “We had previously adopted the 151st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, where one customer had a son, and the 80th U.S. Army Reserve out of Bellwood,” she says. Now, the staff has adopted the HHC ECD(H) engineering combat division stationed at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, through AdoptaPlatoon.com.

Twenty stockings will be filled for the 19 men and one woman of the division. Suggested items, Lewis says, include candy, socks, hot chocolate, cider packs, handheld games, word puzzles with a holiday pen, travel-size toiletries, snacks, hats, batteries, disposable cameras, playing cards, and Christmas cards signed by local residents. “Really, though, any type of goodie is welcome!” she says. (It is important to note, however, that the USPS forbids the mailing of pork products, alcohol, pornographic materials, liquid sanitizer, and aerosol cans.)

“It’s been really successful in the past,” says Lewis. “People really go all out to help the troops. We’ve had people asking about donating because we’ve had signs up in the windows, but we just got the box put in the restaurant [last] Tuesday.” During past efforts, Lewis estimates the Crossflite staff sent out a box per month.

Though she has no family members overseas, the cause is one close to Lewis’ heart. “I’m a Navy widow, so I’ve always tried to support the military,” she says. “My husband, who was 100 percent disabled, passed away 10 years ago. A lot of our customers have served in the military, and some have been to Iraq. We have a lot of Vietnam veterans, too.”

When her first husband returned from Vietnam, Lewis witnessed the negative public reaction firsthand, and it’s an experience she hopes to avoid with Iraq War veterans. “We don’t ever want to see soldiers treated like that again. We need to support them, regardless of whether or not you believe in the mission,” Lewis says. “We need to let our soldiers know that they’re not forgotten. We need to show appreciation for them because they’re fighting for the freedoms that we have here.”

Gulliver’s is currently accepting donations of items, filled stockings, and money, now through December 3. All donations can be dropped off at the box inside Gulliver’s Crossflite Restaurant, 11931 Centre St. For more information, call Linda Lewis at 796-3259.

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