What is your most memorable Christmas while deployed?

The Christmas in Kassel, Germany bare in mind I was 19 at the time. great to get together with friends. both Military and non- Military.

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.