What is your most memorable Christmas while deployed?

Forget about it !!!

Christmas1974, Darmstadt, West Germany. My roommate and I got a small pine tree, maybe 2-foot tall. We decorated it with balls of aluminum foil and Cheetos strung through with yarn. For a star topper we cut out the bottom of an aluminum foil pie tin. The next day the unit had a "health and welfare" inspection. The NCOs tore apart every aluminum foil ball looking for drugs. Needless to say, the tree didn't look the same when we put it back together!

Christmas 1966 Chu Lai all I remember is Christmas Day we still ran or daily patrols but all patrols were ordered not to engage for that 24 hr. time period samey same their Tet. Also all patrols had to be led by E-5 & above so I became squad leader again for the day. Saw 5 or 6 VCS’s at a distance but did not engage.

Camp Holloway, Pleiku, Christmas, 1969. A father of one of the guys in my platoon (I think it was Len's dad) sent us a live Christmas tree and decorations. L-R in the photo: Lonny Mitchell, Larry Whaley, Len Shellhammer & Paul Daily.

Christmas eve in Persian Gulf 1990 awaiting next beach assault.

My team arranged for a Christmas dinner at the American FOB near ISAF HQ and we all enjoyed a meal together minus the officers on duty at the Afghan MOI Operations Center. We were all far from our families although we were an “Army” family and were being meddling by our mutual sacrifices in order to bring the precious gift of freedom to people who had no idea what to do with the gift. It was the last time that we could celebrate as a team before an insider murdered two incredible officers who were our team mates. We felt blessed to serve together and to have achieved so much towards to goal of Afghan self sufficiency. We had no idea that a sleeper was in our midst who would destroy our trust and the families of those they murdered. The murderer worked among us on a daily basis and the two victims were the most generous among us as it relates to kindness and generosity towards every Afghan we worked with. Our Christmas dinner was a moment that few can ever comprehend in it’s power and meaning for each of us. We all pledged to risk our lives in the effort to give liberty to every Afghan and our efforts were met with the devious actions of the Taliban and the Quetta Shura. These are people that need to be expunged from existence and the same apply to every member of their gene pool. Great men died the following February and their families were robbed of their life long contributions. I am so thankful to have served among this incredible group of warriors who were willing to risk everything in order to give the most precious gift of liberty to millions of Afghans who we never met. God bless LTC Loftis and MAJ Marchanti. They gave us a gift that few will ever appreciate or understand.

Long Binh, Republic of Vietnam, 1969. Christmas Eve Bob Hope show with Neil Armstrong, who had walked on the moon that summer. He waved and said, "Fellows, I know what it's like to be a long way from home."
For the 25th, then, Charlie supplied some rockets.

Dec 2001, FOB Rhino in Afghanistan. Mail had arrived and in it were several Hickory Farms gift packs, so we shared amongst our S-3 section. It was a nice break from a solid month of MREs.

Had the fortune of being in Long Binh Xmas '67 waiting for an assignment when the Bob Hope show rolled in. Managed a spot near the stage and as an 18yr old as of just a few months had my heart rate challenged being just feet away from Raquel Welch.

Hue Vietnam 1965. George E Jessel entertained the troops inside the VOA compound. He can outside to visit and meet the Marines that were protecting the compound. An area that was always under fire, his support of the military was very special. Cpl John T Hewitt family from Richmond Va sent our 4 man team - canned sardines, family photos, ( maybe a few cans of Black Label beer) and a Rosary each.

1989 Panama Just Cause/Desert Shield. Sitting with my fbf eating a chicken ale king MRE thinking about our family back home and how bad we wished we were with them.

1970 and a wet day at Fire Base Blackhawk on QL19 between Anke and Plieku. Hot meal with ham and turkey, with warm Olympia beer. Good day :)

Seeing a black Santa riding on the hood of a 3/4 ton truck around the perimeter road at Marble road Air Facility in 1970 made my day. LOL

Remote Turkey in 1975. Playing Santa Claus at a Party for kids from the local orphanage. Not that they knew who Santa was....but were all smiles when I gave them a gift.

A little antisemitism for Christmas. My uncle Jack was killed on patrol in Normandy. My cousin Alan was wounded on Okinawa. My cousin Martin, a Marine, fought in Korea. I spent a brutal winter outdoors near the DMZ in a combat zone in Korea. Maybe we made up for the day your guy missed?

Working Christmas Day in Afghanistan. Didn’t do a thing, set up a digital projector, opened up my facility, watched movies with a bunch of people, some I knew, some I didn’t, but we were all family, we all felt that too.

BLT 3/1 was blooded on 23 Dec 67, on Operation Fortress Ridge. 10 KIA and 20 wounded. On the 24th we were back on the Valley Forge, had a great Christmas dinner on the 25th. Embarked on Operation Badger Tooth on 26 Dec. On the 27th 3/1 encountered an NVA battalion in the village Thon Tam Khe. At the end of that miserable day, 48 Marines were dead and over 100 wounded. Christmas hasn't been the same since.

Date: December 25th 1966 0700 Hrs.
Place: Phan Rang AB RVN
Unit: 35th Security Police Squadron, K-9 Section

At 0600 I and my K-9 partner Prinz were picked up from post and returned to the kennel area after spending Christmas Eve/Morning patrolling the Air Base perimeter for the past 10+ hours.

The squad kenneled, feed and watered their dogs then climbed back on the truck again for the trip to the compound.

It was now about 0700 and as prearranging three of us got together in our hooch to memorialize our Christmas in Vietnam. Hopefully our only Christmas in Vietnam.

