Hello and thanks, from commander in chief

President Bush on Monday called 10 members of the U.S. military stationed in Iraq and elsewhere around the world to thank them for serving their country and spending the holidays away from their families.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the president told them that their country was proud of them.

“He said he couldn’t thank them enough for their contribution to their country, hopes they are in high spirits, and that they are serving a cause that is very noble,” Perino said.

“He said, ‘I know that you miss your family.’ ”

The telephone calls went to three soldiers, two Marines, two sailors, two members of the Air Force and one Coast Guard petty officer. Seven are serving in Iraq, one in Afghanistan and two on the high seas -- one in the Persian Gulf and one in the Bering Sea.

The president “asked them to pass on to their colleagues his appreciation and his wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy new year,” Perino said.

One of the calls was to Marine Cpl. Orlando P. Anaya, who is stationed at Al Asad air base in Iraq. His father, Ray, said the phone call was an honor for his son and for the family.

“I wasn’t too surprised because I know he deserves it -- everyone over there deserves it. But I was honored,” Ray Anaya said from his home in Roswell, N.M.

Bush also exchanged holiday greetings with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and spoke with Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, about recent Turkish attacks on Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq. U.S. officials have acknowledged providing intelligence to Turkey to assist the operations.

“The president and the prime minister . . . discussed their common efforts to fight terrorism, and the importance of the United States, Turkey and Iraq working together to confront” the separatists, said National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

Bush and his wife, Laura, are spending Christmas at Camp David, the presidential retreat in the western Maryland mountains. They are being joined by their daughters, Jenna and Barbara; Laura Bush’s mother, Jenna Welch; the president’s brother Marvin and sister Doro Bush Koch; and their families.

The menu for Christmas Day lunch includes roast turkey, corn bread stuffing and sweet potato pie, with pecan pie, pumpkin pie and red velvet cake for dessert.

On Wednesday, the president and his wife head to Crawford, Texas, where they will spend the rest of the holiday break and ring in the new year before returning to Washington on Jan. 1.

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maura.reynolds@latimes.com