Posted on Nov 28, 2015
What is your most memorable Christmas while deployed?
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We sure didn't have the wherewithal all to decorate our hooches like this in Vietnam, but one of the parents of one of my men owned an Italian restaurant in Indianapolis and they sent all the table decorations and stuff to make a helluva Christmas dinner. I and my driver stole a case of frozen steaks from the ration break down point at Long Binh and I horse traded at the mess hall for a lot of other "necessities". The young man who had grown up working in the family restaurant worked his buns off setting it all up and we had a very Merry Christmas despite missing friends and family at home. The leftovers (and they were ample) were donated to an orphanage at Ton Son Nhut. We also stuffed stockings for the orphans with everything we could find as well as small gifts our families sent from home. It became a contest to see who could make the biggest stocking. Have you ever stuffed an Army issue wool sock? They expanded so large that most were taller than the kids. That was Christmas 1967. The Tet Offensive began less than two months later...
We sure didn't have the wherewithal all to decorate our hooches like this in Vietnam, but one of the parents of one of my men owned an Italian restaurant in Indianapolis and they sent all the table decorations and stuff to make a helluva Christmas dinner. I and my driver stole a case of frozen steaks from the ration break down point at Long Binh and I horse traded at the mess hall for a lot of other "necessities". The young man who had grown up working in the family restaurant worked his buns off setting it all up and we had a very Merry Christmas despite missing friends and family at home. The leftovers (and they were ample) were donated to an orphanage at Ton Son Nhut. We also stuffed stockings for the orphans with everything we could find as well as small gifts our families sent from home. It became a contest to see who could make the biggest stocking. Have you ever stuffed an Army issue wool sock? They expanded so large that most were taller than the kids. That was Christmas 1967. The Tet Offensive began less than two months later...
Deployment
Vietnam War
Christmas
Memories
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 176
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Christmas 1992. Deep Freeze ‘93. Woke up on Christmas morning to see the continent of Antarctica off the bow. It was a childhood dream come true. Later that morning, the ship navigated through a large field of ice bergs that dwarfed the ship on our way to McMurdo. It was vey humbling. We had holiday routine that day and most of the crew shared cookies and the like that they got from packages back home.
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The best memory of the Holidays was spending both Christmas, and New Years during Operation Desert Shield / Storm, listening to everyone complain about being away from home, and family. I would just smile, and laugh, because I was spending my holiday's surrounded by all my buddies for the first time in five years, since I never went home on leave during those weeks sitting in the barracks with nothing to do. The Commander eventually set up a Spades tournament to pass the time away; I remember my partner, and I went to the finals, winning the whole thing in just three hands.
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I didnt have a christmas in the military. But i did have three december 25ths
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1969. Departed Long Binh for R&R in Sydney on Christmas Day, arrived In Sydney on Boxing Day. I had an enjoyable week, mainly rotating between the Texas Tavern in Kings X and the Royal Auto Club downtown every evening, with days enjoying the sun on Bondi Beach.
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Christmas 1969, Marine Helicopter Squadron aboard the USS Iwo Jima. We had Vietnamese orphans in the ships Hospital and we all gathered up as much pogey bait that we could find and had a little Christmas party with them. We sang a few Hymns, led by the Nuns. Not a dry eye!
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1984 Bob Hope did his Christmas Special from the USS Independence. Plus we were in Israel
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Christmas 1969 we were trucked over to 1st Mar Div HQ to watch the Bob Hope show, I was allowed to go as I was short on my first tour, I enjoyed the show and only had to stop 1 member of my squad from shooting a soldier who kept standing up in front of us 2X!!! We rode back and I got to stay in my hooch until evening when we shuffled up the hill to man the OP were I stayed up all night wondering the contradiction of seeing a great Christmas show in a war zone when I never had a chance in the world.
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Danang Air Plane Patch in 1972, dodged rockets most of the morning. The guys on monkey mountain said they enjoyed the early morning show.
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During Desert Shield/Storm we got GP mediums to sleep in instead of under our camo nets by our tracks. I pulled guard duty Christmas eve at our ammo dump and it actually snowed out in the desert!!
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