What is your most memorable Christmas while deployed?

1974 USS Independence CV62, walking the line to get food and looked up to see the skipper of the ship serving. I looked at him and said thank you skipper and Merry Christmas.

How the hell did you get to see Bob Hope? I was there in 69 and he never came close to anywhere I was. I don't remember christmas as it was just another workday.
And houches? We only had GP mediums. I thought you Marines roughed it!
Oh Well!!!!

It was Christmas Eve1964 at Pleiku, Vietnam. I was a corporal with the 560th Military Police detachment. Bob Hope landed at Camp Holloway, 52nd Aviation unit. It was an unplanned stop, but due to weather, which forced half of the show to fly somewhere else. It was try and organize some sort of security fast. I was patrolling with my Thompson .45 sub machine gun at the rear of the spectators. I had 5 or 6 MPs at various locations. The perimeter fence consisted of two stands of wire. Vegetation grew up to the edge. There were probably 200 or so GIs in the audience. Hope naturally quipped about where was Pleiku? Everything went off all right, they did an abbreviated show with all the performers, but most of the production crew and musicians had been on the other plane. Pleiku was attacked on 7 February 1965. Both the II Corps Advisory compound where we were billeted and Camp Holloway were attacked. That was really the start.

I had to make a run by truck to Long Binh 1970 Christmas and inside the base was a Christmas Tree made from sand bags with lights that I took a picture of. I thought it was the greatest thing that I saw that day.

Arrived in country for Desert Shield Christmas Eve 1991.

Christmas 2009. Got a half day off and spent the morning with my daughter who was deployed with us as the BN intel analyst,

Having Bob Hope visit our Base during the holidays in l962.

Christmas 1969 at NSA DaNang. Christmas Eve at Deep Water Piers, our division Bos'n dropped off a pallet of Colt 45. Needless to say we all got hammered. I remember waking up on Christmas morning majorly hung over and home sick (I was 28 days away from going home). We were all pretty sick that day. Worst Christmas ever.

I was on guard in our squads night logger at midnight on Christmas eve 1970. Everyone was sleeping and I had the PRC225 radio. There was usually nothing to hear on night watch but we had to be able to be contacted, just in case. About 5 minutes till midnight soft Christmas music started streaming from the headset. As I listened I felt a wonderful warmth fill my heart. I thought about the radioman on the other end of the line and how he though about putting some Christmas songs out to us that did not get out of the bush to see Bob Hope.
SP4 Jack Walker US Army Ret.

Christmas 1971, Phan Rang AB, Vietnam. I was with OSI,responsible for gathering intelligence about possible attacks of the enemy, strange sightings, etc. We were not amused with military TV, set on auto-control Christmas Eve, showing soap-opera TV shorts that were 10-15 years old. Horseplay ensued to better occupy our time. I concocted a phony "Enemy sighting" I sent to the Base Commander, to the effect of, "A sighting was made of a strange man dressed in red and white, out of shape physically, and singing to himself as he drove a sleigh across the rice paddies drawn by several caribou. The intelligence community suggests we respond with a helicopter gun-ship prepared to meet the enemy, probably disguised as a jolly old man so as to catch us off guard in these holiday hours. Our Air Base is manned with 200 Air Force personnel without aircraft, as our planes were prematurely sent to Cam Ranh Air Base. 200 other personnel are at Long Binh Army Post for the Bob Hope show. To be blunt, we need Army or Marine support ASAP. Our only weapons carrier has a flat tire. " It was lucky for me that the Base Commander had a good sense of humor and ignored this important message!

10 hour and 20-minute combat flight on Christmas day. Enjoyed an in-flight roast beef on crumbly bread and a small chocolate milk. Same as I had on Thanksgiving and New Year day. It helped tp be doing something on those special days away from my family.

SP 5 Bruce Waltz
Christmas in Viet Nam. The Bob Hope Special was great, Enjoy the entire show surrounded by men and woman serving our country. However, after the show went back to my hooch and into immediate depression... All alone. Crasher on my bunk....laid there for about an hour, when someone knock on my door, it was the mailman on Christmas Day. I was so surprised, I told the specialist I didn't expect anyone to be working, he said to me, that this was his greatest joy, delivering packages to his fellow GIs... He handed my a large box, as I opened the box I found fresh apples, oranges, tons of candy and cookies. All sorts of salami too and a letter from my family. Seconds after I opened the box my hooch started filling up with guys from my unit... I shared all the goodies with everyone. It was great, giving/sharing simple things (apples, oranges & candy) to those homesick men, seeing them enjoy a few moments of the world back home. We all had a wonderful time and a great blessing sharing food and stories of home. We all knew we had each others backs.
God I love my country and those fighting for her.

My Christmas in the ‘Gulf

The day before Thanksgiving onboard USNS SHUGHART - a Military Sealift Command Ship off the coast of Dubai - we learned “All liberty was canceled” during morning Quarters. Threat Condition Bravo had started. Effective immediately, there would be no going ashore for the planned Thanksgiving Party. We heard the ship engines change sound, & soon found we were headed out to sea.