I pulled my olive green footlocker to the center of the floor and removed a bottle of Crown Royal, three cans of Coke and a small candle from my locker.

With the lighted candle at center stage on my footlocker and the three of us sitting around it we share stories of past Christmases, families at home, girlfriends present and past and what our plans were when we finally left the war zone. All that until we finished that large bottle of Crown Royal and the candle finally went out.

It definitely was not the Christmas we were dreaming about with our at home families but we were family now and making the best with what we had and it was a good morning.

To this day I cannot drink Crown Royal without remembering that Christmas morning in Vietnam.

I think it was either 1982 or 1983. Underway and submerged on a ballistic missile submarine, USS Casimir Pulaski, somewhere in the Atlantic. I was a junior Missile technician (MT3). Our Weapons department senior chief dressed himself in a Santa suit and walked through the ship handing out candy canes. A group of Christmas carolers went through the ship singing to the men on watch in the different compartments. A Christmas dinner was prepared by the cooks.

Christmas 1963 I was stationed at NATTC Memphis (Millington, TN) and I was not going home. We had a 14 inch snowfall around Christmas day and they had us airmen out clearing sidewalks using a broom stick and dust pan. Evidently there were no snow shovels available and they needed sidewalks cleared so there we went. We really used up a lot of dust pans during that snow storm because the snow was heavy and wet. I was able to fly home to Nebraska for the New Year.to see my family.

Just another day in the bush, I was writing a letter home. Near the DMZ 1969, Vietnam. Merry Christmas to all.

I was in 9th infratry unit and I receieved Christmas package of cookies but I was on guard in the middle of the jungle with the rest of my fellow men, about 40 miles from Long Binh Vietnam. Christmas didn,t mean much to be there, it was just another day for patrol and being on guard. I knew the family back home was have a nice time and I was hoping we wouldn't see charlie { VC} that day, which we never. Next day they toldus we have to move to a hot zone and help out another unit that was under fire so we traveled back closer to them and driving Hyway 1 . I was the driver of a pc carried and I did enjoy driving it, I just had to be on alert for land mines, thank God I made it home safely in 1969.

Christmas Day in Long Binh Vietnam, was lucky enough to get to see the Bob Hope Christmas show along with 25,000 of my brothers and sisters, still remember it to this day

12/25/1967 C 1st Bn 4th Marines We humped all day on our trek from Strong Point A3 (between Con Thien and Gio Linh) to C2 Bridge behind Con Thien. We were lucky during this movement that a Spoter Plane saw the NVA trying get into an Ambush for us. Air strike to care of them.Thank you Jesus!

In 1972 in South Korea, stationed at Camp John Pelham, which had an artillery battalion (2nd Infantry Division, 7/17 Artillery) and a company of MPs, total of 700+ personnel, Christmas dinner consisted of 2 turkeys and fixings. By the time I got there, nothing left...I got 2 hotdogs and mashed potatoes. Somehow, all that Christmas dinner for 700+ people disappeared. I hear it turned up in various markets from Mun San to Seoul, but I never saw it.

2 years later, in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, we did a cookout (luau) on Sunset Beach (north shore of Oahu), where we had pit-roasted Palua pork with accouterments like poi and laulau. Plenty of beverages were to be had. This worked out much better, we relied upon our own devices and skipped the mess hall.

Christmas 1964 there was a big fire in the mountains out from Taegu ,Korea where we had a commo sub station me and and few others that were in company area in early morning were grabed up to fight fire with beaters . fought fire all day long till late afternoon . Will never forget that.

While I was never deployed at Christmas, if one of my fellow NCO's had duty and had a family, I was sibgle at the time, I would take theur duty for them so they coulf be with theur family. Especiallt if they had children at home. I would do the same thing for them at Thanksgiving, if I did not already have dury. It was my way of paying it foward to a fellow soldier. If they asked why, I would explain to them when I was in BCT/AIT at Ft Sill and got injured and was in the medical platoon healing from surgery, Capt. Edwards treated the whole unit, a PT platoon, Education platoon, the previous mentioned Medical platoon a BB-Q at the Artillery Museum on board base. He, his wife, 2 sons and 2 daughters did all the cooking for roughly 200 troops and footed the bill. This was on the 4th of July 1976, the nations bicentenial birthday.
So after I became an NCO, I was glad to try to do something for my fellow NCOs if possible. Fyi Capt Edwards was a mustang and had come up thru the enlisted ranks before becoming a commissioned officer. He showed alm of us great respect no matter what our rank was. Unfortunately he passed away from lung cancer in 1986. But I still remember how he treated others though.

Deployment: Vietnam War 69-70
Vinh Long, I was with B Troop 7th of 1st Cavalry Operations Officer when I received just before Christmas a Christmas tree from home and a big banner saying "Merry Christmas." Placed both in my Operations Bunker for all to see and really made Christmas special to see the faces of the pilots and crews see a reminder of home. I also received a baked cake and as usual, took a big slice and placed the rest of the cake on the officer lounge bar. Mother was a wonderful cook and it allowed everyone to feel closer to home.

Christmas 1989. I graduated from OSUT on Dec 7th, and got orders to report to Ft. Ord on Dec 17th, right as most of the units on the base were deploying to overthrow Noriega. I hadn't even turned 18 yet at the time. So I spent my first Christmas in the Army at the repple depple. I'll never forget the Sergeant there: "In a few days most of you will be in Panama. But don't worry, those flak jackets we issue you will stop a bullet!"

And of course, I was assigned to one of the units that didn't deploy.