During Day 3 of Tribute to the Troops, Michael Cole had the opportunity to talk to many servicemen about their time in Iraq and the WWE's visit.

Here are some of their thoughts in their own words:

Staff Sgt. Stephen Sandoval, US Army
Colorado Springs, Co.
I have been in Iraq for 12 months on this, my third tour of this country. I am a mechanic and a scout. I am in charge of vehicle maintenance. I am really excited to be a part of the Tribute to the Troops show, and even more excited to be a part of the set-up of the arena.

I am just glad to have the opportunity to come out here and show my support for WWE and the Superstars who have given up their time to come here. It is so important the soldiers are entertained, and I just want to thank WWE for doing this.

It’s a bit different then I expected, the stage, the ring, the ringside area is much different than I imagined. I am learning a ton.

I have a wife and four kids at home. My wife is the true hero; she is a strong woman dealing with everything at home while I am over here. I am just asking her to hang on a little bit longer, I will be home soon.

Seaman Gavin Riley, US Navy
Rockaway Queens, N.Y.
I am one of the few from the Navy here, and I believe the only Navy man helping with the set-up of the WWE arena for the Tribute to the Troops show. Volunteering to help the show gives me a chance to work with my hands out here. My main job is personnel; I just provide support for those on the front line. The Navy is here to make their jobs easier, taking care of paperwork and the like.

I am a huge part of your WWE Universe! This is so much different than I was expecting. This is so much more than I expected. At the end of the day when my family records this show and we watch it when I get home I can tell them “Hey I built that ring, hey I built that stage!” It’s wonderful. 

I have a wife, my parents and two brothers supporting me back home.  This is my first deployment and it’s been so tough being away from home. My wife and I are coming up on our one-year wedding anniversary, yet we were together only about a month before I shipped out. It is incredibly tough, but she is incredibly supportive. I get to go home just after the first of the year so I am excited.

I just want to tell my wife I love you! I want to tell the rest of my family I love you and I miss you. And I want to thank everyone at WWE who are here and at home, thanks! This is incredible.

Sgt. Michael Stanke, US Army
Wisconsin. (Stationed in Fort Hood, Texas)
This is my second deployment in Iraq. Over past few years I have spent 27 months in Iraq and only 19 months in the states. I have been on this tour for a little more than a year now, and still have about four months left. My daily job is I am in charge of all personnel in my unit, more than 400 people. I handle everything from pay to redeployment issues. 

I volunteered for this WWE detail because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I watch WWE all the time here in Iraq! I love it; I have been a WWE fan for my whole life! The ring set-up was the most interesting thing I have done. We got a behind-the-scenes view of how everything is set-up and built from the ground up. It has been so cool being so interactive with the workers, the camera crew, the directors, everyone.

I respect WWE and all it does to support us out here. They do an incredible job and I wanted to help WWE as a way of saying thanks! 

John Cena is my favorite WWE Superstar. He seems to embody everything the Armed Forces are about. He respects all his fans and respects the troops. He wears his dog tags out to every show and he always does the salute, and is one of the only people I have seen who actually does the salute correctly. His whole mentality, toughness, work ethic, the whole package! I also respect the fact he played college football.

I want to tell my mom and dad and my family that I miss them and I wish I could be home for Christmas. It’s been a long time since I could spend the holidays in the states. 

I want to send a special shout-out to my friend James Richardson from Texas, a prior serviceman. He was injured over here on his last tour! Just wanted to say we are thinking about you.

Spc. Richard Litz, US Army
Virginia
On a daily basis I resupply more than 800 soldiers with food, water, MREs, and stuff of that nature. I have been in Iraq for a bit over a year and I hope to head home in February.
 
I volunteered to help WWE during its tour here because I have been a lifelong fan! But this is so much more than I expected. I figured I would just be out here escorting people around, I didn’t realize I would be actually setting up this whole arena! This is an experience of a lifetime and now I get to go home and tell my family and friends “Hey guess what I got to do!”

I can’t believe I am actually here doing this! Every time WWE has come here I have missed them, but this time I get to be a part of it and will be right there in the front row!

I thought the actual wrestling ring was going to be more bouncy, with springs everywhere, almost like a trampoline.  But once I actually got in there I was amazed it was nothing like I thought.

I can’t wait to see Mickie James because she is a Virginia girl and Jeff Hardy. I have been watching Jeff for years and I can’t wait to watch them in action. I also want to thank John Cena for all he has done for the troops. 

I want to tell my sweetie and my son, I love you and wish I could be with you for Christmas. Also, Austin, I wish you were here to see all this!

Editor's Note: The preceeding was relayed from e-mail message reports from the WWE's Tribute to the Troops mission. Names of the bases visited have been omitted at the request of the U.S. Army, so as not to divulge WWE's location in Iraq.

For complete coverage of Tribute to the Troops, visit the Tribute section on WWE.com. Also, Leave your holiday messages for the troops in the Forums on WWE Universe.