Thirteen of us were US Navy, the rest of the crew – Civilians or as we called them “Civ-Mars” meaning Merchant Marine Sailors. We lived on a ship the size of an aircraft carrier, loaded with military equipment.

Christmas was approaching soon & since hostilities began, there was no personal mail. Everything was reserved for operational necessities. Although spaces were decorated, it would be a rather somber Christmas.

As the Admin – Postal – Supply - Chief, the role of Morale, Welfare & Recreation fell to me. I thought about the rather Spartan Christmas we would be experiencing. Since I had to go ashore & the opportunity presented itself to do a little shopping. I loaded up on candy, nuts, little goodies and trinkets & stuffed them into my bag along with other supplies.

Back onboard, I scrounged for colored paper, tape & glue. One of the CivMar’s wandered into my lair & was commandeered into Elfdom, gluing Christmas Cutouts from wrapping paper onto the construction paper. By zero dark thirty on Christmas Eve, all fifty four bodies onboard had personalized, gaily wrapped cornucopias hanging from their doorknobs along the passageways.

Finally, a poem was taped to the bulkhead across from the Galley & job finished, tired but satisfied; we stumbled off to our respective bunks to sleep.

The next day was great. Grown men gathered in the galley with their goodies happy as little boys with Christmas Stockings! The spirit of Christmas could not be denied. Operation Desert Fox notwithstanding.

Its Christmas! but the show must go on.
Doctors, nurses, fireman, Police, Power plant workers, Truck drivers, essential workers and all of the workers that keep Christmas shining and wonderful though their efforts, I thank you. Being in a base camp 20 miles north of Saigon in 1968 Christmas eve Christmas day does not stop the advance of threat or harm to a Combat unit. In the fields of combat where life a death is a toss-up depending on the circumstances of the moment, a combat company would deploy for the night, ambush squads of mostly 10 men to protect the main companies night time position. Most of the time they were called Tiger Alfa Teams in my unit C co 3/7 199th Light infantry Brigade. The teams would assemble just before dust and move out to their coordinated positions for the night. This was a daunting task for any night but Christmas eve and Christmas night and being 20 years old and an Army Staff Sergeant in charge of 3rd platoon with the choices of who goes out on ambush and who stays in on Christmas eve and Christmas night Is the one tough decision we know sergeants in similar positions need to make. Here is the most inspiring and courageous part. When I assembled the platoon and spoke. I said “Listen up! we have command orders for one squad for tiger alfa duty for Christmas eve and Christmas night”. I figured I start by asking for volunteers then look at my rotation list to see who was next for tiger alfa duty. I said. “Listen up my beauties, do we have any volunteers for tonight’s and tomorrow night’s Tiger Alfa’s”? Incredibly, the hole Platoon raised their hands. Now we know sergeants never twitch but there was a tear in my eye. No worries no one saw it. I went to my rotation list which always included me and off we went to do our jobs for Christmas eve and Christmas night.
Veterans Listening Post. Vlpost.com
Coach Chris Uzzi.

Christmas 1980, Nurenburg, FRG. Christmas in Germany was extra special as we had the worlds best and largest Kriskringel Markt in the Nurenburg town center. Truly awesome at night with all the Christmas lights, stalls set up with handmade toys, fresh bakery items and especially the smell of spiced wine simmering in large vats. Tasted great too. It just felt so traditional and not commercialized like back in the world! I miss Germany, and I miss being in the Army that allowed me that chance to be stationed in Western Europe!

My most memorable Christmas deployed? Waking up my first morning in Vietnam, and seeing the Replacement Detachment in daylight for the first time. Moved on to Can Tho on the 26th. Christmas 1969.

Spent Christmas of 67 in Nam but was on R&R in Bangkok for Christmas of 68.
Don't remember how I pulled that off but enjoyed the crap out of it for sure.
L/Cpl Robert J. Burke

I was driving up from Navstar to Cedar II and it had been raining all day. I saw a Bulgarian convoy who only had second hand body armor hanging over their trucks as protection from IEDs. We RPed at C II and the parking lot was a sea of mud. When I jumped down, i sank up to my hip, we slogged inside to the DFAC and they had Christmas dinner ready, it was dry and warm and it wouldn't have mattered if the food sucked,[it didnt] this was December 2005..

Spent one Christmas with the Air Attaché to Guatemala. Flew C130 in to Guat City on 22 Dec. Blew a prop seal. Weather crumped. Relief aircraft with new prop and maintenance people couldn’t get in until 26 Dec. We stayed in hotel downtown but it wasn’t safe for North Americans at the time. Invited to Colonels home for Christmas dinner. His wife and two domestic servants put out a great meal for our aircrew of 7. Flew back to Howard AB on 27th.

Dinner while doing guard duty on the USS Gaudal Canal Christmas 1990. The turkey had none and they had a rib roast. All you could eat.

