What is your most memorable Christmas while deployed?

There were so many Christmases I spent deployed, it's hard to answer the question. It was 1992 where the group of us decided the new Air Mobility Command really stood for Another Missed Christmas.

My most memorable one was not filled with joyful memories. For me, it was horrific.

I was a USN E-5. Due to VC threats to kill any Americans, they saw everything was off-limits. I had been in-country a little over six months and was highly agitated about the curfew and having to wait to be shot before shooting (my interpretation of the Rules of Engagement).

I decided if I were going to die there, it would be on my terms. I donned all my combat gear. I had an M1911 on my hip and an M-14 locked and loaded.

The streets were empty. I walked the center of the main street in Vinh Long screaming every rude and insulting thing I could think of in Vietnamese, and when I exhausted that, I continued in English.

An hour or so later, seeing no one around, I stood at the traffic circle, yelled out, "I'm going to live!", then got off the street.

One of the soldiers had the Jewish holidays off. When it came time for Christians to celebrate Christmas he took Christmas off as it was a national holiday. We worked both for him.

As a US Navy veteran from the Viet Nam time period I was stationed on Guam. Our aircraft did deploy to Viet Nam. Not being part of an aircrew I really don't know what their mission was. I hope that they helped protect the personal on the ground. I became friends with a aircrew person from the station on Guam. During the Christmas time they did Santa drops for the dependent children that were there. Here is the only photo I took during one of those drops. This was December 1969.

Santa Clause in the Hofbrau House in Munich, Germany with an Oommpah pah band.

I was a medic with Bravo Co. 2/501st, 101 Airborne in Vietnam, 69-70. I recall we were just back from the field, at FB Bastogne for Christmas. That evening everyone was celebrating and kind of hanging loose. I walked all around the whole hill and where ever I went there was the smell and really a cloud of marijuana haze covering the whole place. It was awesome.

Kneeling in the sand with about 30 Marines, Airmen, and Soldiers while a Catholic Priest Chaplain gave us a brief eulogy on Christmas morning. Mogadishu, Somalia. Ruins of the former US embassy compound. Marine snipers on the roof gave us over watch.seemed surreal.

Christmas 1969 I was in Phu Hep, RVN. I had guard duty Christmas eve, in the rain. I sat there in my poncho thinking about my family back home. It was my first Christmas away from my family. I can't explain it, but I had a different outlook on my life up to that point ( it wasn't good ) and I think I became a better person after that night. In a lot of ways, it was the best Christmas of my life up to that point.

In 1972 I was part of the team supporting members from the 24th Spcl Ops Sq in disaster relief operations for the Managua, Nicaragua earthquake. The earthquake hit Christmas Eve morning and within hours the relief teams were on their way.

I was in Long Binh the same year the same year. Cookies from home and the Bob Hope show was the best Christmas ever. Then the Tet offensive happened 2 months later.

Christmas eve with the 7th Infantry Division, in Korea in 1954, among the 2,000 GIs sitting in the bitter cold to celebrate Christmas with Cardinal Spellman, who was on a makeshift stage with heaters at his back and a cruel wind at his front. When he said, "America's forgotten sons," the roar from the troops could be heard in North Korea. He went on to tell us we were there so the star of communism didn't replace the star of Bethlehem. We were all warmer in the Cardinal"s presence because it let us know that people who mattered in the States knew where we were and thanked us for being there.

I honestly do not remember Christmas in Vietnam 1970. I imagine the mess hall had a turkey dinner or something special. I was in the scout platoon of the 3/5 Cav at Dong Ha. I do remember being on a liaison mission with a S3 officer at the Cua Viet South Vietnamese Naval base for a week. The US Navy was sending barrages up the river to load up blown up tanks, etc. at Quang Tru and we coordinated the Army patrols along the river with the Navy so they didn't shoot each other up. Of course me being the enlisted guy, I had the night shift to receive sit reps. When we returned to our unit, the 1st Sgt. told me trucks were leaving in an hour to go to Da Nang for the Bob Hope show and he saved a place for me. I told him I hadn't slept much for the past week and just wanted to go to bed. I told him to give my place to someone else. I thought our guys would be in the last row anyway. As it turned out, our guys were in the second row. I do remember pulling guard duty on New Year's Eve and seeing all the fireworks of flares, tracers, etc. at midnight.

Spent Christmas Eve and morning in the Joint Security Area (Korean DMZ) in 1974. The cook from the Swiss/Swede compound (Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission) brought their party leftovers out to the guard post at the entrance to the JSA late on the Eve. We were going to shoot him until we saw he had aluminum foil in his hands and not a weapon. "Thanks very much, but next time call first." We were relieved about 0800 and went back for chow before heading to the QRF site. Some clown had unrolled red and green condoms and thumbtacked them around a poster of "Suzy," our barracks sweetheart. The feather boa she was wearing wasn't enough holiday cheer, you see. QRF until 1600 then back to the Quonset hut where I hunkered down in my bunk under a couple of Korean-made quilts and GI blankets. We had the space heater glowing red that night. Not much of a celebration.

1968 SETTING IN RICE PADDY IN VIETNAM. WISHING I WAS HOM IN TRAVERSE CITY,MI. WITH MY FAMILY.

My most memorable Christmas was the Bob Hope and Raquel Welch Christmas tour on the Ranger in 1967. I was on the Destroyer USS Orleck (DD-886) at Yankee Station (Vietnam War) and we had a lottery to see who would be able to helicopter over for the show. I didn't win, but we were cruising alongside the carrier, close enough so we could faintly hear the show and make out the pink one of the women was wearing. Took photos, but not able to discern much from where I was. Nevertheless, it was a major milestone on my WESPAC cruise!

Christmas 1970 I was on a mountain top firebase in the Central Highlands of Vietnam with the
Army's 1st Cav Division. My buddy and I spent the evening Laying on our backs watching the best meteor shower I have ever seen.

Christmas 1968, I was a ground radio operator at Site 4, Karamursel AS, Turkey. I had been in the country less than two months. I was at work Christmas Eve and stepped outside the building. I could hear sheep out in the field and the shepherds were playing their wooden flutes. Talk about a Luke 2 experience. I half expected to see the sky full of angels in a few moments. That was the closest I had ever been physically to where it all started and why we have Christmas.

Christmas day 1967 I was at U-Tapao Airfield, Thailand as an aircraft mechanic on B-52 bombers/KC-135 tankers. The 24 hour Christmas truce that started Christmas eve meant I would be working Christmas day since all the aircraft were there. I remember some guys painted Christmas greetings for the Viet Cong/NVA on the external bombs under the wings. Later I heard a Colonel didn't like them & made them wash them off. I didn't realize it at the time but I guess political correctness began that day.

I only had one but I was without the rest of my CA team and with a new unit at a COP on the banks for the Tigris. It was actually pretty relaxing and enjoyable.

I was in basic training for Christmas 1983. Everyone was so depressed and missing family and home. When lights out was announced and our whole flight hit the sack; it was quiet and dark, there was no talking on this night. About 30 minutes after we all got into our beds our First Sgt. got on the giant voice and started telling us about Airmen guarding the DMZ, and Airmen patroling the flightlines on the Alaskan/Russian boarders. So don't feel too bad about being in BMT for Christmas. Well that got everyone crying in their beds until we fell asleep. Very memorable time in my 27 year AD military career. Merry Christmas to All!!!!

Cmsgt. Dave