Christmas sorrow for family of fallen Marine

While many celebrate Christmas Day with their families and friends, others are without their loved ones who are involved in military operations around the world. In the South of Thailand, the conflicts, which have already claimed thousands of lives, continue and the stark reality of the ongoing conflict was evident at the Utapao Military Airport on Friday Morning when the body of Sergeant Major Pitak aged 28, who was attached to the Marine Corps, was flown into the base from Naratiwat Province where he was gunned down by insurgents on 23^rdDecember. Members of his grieving family along with Vice Admiral Suwit, Commander of the Marine Corps, received his body at the Airport which was then transported to a Temple in Jantabouri Province.