Probably my most memorable was serving on an isolated duty station 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle. When I say isolated, I mean isolated. We rarely saw or talked to anyone outside of the 2o or so men on the crew. Entertainment was movies, cards, ping pong, B Ball in a "gym" where the roof was so low you had to shoot between the rafters, and assorted hobbies. (Wood shop, Darkroom, and ... umm never mind, that was about it.) OH and of course log flights on those occasions when the weather was good enough for them to land.

Anyway, we had the usual festivities, and a really good meal, Turkey with all the trimmings, along with a ration of "medicinal" brandy). What I remember though took place later that night on watch. We were a LORAN station, and also had a VOR, mostly we were there to provide a navigation fix for BUFFs flying alerts, but we also conducted basic weather observations and provided a check in site for commercial aircraft flying the Great Circle Route from Europe. So there I am, doing my hourly readings, and listening for our call signs on about 12 different frequencies we guarded from LF through UHF. An SAS flight called to check in, and the pilot said he had a special message for me. I was then treated to several stewardesses singing Jingle Bells and White Christmas with their wonderful Swedish accents. They then wished us a merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Truthfully they could have sung anything and it would have been wonderful just to hear a woman's voice, but to this day I can close my eyes and hear them, and a smile comes to my face.

In Naples the local people invited a bunch of us sailors to their homes for Christmas dinner.Great food,people,and fun.The Grandma would try to feed you until you burst.Then on New Years eve you would want to walk in the middle of the road because at midnight they would throw used furniture out the windows.

Probably 2007 or 2009 when I deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq for battlefield circulation with the 82nd Airborne Division's All-American Chorus. Both times, we were either, rocketed, mortared, shot at with pistols & AKs, IED'd, VBIED'd, and/or RPG'd at in a UH-60. We survived and we put smiles on faces downrange while also returning fire to dumbasses trying to take us out. I even got to call in a successful fire mission. It made us late for one of our next missions, but the BN CDR, BN CSM, and senior understood. As much as our Division CG hated us, we all got commander's coins for our actions. What we did warranted CABs, but like I said...our CG hated us. I also got to meet more famous people, such as Gary Sinise & The Lt. Dan Band, John Topper from Blues Traveler, and a number of other celebrities both times. The extra money I received helped out when I got back, too.

Christmas we pulled into Gibraltar and Spent the day at a pub that the owner invited us to dinner.

my Mom sent me a box of homemade cookies. while I was in Germany

For my first duty station, I landed Camp Pelham, in South Korea near the end of 1994. Finally assigned to my unit, and totally unprepared for all my new found freedom as a soldier and as a young man. I was easily talked into heading off camp for a few drinks with a few seasoned soldiers: a couple E2 and a PFC. And Specialist Ammes.
What I expected to be a festive introduction was more like a poorly planned yet effective hazing. Bar to bar, drink after drink, and repeat. At 19 years old I slammed everything placed in front of me. Until I passed out. And that's how I stayed until the loudest explosion I had ever heard shocked me awake.
It was 0600 the following morning. Yep! Cannon blast, then reveille as the flag was raised. As it was Christmas Eve, the Sergeant Major was up and observing the detail. I hadn't been noticed until the blast jumped me because I was placed in a mock manger with a baby Jesus and crew. I stood there as this Sergeant Major locked on me. I didn't know him but I knew by his glare that I has hit! Suddenly, there was a tug on my arm and I was off runnings, with Spec. Ammes leading and maybe laughing? Ducking into a barracks door and up the stairs Ammes slid under his bed and pointed to the other for me. Wide eyed and gut sick petrified I lay there with only the worst possible endings unfold, and some ones smelly sneakers while Spec. Ammes slept. Soundly. Till 14:00. Ammes remained amused I over the situation while I had visions of a firing squad.
In front of the Sergeant Major we picked up two weeks before extra duty and loss of pass priv.
On Christmas day feeling like the biggest dirtbag, I headed to the mess hall expecting to be shamed by my fellow soldiers, only to find the opposite. Christmas day with my platoon laughing hysterically as we retold the tale over and over.
Thanks. TV

I was away from home every christmas (1963-67) but since then I have had great Christmases.

Bosnia

Mine was thanksgiving 63 or 64 we were aggressors for the 10th special forces and deployed in the Alps along the Austrian border. Someone decided we should have a real Thanksgiving dinner so they dropped in whole frozen turkeys and other raw and canned ingredients. Not the best but surely the most memorable. Just a reinforced rifle platoon wit nothing to prepare food.

1965 AnKhe center highlands supporting 1st Cav with ammo. Living in tents . !he army supplied us with a small Christmas tree and a few decorations. Looked out of place over there. I don't think our Christmas dinner was to great. We had a better thanksgiving dinner. We didn't have much of a messhall no reefers to keep thing cold. what we ate was mostly powdered or canned. to this day I don't eat spam. That was our main diet of meat 10lb. cans of spam. Semper Fi.